The Intel Core i9-12900KS is the fastest chip in the company’s 12th generation of processors. Intel has set a goal to squeeze all possible performance out of the Alder Lake architecture. When it arrived in the first quarter of 2022, it was the fastest processor to build a gaming PC. The Intel Core i9-12900KS is supplied by ASBIS-Ukraine , the official distributor of Intel in Ukraine.

In a partner material with ASBIS-Ukraine , we study this chip in detail, analyze its tests and tell how it differs from other models.

What does the KS index mean in the name of the processor

The letter K in the name of Intel chips indicates an unlocked processor frequency multiplier and the possibility of overclocking it. The letter S stands for Special Edition – a special edition. So flagship processors are marked, for the production of which selective silicon wafers are used. They withstand higher operating frequencies and greater heat dissipation.

The flagship of the Core i9-12900K line was taken as the basis for the Intel Core i9-12900KS model. It has increased base and maximum clock speeds, and the minimum heat dissipation has increased slightly. At the same time, the number of cores and the size of the internal cache remain the same. Careful material selection allowed the i9-12900KS to reach 5.5 GHz under load.

The processor options are:

• Number of cores – 16 (8 productive + 8 energy efficient)
• Number of processed data streams – 24
• Performance core frequencies – 3.4-5.5 GHz
• Energy efficient core frequencies – 2.5-4.0 GHz
• Total cache of the third level – 30 MB
• Base processor power – 150 W
• Maximum power in Turbo mode – 241 W
• Number of PCIe lanes – 16x PCIe 5.0, 4x PCIe 4.0
• RAM support – DDR4-3200, DDR5-4800
• Integrated Graphics – Intel UHD 770

Differences from the Intel Core i9-12900K

From the characteristics of the Core i9-12900KS, it can be seen that, compared with the Core i9-12900K, the frequencies of the P-cores increased by 200 MHz and 300 MHz, the E-cores by 100 MHz. The minimum consumption has increased by 25 W, but the upper limit has not risen. Nevertheless, motherboard manufacturers allow you to remove this limitation for top-end Intel processors.

The nominal increase in parameters is not the only difference between the i9-12900KS and the i9-12900K. The Core i9-12900KS is back with automatic overclocking. They were present in earlier generations of Intel chips but not in Alder Lake cores. Thermal Velocity Boost technologies are back TVB and Adaptive Boost Technology ABT , which are used in the eleventh generation.

TVB raises the frequency of two processor cores that are under load if the specified temperature limit is not reached. ABT raises the frequency if you need to perform multi-threaded tasks, depending on the load. For the correct operation of technologies, a BIOS with integrated microcode 0x1F is required. Therefore, you should choose your motherboard more carefully.

An Intel Core i9-12900KS processor in the right motherboard and with decent cooling gives a difference from the i9-12900K from 200 to 400 MHz on P-cores and 100-300 MHz on E-cores in real work without overclocking.

The need for powerful processor cooling

The Intel Core i9-12900KS has already been tested many times by enthusiasts on the net. Thanks to this, we know about all the temperature limitations of internal processes that the manufacturer did not specify.

So, when the P-cores are heated to temperatures above 90°C, this limits their frequency to 5.0 GHz. With a temperature of 70-90 ° C, productive cores will be able to operate at 5.1 GHz, below 70 ° C a value up to 5.2 GHz is available. Finally, when the load of two cores and heating is less than 70 ° C, the maximum possible frequency of 5.5 GHz is turned on.

Such limitations are associated with high leakage currents. They heat up the processor when it runs at higher frequencies.

If you remove the upper power limit during overclocking, this can lead to a consumption of more than 300W and the chip heats up to 100°C. Slightly lowering the voltage in the BIOS will reduce the heat a little and will not harm performance.

Testing in games shows that in practice the chip is rarely heated above 90°C. Power consumption also almost does not exceed the maximum of 241 W, and when it is turned off – 275 W, sometimes rising to 318 W.

It can be seen that the performance of the Core i9-12900KS directly depends on its temperature. The most powerful processor needs serious air or water cooling to perform at its best.

Gaming performance

TechSpot tested the Intel Core i9-12900KS in many games. When we checked the performance, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti graphics card was used in the test. The chip performed slightly better than the i9-12900K and far outperformed all other processors. It was expected.

The Intel Core i9-12900KS processor is a no-brainer for game fans. It adequately loads the RTX 3090 Ti graphics card with data and allows you to achieve maximum results.

There will be minimal delays when rendering and editing video, which will save time for content creators. When performance is more important than price, the Core i9-12900 KS is the best choice among Intel processors.

Unlike the previous similar Core i9-9900KS processor, Intel did not release the Core i9-12900KS in a limited batch – the chip is freely available around the world.

In Ukraine, you can buy a chip in stores Brain , Rozetka and Telemart . 

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