At last, the day has come to officially announce the new ninth-generation Intel Core processors with the Core i9 9900K and Core i7 9700K models as the company’s new flagships for the LGA 1151 platform.
The new Z390 chipset is another key component of the launch and will take full advantage of these processors, although they are still compatible with previous boards with the LGA 1151 socket. This chipset features built-in USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports (up to 10 GB/s transfer rate) and 802.11ac WiFi connectivity with support for transfer speeds up to Gigabit.
Core i9 9900K, Core i7 9700K and Core i5 9600K are Intel’s new processors manufactured at 14 nm +++ Tri-Gate, which is a highly refined manufacturing process that has made it possible to increase frequencies over the eighth generation without increasing power consumption. Another important innovation is the return to the use of solder to connect the IHS to the processor, which improves the cooling of these chips.
Core i9 9900K (530 Euro) is the new processor with 8 cores and 16 processing threads that operate in turbo mode at a frequency of 4.7 GHz to 5 GHz. This processor has 16 MB L3 cache and 95W TDP. The Core i7 9700K (400 Euro) is a downside and offers 8 cores and 8 threads at 4.6/4.9 GHz (it’s the first Core i7 in history without HT). It has an L3 cache of 12MB and a TDP of 95W.
Specifically, we have the Intel Core i9-9900K, the Intel Core i7-9700K and the Intel Core i5-9600K, which will be followed later by other diverse models that will also take advantage of this improved process.
| PROCESSOR | LITHOGRAPHY | GPU | CORES / THREADS | BASE FREQUENCY | STOP FREQUENCY | CACHE | TDP | PRICE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| INTEL CORE I9-9900K | 14nm ++ | Intel HD Graphics 630 | 8/16 | 3.6 GHz | Up to 5.0 GHz | 16 MB | 95 W | 488 dollars |
| INTEL CORE I9-9700K | 14nm ++ | Intel HD Graphics 630 | 8/8 | 3.6 GHz | Up to 4.9 GHz | 12 MB | 95 W | $ 374 |
| INTEL CORE I9-9600K | 14nm ++ | Intel HD Graphics 630 | 6/6 | 3.7 GHz | Up to 4.6 GHz | 9 MB | 95 W | 262 dollars |
Furthermore, the Core i5 9600K (280 Euro) is announced, consisting of 6 cores and 6 threads at 4.3/4.6 GHz. The cache is reduced to 9 MB in this case, and the 95W TDP is maintained, as it is an unlocked model for overclocking. In this case, the matrix is not connected to the IHS by soldering, but rather the thermal paste as used previously.
In terms of performance, we will have significant improvements in games and content creation, which Intel places for example in 10% in “Hitman 2” compared to the previous generation, but we also have improvements in the streaming during the game, which has become very fashionable thanks to the new generation of streamers that use Twitch or YouTube in this area.
The new processors have up to 8 cores and 16 threads in execution. This is the case with the Core i9-9900K, which is also the only one with Hyper-Threading technology enabled, as we mentioned earlier that it is now reserved for Intel Range tops.
All three processors include an Intel UHD Graphics 630 graphics card, the same Intel used in eighth-generation processors such as the 8700K, which is a simple rebranding of the iGPU with the seventh-generation Intel Kaby Lake processors. The use of this graphics card makes it possible for motherboard manufacturers to integrate connectors with more modern standards. Thus, the Z390 has HDMI 1.4b and DisplayPort 1.2 connectors.
Thanks to the new Turbo Boost Technology 2.0, the maximum frequency is not reached in all cores. Intel has done this to maintain its leadership in single-core performance and especially in games. These processors will deliver the best gaming performance, like any generation from Intel, and where AMD still doesn’t beat them with their lower frequency for better multi-core performance.
All these processors are compatible with the current 300 series motherboards, however, to get the most out of them, it is recommended to make the leap to the new Z390 chipset: they are now bookable and will be sold on October 19.
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