AMD has been popular with gamers lately thanks to its Ryzen X3D series of CPUs with additional V-Cache, enhancing gaming performance for PC builders and pre-builts. However, Intel remains ahead in market share and has not been idle. Leaks have revealed an overclocked version of its top-tier Core i9 14900K CPU with overclocked primary cores for improved performance. The Intel Core i9-14900KS, which is all but confirmed, supports a native overclock that can boost its clock speeds up to an impressive 6.2GHz.
Although the boost seems modest compared to the regular version, which naturally boosts up to 6.0GHz, overclocking enthusiasts should be able to push it even further. One user on the Overclock.net forum obtained the CPU before the official launch, achieving the maximum supported speed on the 14900KS with 1.498 volts and a reported thermal design power of 150 watts, higher than the 125 watts of the 14900K and KF variants. This will require BIOS/UEFI support from your motherboard, with reports of success on the latest BIOS for the user’s Asus Z790 mobo.
It’s difficult to predict the exact performance gain from this “special edition” chip with limited data, but the Asus silicon prediction score utility shows nearly a 10% improvement on the primary performance cores compared to the standard K variant. The efficiency cores, however, are scoring around 20% lower. Despite this, users aren’t buying this CPU to save on power costs. As for pricing, rumors suggest the 14900KS will cost over $700, higher than the $650 MSRP for the KF, with a potential launch as soon as this month.
