A huge hard work to check and kind Intel Raptor Lake CPUs by their overclocking ability has led to some surprising success. Igor’s Lab, with the assist of MIFCOM, has tested about 500 of Intel’s hottest (opens in new tab) 13th Gen processors to discover out regardless of whether they’re overclocking naturals or silicon saps. From this data, it truly is drawn the conclusion that, amazingly, the Main i9 13900KF could be a single of the finest overclockers this generation. Even beating the pricier Core i9 13900K (opens in new tab).
The extremely advanced lithographic method that etches immensely complex layouts on to silicon is incredibly exact nowadays, but it is nevertheless not excellent. Minuscule distinctions between unique dies can see a person CPU accomplishing much better than one more when it will come to overclocking. In quick, some CPUs are simply designed superior than others.
Admittedly, the times of close to-excellent CPUs running hundreds, if not thousands, of megahertz a lot quicker than a further of the identical design are long long gone. But there are still so-identified as ‘golden samples’—CPUs that get to overclocking greater than other folks. Regardless of whether you get 1 is largely based on luck of the draw, even though you can engage in the odds in your favour, as Igor’s Lab studies (by way of Tom’s Components (opens in new tab)).
The initial batch of exam outcomes to be posted compares the Main i9 13900K and the Core i9 13900KF—the latter remaining the slightly stripped back variant of the Main i9 13900K with out any onboard graphics (iGPU). The outcomes review these two chips using Asus’s very own Silicon Prediction (SP) perform on its motherboards. This is basically a score of any provided chip’s overclocking prospective, largely dependent on a voltage curve set for every CPU at the manufacturing facility.
The better the SP benefit, the far better a chip’s overclocking prospective.
The benefits from the massive batch take a look at are rather stunning. The iGPU-a lot less Main i9 13900KF is frequently extra likely to have a better put together SP worth (the two P-core and E-core values combined) than the a lot more costly Core i9 13900K, at 101.1 to 99.6, respectively.
This is not the consequence I was expecting, but I suppose it does make feeling why this may be the situation. Intel is binning its CPUs to assure that the very best dies go into the most highly-priced chips, but maybe what we’re observing listed here is the product of taking away the iGPU from the equation.
Get, for illustration, a Raptor Lake CPU die fresh off the wafer at Intel’s fab facility in Israel (opens in new tab). The max configuration for Raptor Lake is in an 8+16 (P-cores and E-cores), which suggests only the flawlessly useful dies conclusion up in the Main i9 13900K. If some E-cores do not purpose on the die, it is destined for a Main i7 or beneath processor. If some P-cores aren’t performing, it is really likely headed to a Main i5 or under. If all is doing the job properly, it can be probable likely to be trapped into a Main i9.
Still for the Main i9 13900K, Intel also needs a completely purposeful iGPU on board. Without that performing as intended, the die ends up in the Main i9 13900KF. You could have a wildly remarkable CPU part on a die yet no working GPU and it’ll stop up in the Main i9 13900KF.
The other point to look at is that the definitely greatest Raptor Lake dies, the kinds with all the cores functioning and a performing GPU, will be binned not only for the Core i9 13900K but also the lately produced Core i9 13900KS (opens in new tab). That chip hasn’t been factored into these benefits as it only just released last week, but properly the Core i9 13900KS is produced up of the ideal dies out of the Raptor Lake manufacturing line.
In essence, Intel’s skimming the best dies off the prime of the Core i9 13900K stack for the Core i9 13900KS. It really is that binning course of action that you are shelling out an added $100 for.
That could be yet again why we see the Core i9 13900KF conclusion up with increased SP scores, and consequently the chance of far better overclocking prospective. The Main i9 13900KF is the conclusion of the street for some CPU dies, whilst the Main i9 13900K is not.
In the second wave of benefits (opens in new tab), Igor’s Lab compares the Core i7 13700K and Main i7 13700KF, and the Core i5 13600K and Main i5 13600KF.
And again, there is a lot likely on to communicate about.
For starters, the Core i7 13700K actually has a decrease regular SP value at 82.9 than the Core i7 13700KF at 83.5. Nonetheless, the K-series chip facts exhibits a substantially broader distribute of functionality, equally above and below the common benefit. A handful of chips display a value previously mentioned 90, though a lot of sit under 80.
The Main i7 13700KF is significantly much more possible to have a middling SP benefit. Not a single chip examined provided an SP worth over 90, and by significantly the most common benefit was 86. There ended up much less lessen scoring chips much too.
In which matters get even more appealing is the Core i5 13600K (the ideal gaming CPU (opens in new tab), in our impression) as opposed to the Core i5 13600KF. Here the correct reverse is true the Core i5 13600K has a increased average SP benefit at 81.8 and there is certainly considerably less variance in scores chip-to-chip. The Core i5 13600KF has, on common, an SP benefit of 78.5. Even so, some golden samples provided particular person SP values much higher than the finest Core i5 13600K samples, and some scores far lessen, way too.
Overclocking is not as massively impactful to true-earth efficiency as it at the time was, and it is really not likely that a couple of SP factors will web you any acquire on your Computer. But for the diehard hobbyist overclocker, it truly is not usually you get so a great deal information as this. Which CPU stands a far better prospect of profitable the so-called silicon lottery is frequently based mostly on anecdotal studies from other overclockers. To get this substantially data, which extra or considerably less lays out the most effective way to acquire the silicon lottery, is a excellent glimpse into how the binning method at Intel capabilities to different out a generation’s worth of processor dies.