Intel’s lengthy awaited Core i9-13900KS was unwrapped Thursday morning and can formally be the primary x86 client CPU to hit the 6GHz barrier. You pays a premium for the barrier-breaking privilege, because the chip will price $699 when it goes on sale at this time.

The 24-core Core i9-113900KS is actually a particular version model of the already launched (and unapologetically quick) Core i9-13900K. It options eight efficiency cores and 16 effectivity cores. The authentic Core i9-13900K may attain 5.8GHz on single-core hundreds, whereas the Core i9-13900KS will spherical that as much as a clean 6.0GHz on single-core hundreds.

“The Core i9-13900KS continues our 13th Gen Intel Core desktop processor family excellence, showcasing the new performance heights made possible by our performance hybrid architecture,” Intel Client Computing Group supervisor Marcus Kennedy mentioned in a press release. “Extreme gamers and enthusiasts can now push their everyday performance further than ever before with the first desktop processor in the PC industry to provide 6.0GHz speeds at stock.”

So how a lot does a 200MHz increase in turbo speeds purchase you in efficiency? On the face of it, the brand new Core i9-13900KS would possibly outpace the now plain-Jane 13900K by about 4 % in some duties. It’s additionally attainable the brand new KS chip would possibly supply a small benefit elsewhere, too. Companies sometimes kind CPUs based mostly on high quality, a course of referred to as “binning” that often means the the highest binned chips are the cream of the crop, which brings different qualities in addition to the perfect inventory speeds.

For Intel, nevertheless, it offers the corporate one thing to crow about over the competitors. Humans oddly care quite a bit in regards to the massive spherical numbers—it’s even mentioned that 6GHz is extra eye catching than, say, 6.2GHz to the typical particular person. In different phrases, it’s actually all psychological, but additionally some extent of satisfaction to each corporations who’ve been engaged in a slug fest for years over desktop processor efficiency.

The Core i9-13900KS will probably go toe-to-toe with AMD’s new Ryzen 9 7950X3D chip, which was introduced at CES. AMD has but to announce a value and availability date, giving Intel a transparent runway for its Core i9-13900KS when it goes on sale at this time.