During the Innovation event, Intel confirmed that the world's first 6 GHz CPU, the Core i9-13900K "Raptor Lake", will be launching early next year.

Intel Core i9-13900KS "Raptor Lake", The World's First 6 GHz CPU, Launches In Early 2023

According to Intel, the 13th Gen Raptor Lake CPUs were never officially planned for launch until 2 years ago when the plans for the Meteor Lake desktop slipped a bit. As such, the engineering team decided to offer an intermediate CPU family, now known as Raptor Lake, to be launched after Alder Lake and optimize the foundations set by Alder Lake, Intel's first Hybrid CPU design. The result is a massive bump in clock speeds which makes the Raptor Lake family the first to feature a 6 GHz CPU and also achieve overclocking frequencies beyond 8 GHz after more than a decade. The first 8 GHz confirmation was reported by us a few weeks back which you can read more about here.

At Intel Innovation on Sept. 27, 2022, Intel revealed its new 13th Gen Intel Core processor family powered by Intel’s performance hybrid architecture. The new processor family launched with six new unlocked desktop processors. (Credit: Intel Corporation)

Intel's 13th Gen Raptor Lake CPUs will utilize the hybrid core design, featuring a mix of Performance-Optimized 'P' and Efficiency-Optimized 'E' cores. For the new chips, Intel will be using a brand new P-Core known as Raptor Cove which will replace the Golden Cove cores featured on the Alder Lake CPUs. For The E-Core, Intel will retain the existing Gracemont core architecture but it will come with minor improvements. Following are some of the main changes you should expect:

Intel 13th Gen Raptor Lake Desktop CPUs Expected Features:

Up To 24 Cores & 32 ThreadsBrand New Raptor Cove CPU CoresBased on 10nm ESF 'Intel 7' process nodeUp To 6.0 GHz clock speedsUp To 41% Multi-Thread Performance ImprovementUp To 15% Single-Thread Performance ImprovementDouble The E-Cores on certain variantsIncreased Cache for both P-Cores & E-CoresSupported on existing LGA 1700 motherboardsNew Z790, H770, and B760 motherboardsUp To 28 PCIe Lanes (PCH Gen 4 + Gen 3)Up To 28 PCIe Lanes (CPU Gen 5 x16 + Gen 4 x12)Dual-Channel DDR5-5600 Memory Support20 PCIe Gen 5 Lanes (x4 reserved for PCH)Enhanced Overclocking Features125W PL1 TDP / 253W PL2 TDPAI PCIe M.2 TechnologyQ4 2022 Launch (October)

It’s true! 6.0 GHZ from Intel first. Who wants one? #intelinnovation pic.twitter.com/HjpqSZnqO1

— Michelle Johnston Holthaus (@MJHolthaus) September 27, 2022

Intel Core i9-13900KS 24 Core Raptor Lake CPU Specs

The Intel Core i9-13900KS will be the flagship Raptor Lake CPU, featuring 24 cores and 32 threads in an 8 P-Core and 16 E-Core configuration. The CPU is configured at a single-core boost clock of 6.0 GHz (1-2) cores. The CPU will be featuring 68 MB of combined cache and a 125W PL1 rating that goes beyond 253W. The CPU can also consume up to 350W of power when using the "Extreme Performance Mode" which we detailed a few hours ago here.

Core i9-13900KS 8+16 (24/32) - 3.2 / 6.0 GHz - 66 MB Cache, 125W (PL1) / 253W (PL2)+Core i9-12900KS 8+8 (16/24) - 3.4 / 5.5 GHz - 30 MB Cache, 125W (PL1) / 241W (PL2)

While the initial 13th Gen Raptor Lake CPU lineup is planned for launch on the 20th of October, the Intel Core i9-13900KS would launch in early 2023 in limited quantities. The pricing should be close to the $699-$749 US figure.

Intel 13th Gen Raptor Lake-S Desktop CPU Family: