Intel Core i9-13900K processor allegedly on sale, hits black market

Intel might as well launch its new 13th Gen Core "Raptor Lake" CPUs now, given that we've got early reviews of the Core i9-13900 and now an engineering sample of the Core i9-13900K has allegedly hit the black market.

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The new Intel Core i9-13900K processor is being sold somewhere in China, in engineering sample (ES) form stating that the chip can overclock, has 8 large cores and 16 small cores with 32 threads of CPU power. That's because the new Intel Core i9-13900K in flagship Raptor Lake form has 8 Performance cores (updated to the Raptor Cove CPU architecture) while the 16 Efficiency cores are on the Gracemont CPU architecture.

The seller says the Core i9-13900K processor is working on the ASUS ROG Z690 APEX motherboard, while the picture of the Raptor Lake CPU has its CPU SPEC code and QR codes removed, obviously. As for the price, we're looking at only $426 or so (2850 RMB) which is a steal considering this is a next-gen 13900K chip.

• Read more: Intel's next-gen Core i9-13900K could have insane 5.8GHz CPU clocks
• Read more: Intel's new Core i9-13900K 'Raptor Lake' CPU with 24C/32T benchmarked

We are to expect pretty crazy 5.8GHz and beyond CPU clocks on the new Core i9-13900K "Raptor Lake" CPU, with rumors from May 2022 teasing the huge clock speeds. Intel has confirmed that its new Raptor Lake CPUs will offer up to double-digit performance boosts, up to 24 cores and 32 threads, enhanced overclocking features, an AI M.2 module, and they'll be socket-compatible with Alder Lake systems.

• Intel Core i9 K-Series (8 Golden + 16 Grace) = 24 Cores / 32 Threads / 68 MB?
• Intel Core i7 K-Series (8 Golden + 8 Grace) = 16 Cores / 24 Threads / 54 MB?
• Intel Core i5 K-Series (6 Golden + 8 Grace) = 14 Cores / 20 Threads / 44 MB?
• Intel Core i5 S-Series (6 Golden + 4 Grace) = 14 Cores / 16 Threads / 37 MB?
• Intel Core i3 S-Series (4 Golden + 0 Grace) = 4 Cores / 8 Threads / 20 MB?
• Intel Pentium S-Series (2 Golden + 0 Grace) = 4 Cores / 4 Threads / 10 MB?

Intel will be launching a new 700-series chipset with the flagship Z790 motherboards being teased over the last few months, alongside some new B760 motherboards, too. Intel will be launching a full-frontal assault on the CPU market, given AMD has been lighting up the market for years now... but with AMD launching its next-gen Zen 4-based Ryzen 7000 series CPUs later this year... Intel has more competition than ever before.

• Read more: Intel Core i9-13900K 'Raptor Lake' CPU: 68MB of L3 cache spotted
• Read more: BIOSTAR's next-gen Z790, B760 mobos leaked: Intel Raptor Lake ready
• Read more: Intel 14th Gen Core 'Meteor Lake': 15-21% IPC boost over Raptor Lake
• Read more: Intel Core i9-13900K 'Raptor Lake' CPU: 68MB of L3 cache spotted

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Not just in taking the performance crown with Raptor Lake, but AMD is catching up with technologies and features: Zen 4 + X670E and X670 motherboards will deliver DDR5 memory support and PCIe 5.0 support for both SSDs and next-gen GPUs. AMD will have its RDNA 3-based Navi 31-powered Radeon RX 7970 (a purported name so far) which is reportedly dropping on the new PCIe 5.0 x16 standard.