Intel Core i9-10900K: 10-core CPU might use 300W power or more

It looks like Intel will be finding itself in some (extremely) hot water with its upcoming Comet Lake-S family of CPUs with the new flagship 10-core/20-thread model packing some heat.

ComputerBase sat down with motherboard makers on the CES show floor, talking about Intel's upcoming 14nm-based Comet Lake-S processors. The site was told that motherboard makers have their Z490 boards ready to go, but Intel is holding everything back.

Intel's new Comet Lake-S will span an entire range of processors from Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, and the flagship Core i9. But it's the high-end model that might be in serious trouble, with ComputerBase: "Several motherboard manufacturers revealed that the 10-core breaks the 300-watt mark at maximum load. Not surprisingly, the 9900KS already exceeded the 250-watt mark in scenarios of this kind".

ComputerBase adds: "This information has nothing in common with the TDP, which is rumored to be 125 watts. Up to 4.9GHz Turbo clock for all 20 threads on the flagship makes this value increase significantly in everyday life depending on the load".