Well, Intel’s latest Core i9-11900K 8 Core Rocket Lake benchmarks have just leaked through a Chinese TechTuber and the results are a mix for the 11th generation flagship. The difference between these and the previous benchmarks is that the previous results were evaluated using an ES chip, while the most recent benchmarks are performed on a QS chip that must be close to the retail unit.
Intel Core i9-11900K vs Core i9-10900K 5.2 GHz overclocking benchmarks leak – 8 cores Rocket Lake flagship only faster in single core applications, lacking in games and multi-threaded performance
The Intel Core i9-11900K is now confirmed as the 11th generation CPU. The company showed some performance figures in games where it was overtaking the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X CPU by up to 8%, but we always advise you to take official performance metrics with caution. So, here we are with the latest results that were made with a QS chip that eliminates the stuck PCIe bug that was a problem with ES chips. As such, the game performance you are seeing here should be close to the real thing.
Intel Core i9-11900K 8 Core and 16 Thread Rocket Lake desktop CPU specifications
The Intel Core i9-11900K will be the flagship of the 11th generation Rocket Lake Desktop CPU. The chip will have 8 cores and 16 threads. This will result in 16 MB of L3 cache (2 MB per core) and 4 MB of L2 cache (512 KB per core). The CPU has a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of up to 5.2 GHz (1 core) and 4.80 GHz (all core).
The chip will also have Thermal Velocity Boost, which should provide a 100 MHz jump at the maximum clock frequency. This should lead to a single core 5.3 GHz boost clock, making it the first CPU to reach such a high frequency out of the box. However, remember that regardless of whether you use Cypress Cove cores, the Core i9-11900K will have lower cores and threads than the Intel Core i9-10900K. This is partly due to the backporting of Cypress Cove on the refined 14 nm process node.
The CPU is said to have a first stage power limit of 125W, which is standard for an Intel SKU, and the second stage power limit or PL2 is rated at 250W. This means that by reaching its advertised maximum clock speed, the CPU could in fact be extracting that amount of watts from the PSU, making it one of the most energy-efficient 8-core chips ever produced. This may also explain why Intel has made no more than 10 cores and 20 threads in its 11th generation line, as it would be a power hungry monster chip breaking even beyond the 250W limit.
11th generation Rocket Lake Desktop CPU line specifications (preliminaries):
| CPU name | Colors / Threads | Base Clock | Boost Clock (1-Core) | Boost Clock (All-Core) | Cache | Graphics | TDP (PL1) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core i9-11900K | 8/16 | 3.50 GHz | 5.30 GHz | 4.80 GHz | 16 MB | Intel Xe 32 EU (256 cores) | 125W |
| Core i9-11900 | 8/16 | 1.80 GHz | 4.50 GHz | 4.00 GHz | 16 MB | Intel Xe 32 EU (256 cores) | 65W |
| Core i9-11900T | 8/16 | TBC | TBC | TBC | 16 MB | Intel Xe 32 EU (256 cores) | 35W |
| Core i7-11700K | 8/16 | 3.60 GHz | 5.00 GHz | 4.60 GHz | 16 MB | Intel Xe 32 EU (256 cores) | 125W |
| Core i7-11700 | 8/16 | 2.50 GHz | 4.90 GHz | TBC | 16 MB | Intel Xe 32 EU (256 cores) | 65W |
| Core i7-11700T | 8/16 | TBC | TBC | 16 MB | Intel Xe 32 EU (256 cores) | 35W | |
| Core i5-11600K | 6/12 | TBC | 4.90 GHz | 4.60 GHz | 12 MB | Intel Xe 32 EU (256 cores) | 125W |
| Core i5-11600 | 6/12 | TBC | TBC | TBC | 12 MB | Intel Xe 32 EU (256 cores) | 65W |
| Core i5-11600T | 6/12 | TBC | TBC | TBC | 12 MB | Intel Xe 32 EU (256 cores) | 35W |
| Core i5-11500 | 6/12 | TBC | TBC | TBC | 12 MB | Intel Xe 32 EU (256 cores) | 65W |
| Core i5-11500T | 6/12 | TBC | TBC | TBC | 12 MB | Intel Xe 32 EU (256 cores) | 35W |
| Core i5-11400 | 6/12 | 2.60 GHz | 4,400 GHz | 4.20 GHz | 12 MB | Intel Xe 24 EU (192 colors) | 65W |
| Core i5-11400T | 6/12 | TBC | TBC | TBC | 12 MB | Intel Xe 24 EU (192 colors) | 35W |
Intel Core i9-11900K 8 Core vs Core i9-10900K 10 Core CPU benchmarks with 5.2 GHz overclocking
Going straight to the performance numbers, both CPUs were tested at an overclocking frequency of 5.2 GHz on all cores. Note that the Intel Core i9-11900K features an entirely new architecture, but has 2 cores less than the Core i9-10900K, which has an improved Skylake architecture. Both processors were tested on a Z490 motherboard and the memory shown was 16 GB DDR4-3600 due to a lock on Rocket Lake. The Core i9-11900K voltage was set to automatic and reached 1.48 V. A chiller was required to maintain the 5.2 GHz overclock.
Comparisons of Intel Core i9-11900K vs Core i9-10900K 5.2 GHz OC application:
On CPU-z, the Intel Core i9-11900K is 11% faster than Core i9-10900K in single-core tests, but it ends up 12% slower in multi-core tests. In Cinebench R15, the Intel Core i9-11900K once again takes a 12% lead over the Core i9-10900K, but it also ends 12% slower in multi-core testing. The results of Cinebench R20 and Cinebench R23 show a 16% gain for Core i9-11900K over its Core i9 predecessor, but again, when it comes to multi-threaded performance, the CPU is no match for its predecessor.
At 1080p x264, the Intel Core i9-11900K loses to the Core i9-10900K at 5 FPS. The same is true for the V-Ray, where the Core i9-10900K surpasses the Core i9-11900K by another 14 MPaths. Moving on to the results of 3DMark, our friend from Twitter, Harukaze5719, compiled a graph that compares the performance of Core i9-11900K and Core i9-10900K in all tests mentioned. The Core i9-11900K loses to the 10th generation flagship in all tests.
Intel Core i9-11900K vs Core i9-10900K 5.2 GHz OC 3DMark Benchmarks:
Finally, we have performance tests in games and the results here are disheartening for the flagship of Rocket Lake. The Intel Core i9-11900K appears to be only slightly better or on par with the Core i9-10900K, but there are also titles that show reduced performance compared to the Core i9-10900K. Previous benchmarks also showed similar performance numbers and mentioned how hot and energy-hungry the Rocket Lake CPU will be.
Gaming market comparisons for Intel Core i9-11900K vs Core i9-10900K 5.2 GHz OC:
As we reported, Intel Rocket Lake CPUs will ship months after the 500 series cards that will be available on January 11th. CPUs are expected to be announced at CES 2021, but a heavy launch is not planned until March-April.