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Intel Core i9-13900F

Intel Core i9-13900F: Raptor Lake Power for Professionals and Enthusiasts

(Relevant as of March 2025)

Key Characteristics: Architecture and Innovations

The Intel Core i9-13900F processor, released in 2023, remains a relevant solution for demanding users thanks to its hybrid Raptor Lake architecture.

Architecture and Process Technology

- Process Technology: Intel 7 (10nm Enhanced SuperFin).

- Cores and Threads: 24 cores (8 Performance-cores + 16 Efficient-cores) and 32 threads.

- Cache: 36 MB L3 + 32 MB L2.

- Base/Boost Frequency: P-cores — 2.0–5.6 GHz, E-cores — 1.5–4.2 GHz.

- TDP: 65 W (real consumption under load can exceed 200+ W).

Key Features:

- Intel Thread Director — optimizes task distribution between P- and E-cores.

- PCIe 5.0 Support — 16 lanes for GPUs + 4 lanes for NVMe.

- Thermal Velocity Boost — automatic overclocking with effective cooling.

Performance:

- Geekbench 6: 2698 (Single-Core) / 17010 (Multi-Core).

- In Cinebench R23 tests, the processor scores ~2100 points in Single-Core and ~36000 in Multi-Core.

Compatible Motherboards: Choosing the Optimal Foundation

Socket and Chipsets

The processor uses the LGA 1700 socket, compatible with the 600 and 700 series chipsets:

- Z790: For overclocking and maximum performance (examples: ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Hero — $450–500).

- B760: A balance of price and functionality (MSI B760 Tomahawk — $180–200).

- H770: For basic tasks without overclocking (Gigabyte H770 Aorus Elite — $150–170).

Choosing Tips:

- Ensure the board supports DDR5-5600+ or DDR4-3200 (depending on the model).

- Check the number of M.2 slots (at least 2–3 for NVMe PCIe 4.0/5.0).

- For CPU power, a solid VRM is critical — choose boards with 12+ phases (e.g., ASUS TUF Gaming Z790-Plus).

Supported Memory: DDR4 vs DDR5

The i9-13900F works with DDR5-5600 (officially) and DDR4-3200.

Standard Comparison:

- DDR5: Higher bandwidth (up to 90 GB/s) but more expensive (32 GB DDR5-6000 — $130–150).

- DDR4: Cheaper (32 GB DDR4-3600 — $70–90), but limited by frequencies.

Recommendations:

- For gaming and video editing: DDR5-6000 with low timings (CL36).

- For budget builds: DDR4-3600 + B760 motherboard.

Power Supply: Power Calculation

The official TDP of 65 W is just a base figure. Under peak load, the processor can consume up to 250 W.

Recommendations:

- Minimum: 750 W (for systems with a GPU like the RTX 4070).

- Optimal: 850–1000 W (for RTX 4090 or future upgrades).

- Certifications: 80 Plus Gold or higher (examples: Corsair RM850x — $140, Be Quiet! Straight Power 11 1000W — $200).

Important: Use an 8+8 pin cable for stable CPU power.

Pros and Cons of i9-13900F

Advantages:

1. Leader in Multi-threaded Performance: Handles rendering, streaming, and gaming simultaneously.

2. Energy Efficiency at Idle: Intel 7 technology reduces power consumption during light tasks.

3. PCIe 5.0 Support: Future SSDs and GPUs will unlock potential.

Disadvantages:

1. Lacks iGPU: A discrete graphics card is required even for image output.

2. Cooling Requirements: Without liquid cooling (e.g., NZXT Kraken X73), temperatures under load can reach 95–100°C.

3. Price: $550–600 (new) compared to $500 for Ryzen 9 7900X.

Use Cases: Who Needs This Processor?

- Professional Tasks: 3D rendering in Blender, compiling code, processing 8K video in DaVinci Resolve.

- Streaming: Encoding on x264 Medium without FPS loss in games.

- Gaming: 144+ FPS at 4K with RTX 4090 (Cyberpunk 2077, Alan Wake 2).

Practical Example: When rendering a 30-minute video in Premiere Pro (4K, H.265), the i9-13900F takes 15% less time than the Ryzen 9 7900X.

Comparison with Competitors

AMD Ryzen 9 7900X ($500):

- Pros: Better energy efficiency, integrated RDNA 2 GPU.

- Cons: 12 cores versus 24 for Intel, trailing in multi-threaded tasks (~20%).

AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D ($700):

- Pros: 3D V-Cache for gaming (+15% FPS in CS2, Starfield).

- Cons: Higher price, challenges in optimizing hybrid architecture.

Conclusion: The i9-13900F excels in productivity tasks but lags behind in gaming compared to AMD's top 3D models.

Practical Assembly Tips

1. Cooling:

- Minimum: Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut thermal paste + tower cooler (Noctua NH-D15).

- Optimal: 360 mm liquid cooling (Lian Li Galahad II).

2. Case: Choose models with good ventilation (Lian Li Lancool III, Fractal Design Torrent).

3. Upgrades:

- NVMe PCIe 5.0 (Samsung 990 Pro 2TB — $250) for write speeds of 12+ GB/s.

- GPU level of RTX 4080 or higher.

Final Conclusion: Who Should Consider the i9-13900F?

This processor is the choice for professionals and enthusiasts who need maximum multi-threaded performance:

- Video editors, 3D designers, programmers.

- Streamers combining gaming and encoding.

- Those planning to upgrade to PCIe 5.0 devices.

Why this one? The balance of price ($550–600) and performance in productivity tasks remains unmatched even in 2025. However, for pure gaming, it’s better to consider the Ryzen 9 7950X3D or Core i9-14900K with integrated GPU.

Basic

Label Name

Intel

Platform

Desktop

Launch Date

January 2023

Model Name

The Intel processor number is just one of several factors - along with processor brand, system configurations, and system-level benchmarks - to be considered when choosing the right processor for your computing needs.

i9-13900F

Code Name

Raptor Lake

CPU Specifications

Total Cores

Cores is a hardware term that describes the number of independent central processing units in a single computing component (die or chip).

Total Threads

Where applicable, Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology is only available on Performance-cores.

Performance-cores

Efficient-cores

Max Turbo Frequency

Max Turbo Frequency is the maximum single-core frequency at which the processor is capable of operating using Intel® Turbo Boost Technology and, if present, Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 and Intel® Thermal Velocity Boost. Frequency is typically measured in gigahertz (GHz), or billion cycles per second.

5.60 GHz

Intel Turbo Boost Technology

Intel® Turbo Boost Technology dynamically increases the processor's frequency as needed by taking advantage of thermal and power headroom to give you a burst of speed when you need it, and increased energy efficiency when you don’t.

2.0

Intel Hyper-Threading Technology

Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology (Intel® HT Technology) delivers two processing threads per physical core. Highly threaded applications can get more work done in parallel, completing tasks sooner.

Yes

Intel Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 Frequency

Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 identifies the best performing core(s) on a processor and provides increased performance on those cores through increasing frequency as needed by taking advantage of power and thermal headroom. Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 frequency is the clock frequency of the CPU when running in this mode.

5.50 GHz

Intel Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0

Yes

L3 Cache

36 MB

CPU Socket

The socket is the component that provides the mechanical and electrical connections between the processor and motherboard.

FCLGA1700

Technology

Lithography refers to the semiconductor technology used to manufacture an integrated circuit, and is reported in nanometer (nm), indicative of the size of features built on the semiconductor.

Intel 7

TDP

65 W

Processor Base Power

The time-averaged power dissipation that the processor is validated to not exceed during manufacturing while executing an Intel-specified high complexity workload at Base Frequency and at the junction temperature as specified in the Datasheet for the SKU segment and configuration.

65 W

Maximum Turbo Power

The maximum sustained (>1s) power dissipation of the processor as limited by current and/or temperature controls. Instantaneous power may exceed Maximum Turbo Power for short durations (<=10ms). Note: Maximum Turbo Power is configurable by system vendor and can be system specific.

219 W

Max. Operating Temperature

Junction Temperature is the maximum temperature allowed at the processor die.

100°C

PCI Express Version

PCI Express Revision is the supported version of the PCI Express standard. Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (or PCIe) is a high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard for attaching hardware devices to a computer. The different PCI Express versions support different data rates.

5.0 and 4.0

Number of PCI Express Lanes

A PCI Express (PCIe) lane consists of two differential signaling pairs, one for receiving data, one for transmitting data, and is the basic unit of the PCIe bus. Max # of PCI Express Lanes is the total number of supported lanes.

Intel 64

Intel® 64 architecture delivers 64-bit computing on server, workstation, desktop and mobile platforms when combined with supporting software.¹ Intel 64 architecture improves performance by allowing systems to address more than 4 GB of both virtual and physical memory.

Yes

Instruction Set

The instruction set is a hard program stored inside the CPU that guides and optimizes CPU operations. With these instruction sets, the CPU can run more efficiently. There are many manufacturers that design CPUs, which results in different instruction sets, such as the 8086 instruction set for the Intel camp and the RISC instruction set for the ARM camp. x86, ARM v8, and MIPS are all codes for instruction sets. Instruction sets can be extended; for example, x86 added 64-bit support to create x86-64. Manufacturers developing CPUs that are compatible with a certain instruction set need authorization from the instruction set patent holder. A typical example is Intel authorizing AMD, enabling the latter to develop CPUs compatible with the x86 instruction set.

64-bit

PCI Express Configurations

PCI Express (PCIe) Configurations describe the available PCIe lane configurations that can be used to link to PCIe devices.

Up to 1x16+4 | 2x8+4

Memory Specifications

Memory Type

Intel® processors come in four different types: Single Channel, Dual Channel, Triple Channel, and Flex Mode. Maximum supported memory speed may be lower when populating multiple DIMMs per channel on products that support multiple memory channels.

Up to DDR5 5600 MT/s Up to DDR4 3200 MT/s

Max Memory Size

Max memory size refers to the maximum memory capacity supported by the processor.

192 GB

Memory Channels

The number of memory channels refers to the bandwidth operation for real world application.

Max Memory Bandwidth

Max Memory bandwidth is the maximum rate at which data can be read from or stored into a semiconductor memory by the processor (in GB/s).

89.6 GB/s

Miscellaneous

Intel Virtualization Technology (VT-x)

Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x) allows one hardware platform to function as multiple “virtual” platforms. It offers improved manageability by limiting downtime and maintaining productivity by isolating computing activities into separate partitions.

Yes

Intel Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d)

Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d) continues from the existing support for IA-32 (VT-x) and Itanium® processor (VT-i) virtualization adding new support for I/O-device virtualization. Intel VT-d can help end users improve security and reliability of the systems and also improve performance of I/O devices in virtualized environments.

Yes

Intel Standard Manageability (ISM)

Intel® Standard Manageability is the manageability solution for Intel vPro® Essentials platforms and is a subset of Intel® AMT with out-of-band management over Ethernet and Wi-Fi, but no KVM or new life cycle management features.

Intel® SSE4.1 | Intel® SSE4.2 | Intel® AVX2

Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology

Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® Technology is an advanced means of enabling high performance while meeting the power-conservation needs of mobile systems. Conventional Intel SpeedStep® Technology switches both voltage and frequency in tandem between high and low levels in response to processor load. Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® Technology builds upon that architecture using design strategies such as Separation between Voltage and Frequency Changes, and Clock Partitioning and Recovery.

Yes

Execute Disable Bit

Execute Disable Bit is a hardware-based security feature that can reduce exposure to viruses and malicious-code attacks and prevent harmful software from executing and propagating on the server or network.

Yes

Cache

CPU Cache is an area of fast memory located on the processor. Intel® Smart Cache refers to the architecture that allows all cores to dynamically share access to the last level cache.

36 MB Intel® Smart Cache

Intel AES New Instructions

Intel® AES New Instructions (Intel® AES-NI) are a set of instructions that enable fast and secure data encryption and decryption. AES-NI are valuable for a wide range of cryptographic applications, for example: applications that perform bulk encryption/decryption, authentication, random number generation, and authenticated encryption.

Yes

Intel Volume Management Device (VMD)

Intel® Volume Management Device (VMD) provides a common, robust method of hot plug and LED management for NVMe-based solid state drives.

Yes

Intel Boot Guard

Intel® Device Protection Technology with Boot Guard helps protect the system’s pre-OS environment from viruses and malicious software attacks.

Yes

Intel VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT)

Intel® VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT), also known as Second Level Address Translation (SLAT), provides acceleration for memory intensive virtualized applications. Extended Page Tables in Intel® Virtualization Technology platforms reduces the memory and power overhead costs and increases battery life through hardware optimization of page table management.

Yes

Intel Control-Flow Enforcement Technology

CET - Intel Control-flow Enforcement Technology (CET) helps protect against the misuse of legitimate code snippets through return-oriented programming (ROP) control-flow hijacking attacks.

Yes

Intel Deep Learning Boost (Intel DL Boost)

Yes

Intel OS Guard

Yes

Benchmarks

Geekbench 6

Single Core Score

2698

Geekbench 6

Multi Core Score

17010

Geekbench 5

Single Core Score

2039

Geekbench 5

Multi Core Score

18695

Passmark CPU

Single Core Score

4448

Passmark CPU

Multi Core Score

51600

Compared to Other CPU

Geekbench 6 Single Core

M4 Ultra

3978 +47.4%

Ryzen 9 PRO 7945

2852 +5.7%

Core i9-13900F

2698

Core i9-12900KF

2525 -6.4%

Snapdragon X Plus X1P-46-100

2375 -12%

Geekbench 6 Multi Core

M4 Ultra

32188 +89.2%

EPYC 4564P

18581 +9.2%

Core i9-13900F

17010

Xeon w7-2475X

14254 -16.2%

Core i9-12900

13001 -23.6%

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Core i9-14900KS

2536 +24.4%

Core i9-13900F

2039

Core i7-13705H

1870 -8.3%

Core i9-11900KF

1768 -13.3%

Ryzen 7 7700

1690 -17.1%

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Xeon Platinum 8280M

31330 +67.6%

Core i9-14900K

22580 +20.8%

Core i9-13900F

18695

EPYC 9174F

15524 -17%

Xeon E7-8893 v2

14123 -24.5%

Passmark CPU Single Core

Core Ultra 9 285K

5268 +18.4%

M3 Pro

4513 +1.5%

Core i9-13900F

4448

Core Ultra 5 225H

4139 -6.9%

Core i7-12700KF

4021 -9.6%

Passmark CPU Multi Core

EPYC 9224

62900 +21.9%

Core i9-13900KF

58685 +13.7%

Core i9-13900F

51600

Core Ultra 7 265

46618 -9.7%

EPYC 7402P

42899 -16.9%