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Intel Core i9-9900KS

Intel Core i9-9900KS in 2025: Is It Worth Considering?

Introduction

Despite being released in 2019, the Intel Core i9-9900KS continues to attract the attention of enthusiasts and users looking for budget solutions for specific tasks in 2025. This processor, based on the Coffee Lake architecture, remains relevant due to its unique performance. Let’s find out who it might be suitable for today and what pitfalls should be taken into account.

Key Specifications: Old but Powerful Hardware

Architecture and Process Technology

The processor is built on the Coffee Lake Refresh architecture (14 nm++), which appears outdated in 2025 compared to AMD and Intel’s 5-7 nm chips. However, the 14 nm process has allowed Intel to maximize the potential of this tried-and-true technology: 8 cores, 16 threads, a base frequency of 4.0 GHz, and a turbo boost up to 5.0 GHz across all cores. This makes it one of the fastest processors of its generation for single-threaded tasks.

Key Features

- High Clock Speed: Even in 2025, 5.0 GHz is a respectable figure for gaming and applications sensitive to IPC (instructions per clock).

- Overclocking Potential: With good cooling, some units can be overclocked to 5.2 GHz.

- Intel UHD Graphics 630: Integrated graphics suitable for office tasks or as a backup display output.

- L3 Cache 16 MB: Sufficient to minimize latency in games and productivity applications.

Performance

According to Geekbench 6 (2025):

- Single-Core: 1766 — comparable to Ryzen 5 7600X (1800-1850).

- Multi-Core: 8607 — falls short against modern 8-core processors (for example, the Core i5-13600K scores around ~12000).

Compatible Motherboards: Looking on the Secondary Market

Socket and Chipsets

The processor uses the LGA 1151 v2 socket, compatible only with 300-series chipsets:

- Z390: The best choice for overclocking (XMP support, improved VRM). Examples: ASUS ROG Maximus XI Hero (price in 2025: $150-200 for new leftovers).

- H370/B365: Suitable for basic builds without overclocking.

Selection Features

- BIOS: Ensure that the motherboard supports the 9th generation CPUs (BIOS version P4.20 and above is required for ASUS).

- VRM: For stable overclocking, choose boards with 8+ power phases (e.g., MSI Z390-A Pro).

Memory: DDR4 as a Budget Option

The processor officially supports DDR4-2666 MHz, but most Z390 boards allow memory overclocking to 3200-3600 MHz. In 2025, DDR4 is significantly cheaper than DDR5: a 32 GB kit (2x16) of DDR4-3200 costs $70-90 (Corsair Vengeance LPX), while a similar volume of DDR5-5200 costs $120-150.

Recommendations:

- For gaming: 16-32 GB DDR4-3200 with CL16 timings.

- For work: 32-64 GB DDR4-3600 (if the motherboard supports it).

Power Supply: Weighing the Watts

Processor TDP is 127 W, but power consumption can reach 200 W when overclocked. Considering the graphics card (for example, RTX 4070 with a TDP of 200 W), the minimum power supply wattage required is 650 W.

Examples:

- Corsair RM650x (80+ Gold): $90-110.

- be quiet! Straight Power 11 750W: $120.

Tips:

- Don't skimp on the power supply: cheap models may not perform reliably under peak loads.

- If planning to upgrade to a more powerful graphics card, choose a power supply with a margin (750-850 W).

Pros and Cons: Weighing the Risks

Pros:

- High single-threaded performance — relevant for older games (e.g., CS:2, World of Warcraft).

- Affordable price: $250-300 for a new processor (remaining stock).

- Compatibility with cheap DDR4.

Cons:

- Lack of PCIe 4.0/5.0 — NVMe drives are limited to 3.0 speeds (up to 3500 MB/s).

- High power consumption — electricity bills will be higher compared to Ryzen 7000.

- No support for new AVX-512 instructions.

Use Cases: Where Is the 9900KS Still Relevant?

1. Gaming: In titles where frequency matters more than multithreading (e.g., Dota 2, GTA V). With RTX 4060 at Full HD, expect 140+ FPS.

2. Work Tasks: Video editing in Premiere Pro, 3D rendering in Blender (but rendering will be 20-30% slower than with Ryzen 7 7700X).

3. Home Server: Thanks to its 8 cores and stability, the processor is suitable for virtualization and hosting.

Comparison with Competitors

- AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D ($300): Better for gaming (thanks to 3D V-Cache), but more expensive and requires an AM4 motherboard.

- Intel Core i5-13600K ($280): 14 cores (6P+8E), supports DDR5 and PCIe 5.0 — a clear favorite for 2025.

- Ryzen 5 7600X ($220): Newer, but has 6 cores versus 8.

Conclusion: The 9900KS falls short in multithreading but excels in price for those who already have an LGA 1151 platform.

Practical Assembly Tips

1. Cooling: Use an AIO cooler (e.g., Arctic Liquid Freezer II 240) or a tower cooler (Noctua NH-D15).

2. Case: Choose models with good ventilation (Lian Li Lancool 216).

3. Drives: Samsung 970 Evo Plus (PCIe 3.0) is an optimal choice without overpaying for PCIe 4.0.

Final Conclusion: Who Should Consider the i9-9900KS in 2025?

This processor is worth considering in two scenarios:

1. Upgrading an Old System: If you already have a Z390 motherboard and DDR4, the 9900KS will provide a performance boost without needing to replace the platform.

2. Budget Gaming Build: When you need to save on the processor to invest in a graphics card.

However, for new builds, it’s better to choose modern platforms (AM5 or LGA 1700) to avoid limiting future upgrades. The Intel Core i9-9900KS in 2025 is a niche solution for those who value the balance of price and performance for specific tasks.

Basic

Label Name

Intel

Platform

Desktop

Launch Date

October 2019

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.

i9-9900KS

Code Name

Coffee 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.

Basic Frequency

4.00 GHz

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.

5.00 GHz

Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 Frequency

5.00 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

L3 Cache

16 MB

CPU Socket

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

FCLGA1151

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.

14 nm

TDP

127 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.

3.0

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 | 2x8 | 1x8+2x4

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.

DDR4-2666

Max Memory Size

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

128 GB

Memory Channels

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

Bus Speed

8 GT/s

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).

41.6 GB/s

ECC Memory Supported

ECC Memory Supported indicates processor support for Error-Correcting Code memory. ECC memory is a type of system memory that can detect and correct common kinds of internal data corruption. Note that ECC memory support requires both processor and chipset support.

GPU Specifications

Integrated Graphics Model

An integrated GPU refers to the graphics core that is integrated into the CPU processor. Leveraging the processor's powerful computational capabilities and intelligent power efficiency management, it delivers outstanding graphics performance and a smooth application experience at a lower power consumption.

Intel® UHD Graphics 630

Graphics Base Frequency

Graphics Base frequency refers to the rated/guaranteed graphics render clock frequency in MHz.

350 MHz

Graphics Frequency

Graphics max dynamic frequency refers to the maximum opportunistic graphics render clock frequency (in MHz) that can be supported using Intel® HD Graphics with Dynamic Frequency feature.

1.20 GHz

Graphics Video Max Memory

64 GB

4K Support

Yes | at 60Hz

DirectX Support

DirectX* Support indicates support for a specific version of Microsoft’s collection of APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) for handling multimedia compute tasks.

Max Resolution (HDMI)

Max Resolution (HDMI) is the maximum resolution supported by the processor via the HDMI interface (24bits per pixel & 60Hz). System or device display resolution is dependent on multiple system design factors; actual resolution may be lower on your system.

4096 x 2304@24Hz

Max Resolution (DP)

Max Resolution (DP) is the maximum resolution supported by the processor via the DP interface (24bits per pixel & 60Hz). System or device display resolution is dependent on multiple system design factors; actual resolution may be lower on your system.

4096 x 2304@60Hz

Max Resolution (eDP - Integrated Flat Panel)

Max Resolution (Integrated Flat Panel) is the maximum resolution supported by the processor for a device with an integrated flat panel (24bits per pixel & 60Hz). System or device display resolution is dependent on multiple system design factors; actual resolution may be lower on your device.

4096 x 2304@60Hz

Number of Displays Supported

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.

16 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 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 Clear Video HD Technology

Intel® Clear Video HD Technology, like its predecessor, Intel® Clear Video Technology, is a suite of image decode and processing technologies built into the integrated processor graphics that improve video playback, delivering cleaner, sharper images, more natural, accurate, and vivid colors, and a clear and stable video picture. Intel® Clear Video HD Technology adds video quality enhancements for richer color and more realistic skin tones.

Yes

Intel Clear Video Technology

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 InTru 3D Technology

Yes

Intel OS Guard

Yes

OpenGL Support

OpenGL (Open Graphics Library) is a cross-language, multi-platform API (Application Programming Interface) for rendering 2D and 3D vector graphics.

4.5

Intel Quick Sync Video

Intel® Quick Sync Video delivers fast conversion of video for portable media players, online sharing, and video editing and authoring.

Yes

Benchmarks

Geekbench 6

Single Core Score

1766

Geekbench 6

Multi Core Score

8607

Geekbench 5

Single Core Score

1339

Geekbench 5

Multi Core Score

9061

Passmark CPU

Single Core Score

3040

Passmark CPU

Multi Core Score

19528

Compared to Other CPU

Geekbench 6 Single Core

Xeon w9-3475X

1990 +12.7%

Ryzen 7 7435HS

1890 +7%

Core i9-9900KS

1766

Ryzen 5 PRO 5675U

1678 -5%

Ryzen 5 3600X

1634 -7.5%

Geekbench 6 Multi Core

Core i9-7940X

9655 +12.2%

Xeon Gold 5415+

9117 +5.9%

Core i9-9900KS

8607

Ryzen 5 8540U

8172 -5.1%

Ryzen 7 7735U

7715 -10.4%

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Ryzen 7 5700GE

1464 +9.3%

Ryzen 7 7736U

1402 +4.7%

Core i9-9900KS

1339

Core i9-10900E

1295 -3.3%

Core i5-10600K

1258 -6%

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Xeon Silver 4310

10272 +13.4%

Core i9-13900H

9592 +5.9%

Core i9-9900KS

9061

Ryzen 9 PRO 6950HS

8438 -6.9%

Xeon E5-2698 v3

8011 -11.6%

Passmark CPU Single Core

Ryzen 9 5900HX

3196 +5.1%

Core i7-11600H

3106 +2.2%

Core i9-9900KS

3040

Xeon E-2278G

2942 -3.2%

Xeon w3-2423

2885 -5.1%

Passmark CPU Multi Core

Xeon Silver 4310T

20973 +7.4%

Core i5-1250P

20287 +3.9%

Core i9-9900KS

19528

Core i7-10700K

18892 -3.3%

Xeon E7-8880 v3

18244 -6.6%