Intel’s Newest CPU Boasts Impressive Performance, But You Shouldn’t Buy It

A CPU that can hit 6.2 GHz max turbo frequency right out of the box might seem like a dream come true, but Intel’s newest CPU is a far cry from the best option on the market right now.

Intel officially revealed the Core i9-14900KS this week, boasting an impressive and milestone-setting 6.2 GHz turbo frequency. Sure, the CPU is impressive with its 24 CPU cores and 32 threads, but there’s a reason you’re probably not going to see this CPU in many high-end systems: it just isn’t a feasible option in terms of heat and power consumption.

There are, of course, a number of reasons why this CPU might seem enticing. For starters, it’s the most top-of-the-line Intel product on the market. And, of course, that max turbo frequency is a huge accomplishment. However, benchmarks from TechPowerUp paint a sobering picture of what you can expect with this CPU if you were to add it to your build.

First, you’re looking at some wild power consumption. According to TechPowerUp’s benchmarks, the new Intel i9-14900KS draws more than three times as much power based on a 13-game average power consumption test. Considering these high-end CPUs are often acclaimed by gamers, that probably isn’t something that any gamer is going to want to put anywhere near their PC. 

Whether you care about how much energy your PC uses or not, though, that much of a power draw means that this CPU is going to create tons of heat that you’ll need to pull out of your PC somehow. Sure, a water cooler might do the trick, but you’re going to be running that bad boy at the highest possible settings to keep things cool. And, if you pair this with one of the newer Nvidia 4090s, you’re looking at even more power consumption and heat output.

There’s also the fact that even with these high-powered specs, the Intel i9-14900KS isn’t likely to provide any huge performance boost compared to other processors on the market right now. In fact, the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D often saw slightly higher scores for relative gaming performance in TechPowerUp’s benchmarks, and it’s priced at roughly half of the I9-14900KS’ recommended $699.99 price tag—though some listings on Amazon already have it at over $1,000 at the time of this article’s writing.

There’s no doubt that what Intel has accomplished with this new CPU is exciting. A CPU hitting 6.2 GHz out of the box is impressive. Unfortunately, Intel has a long way to go with how it handles heat and power consumption before this kind of CPU is actually feasible for gamers and high-end PC users.