Intel’s upcoming 12th generation flagship processor, the Core i9 12900KS,
Is already in the hands of users. This indicates that the launch is imminent and if the rumors are true, the 12900KS will launch later in March. According to a post on overclocking.com (via TOhm hardware) a user named Daginatsuko already received the 12,900 KS he purchased before the ad was removed. The packaging certainly looks good, including the imitation waffle.
The overclocking.com post includes a screenshot of the processor paired with an Asus motherboard. Noteworthy is the idle BIOS temperature of 78 degrees, although perhaps this is simply the result of poor mounting of the cooler. It’s not hard to imagine that anything but a high-end air cooler or AIO will be enough to keep this processor from throttling when all cores are stressed. We’ll have to wait and see if there’s overclocking headroom. It would seem that with a single-core acceleration of 5.5 GHz, this is the maximum with external cooling.
The BIOS screenshot includes what Asus calls an “SP” rating,
Which is essentially a measure of the quality of a processor. It serves as an indicator of how much overclocking potential it can have based on its voltage and frequency points. The higher the number the better, and at 155 this 12900KS sample is really very good.
Intel first introduced the Core i9 12900KS during the CES 2022 presentation. This is proof of the strength of Intel’s “7” process. It comes with a single-core clock speed of 5.5GHz, which is 300MHz faster than the Core i9 12900K. KS can boost up to 5.2GHz on all cores. That’s a 200MHz increase over the 5.0GHz clock speed of the 12900K.
We don’t yet know what the purchase price or TDP of the 12900KS was, but it’s safe to say that it will carry a significant price premium over the base 12900K. The standard 12900K comes with a 241W PL2 rating, so we expect the 12900KS to be able to draw more, maybe even 300W. Sure, that’s a lot, but enthusiasts chasing the highest possible performance won’t worry about a few extra watts. It’s all about performance.
