Intel is refreshing its 13th generation Raptor Lake desktop processors with the new 14th generation lineup, led by the flagship Intel Core i9-14900K CPU. This launch comes just one year after the initial Raptor Lake introduction, representing an optimization of the existing architecture rather than a brand new generation. The i9-14900K aims to push the limits of gaming and content creation performance for enthusiasts, and with some incredible specs, it makes a strong case, especially for those who want raw performance.

Headlining the 14th gen series is the i9-14900K, featuring a maximum turbo boost frequency of 6.0 GHz, a first for a mass-produced Intel CPU. This represents a 200 MHz increase over the previous i9-13900K. Intel is also bumping up the core counts on its i7 model, with the i7-14700K now featuring eight performance cores and 12 efficiency cores for a total of 20 cores. 

These new 14th-gen chips use the existing LGA1700 socket and are compatible with 600 and 700 series motherboards through a BIOS update. DDR5 memory and PCIe Gen 5 are still supported. However, the architecture remains fundamentally unchanged from the 13th gen. While not a major architectural overhaul, the i9-14900K aims to push desktop CPU performance to new heights. 

The Intel Core i9-14900K represents the new flagship desktop processor from Intel, building on the hybrid performance and efficiency core design first introduced with Alder Lake. The i9-14900K is fabricated on Intel’s second-generation 10nm process, referred to as Intel 7. This refined 10nm process allows for higher clock speeds and power efficiency compared to the previous 12th-generation Alder Lake chips.

At the heart of the i9-14900K are eight high-performance Raptor Cove cores, which feature hyperthreading support for 16 threads. These Raptor Cove P-cores have been optimized for single-threaded workloads with high clock speeds up to 6.0 GHz. They are paired with 16 Gracemont efficiency cores, also with hyperthreading for a total of 32 additional threads. In total, the Intel Core i9-14900K boasts 24 cores and 32 threads.

The 24 cores share 36MB of L3 cache, which is instrumental in speeding up data transfer between the P-cores and E-cores. Each Raptor Cove P-core has 2MB of L2 cache, while each Gracemont E-core has 1.25MB L2 cache. This amounts to a total of 32MB of L2 cache distributed across all the cores.

In terms of memory support, the Intel Core i9-14900K supports the latest DDR5 RAM up to DDR5-5600 speeds. It also supports PCIe Gen 5, providing up to 128GB/s bi-directional bandwidth for ultrafast SSD storage and graphics. The thermal design power (TDP) is rated at 125W base power, with 253W maximum turbo power.

Architecturally, Raptor Lake provides incremental optimizations over Alder Lake. This includes a smarter thread scheduler for workloads between P- and E-cores, a larger L2 cache per core, and higher clock speeds. While not a major overhaul, Raptor Lake aims to extract more performance out of the proven hybrid core design.

“In terms of memory support, the Intel Core i9-14900K supports the latest DDR5 RAM up to DDR5-5600 speeds.”

For enthusiasts, the i9-14900K pushes the limits of x86 desktop CPU performance. The high P-core clocks and increased multi-threaded scaling from the E-cores make it a beast for gaming, content creation, and productivity workloads. While meteorically more power-hungry, it sits at the apex of what’s possible on desktops today.

The Build

To evaluate the performance of the Intel Core i9-14900K, I used our high-end test bench that ensures we can push the system for testing while not running into bottlenecks that could skew our results. For the motherboard, I chose the Asus ROG Strix Z790-E Wifi based on the robust power delivery and extensive overclocking options. To feed the CPU’s appetite for power, an NZXT 360 AIO cooler similar to what we tested in our most recent AMD test builds.

32GB of Kingston Fury DDR5 memory clocked at 6000 MT/s provided fast bandwidth for the i9-14900K’s dual-channel memory controller. For graphics, I utilized a founders edition NVIDIA RTX 4080 to produce GPU-limited scenarios and show maximum gaming performance while ensuring the GPU does not become a bottleneck for any benchmark.

“Headlining the 14th gen series is the i9-14900K, featuring a maximum turbo boost frequency of 6.0 GHz, a first for a mass-produced Intel CPU.”

Storage came from a Samsung 980 Pro PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD, which can saturate the bandwidth from the i9-14900K’s Gen5 lanes. A NZXT C1200 Gold PSU powered the system to deliver ample clean power even when overclocking, with the system running the latest version of  Windows 11 Pro updated with the latest patches to enable performance optimizations. Motherboard BIOS, chipset drivers, GPU drivers, and other firmware were also kept updated to their newest versions.

As with last year’s 13th-gen range of Intel CPUs, the main focus of this review is on how the new i9-14900K would perform for gaming and content creation. To get an accurate idea, we put it through a series of tests with the latest titles and Adobe software. This allowed us to evaluate real-world performance without getting lost in spec sheet details. 

Benchmarks

As we did last year, we started things out with our CPU-Z benchmarks. The Intel flagship i9-14900K posts impressive scores, though not dramatically higher than its i9-13900K predecessor. The i9-14900K scored 919/16698 compared to the i9-13900K’s 885/16600, with both above the Ryzen 9 7950X (785/15872). The Intel Core i5-14600K CPU did slightly better than the i5-13600K, although this is very much an incremental bump of only a little over 100 points.

While synthetic benchmarks provide one data point, real-world usage matters more. Our testing shows the i9-14900K does deliver gains over the 13900K in both gaming and creation tasks, but the margins are smaller than the generational leap from the 12th to 13th gen.

Looking at Cinebench R23, the potential power of the 14th Gen Intel CPUs becomes apparent. At a glance, the i9-14900K is incrementally faster than the previous flagship i9-13900K, showing over a 5% advantage in multi-threaded performance given sufficient cooling. In our testing, the i9-14900K scored 38,981 points in R23 multi-core compared to 37,189 for the 13900K—a slight gain from a mid-generation refresh.

Single-core speed was largely similar, with the i9-14900K edging out the 13900K by 2%. The odd thing from our tests is the fact the Intel Core i5-14600K actually saw a slight decrease in our Cinebench testing, which proved consistent over a few tests.

However, keeping the i9-14900K from throttling required serious cooling—our 360mm AIO still saw temperatures hit 95C at stock settings. The increased power consumption is the tradeoff for higher multi-core turbo speeds. Comparatively, the 13900K stayed 15C cooler with a 280mm AIO in the same test. So prospective i9-14900K owners should budget for high-end cooling to realize the full performance.

Gaming Benchmarks

Moving to gaming, the i9-14900K delivers slight improvements over previous generations. In our testing across a suite of AAA titles at 1080p, the i9-14900K was consistently faster than the i9-13900K. For example, in Hitman 3, the i9-14900K was 10% faster, averaging 225fps over the 13900K’s 203fps, with F1 2022 only seeing a 1.3% increase in performance.

Looking at Cyberpunk 2077, there was little difference with the new generation, only showing a 2% increase moving from the Intel i9-13900K to the new i9-14900K, something that most people will not notice. For people looking for a gaming CPU, the Intel Core i5-14600K still manages to find a place at the table, especially for average gamers, delivering solid performance, especially for the level of power it consumes.

Comparatively, the Intel Core i9-14900K trades blows with AMD’s Ryzen 9 7800X3D, winning in some games while losing in others, and still manages to beat out both Intel chips in our Cyberpunk 2077 tests, and it keeping pace in games like F1 2022 and Hitman 3. While the i9-14900K may offer faster raw power, AMD has caught up considerably with the latest Ryzen offering, and for the price, it makes for a great choice, especially if you need to buy in fresh on a completely new build.

Both the i9-14900K and 7800X3D deliver extremely high frame rates far beyond what current GPUs can leverage, with the i5-14600K finding a place for average gamers looking to play the latest titles. At 1440p and 4K resolutions, the differences between the top flagship CPUs are reduced to only a few fps in most titles. For enthusiasts seeking the absolute fastest gaming CPU regardless of price, the i9-14900K is a top contender. But for mainstream gamers, the 13th generation is a solid option now that the 14th gen should push prices down, especially considering the near-equivalent performance. 

Content Creation

Jumping over to content creation, the Intel i9-14900K delivers strong but incremental performance improvements in Adobe Creative applications over the previous generation i9-13900K. In PugetBench for Photoshop, the i9-14900K scored 1726 points, just 1% faster than the 13900K. It remains approximately 10% faster than AMD’s Ryzen 9 7950X in this test. 

In Premiere Pro, the gains are similarly small at 2-5% over the 13900K. The i9-14900K finishes exporting a 4K video project only a few seconds faster than its predecessor. In PugetBench for After Effects, the i9-14900K is 4% faster than the 13900K.

We saw similar results in our Davinci Resolve and OBS tests, with both software packages seeing little to no improvement moving up to the 14th gen over the 13th gen. While the Intel Core i9-14900K CPU is excellent for creative work, owners of the 13900K would see little benefit in upgrading, given the minimal performance gains. For those building a new high-end system, the i9-14900K maintains Intel’s leadership in Adobe and content creation software over AMD. But the margins are not as significant as in previous generations.

Features

While everything has been incremental up to this point, Intel has introduced a new AI-assisted auto overclocking feature called Intel XTU AI Assist with the 14th-generation CPUs that can push your PC if you want to get the most out of your new CPU. This uses machine learning algorithms to analyze your specific CPU sample and recommend optimal overclocked settings tailored to your cooling solution and motherboard power delivery. 

“For enthusiasts, the i9-14900K pushes the limits of x86 desktop CPU performance.”

In testing, enabling AI Assist resulted in a modest overclock on our i9-14900K test sample. It did manage to push two of the P cores over 6.1GHz and the remaining one over 6.0GHz, but the system suffered noticeable heat issues, with even our NZXT 360 cooler struggling to keep the temperature below 95C, with Cinebench running and delivering good results before stalling due to thermal throttling, which ultimately wiped out any performance gains the increased speed offered.

Manual tuning can probably squeeze out a bit more performance, but AI Assist’s one-click approach is far simpler for most users. I just hope it wasn’t quite as aggressive. In theory, it removes the trial-and-error tweaking required for manual overclocking, and if Intel tweaks the software, it has the potential to be very exciting. For advanced enthusiasts, the AI suggestions are a good starting point for further refinement.

It should be noted that AI Assist currently only supports 14th-generation Core i9 models. Support for lower-tier CPUs will come later. It also requires a Z690 or Z790 motherboard, which limits current compatibility. The AI-assisted auto overclocking shows promise in making extra performance more accessible, but at least at the time of testing, it did not deliver a stable overclock, at least not one that I would recommend the average builder use on a daily basis.

Power

The Intel Core i9-14900K is rated for a 125W base power draw, with 253W maximum turbo power. In practice, power consumption regularly exceeds the 253W limit, especially when the CPU is unleashed with unlocked power limits.

In our testing, the i9-14900K consumed over 300W at stock settings in heavy workloads like Cinebench R23, peaking at 324W. With power limits removed, the power draw shot up to over 350W. This is significantly higher than competitor chips like the Ryzen 9 7950X, which peaked below 250W in the same tests. 

The immense power draw takes a heavy toll on thermals. Even with a beefy 360mm AIO cooler, the i9-14900K reached concerning temperatures nearing 100°C at stock settings. AMD’s 7950X peaked around 90°C in the same tests. Keeping the i9-14900K cool enough to sustain boost clocks will require one of the best air coolers or a high-end 360mm AIO, and it is a chip I would be careful trying to overclock consistently, especially if you want a stable system. 

“While the Intel Core i9-14900K CPU is excellent for creative work, owners of the 13900K would see little benefit in upgrading, given the minimal performance gains.”

If you must push your system to its limits, you will want to invest in parts that can take not only the draw but the heat and strain it may put on your system. The extreme power consumption also impacts overall system power requirements. Heavy-duty PSUs of 1000W or more are recommended to allow for overclocking headroom. High-end motherboards with robust VRMs are also a must to supply the i9-14900K under load.

The i9-14900K continues Intel’s legacy of delivering the most powerful consumer desktop CPUs. In both gaming and creative workloads, it either matches or exceeds the performance of AMD’s Ryzen 9 7950X. For gaming specifically, the Intel Core i9-14900K is a top contender, trading blows with AMD’s best and showing gains over the previous i9-13900K. The same is true for creative software and office needs, keeping Intel as a fantastic choice for a new build, ready to take on a range of tasks at top performance.

However, the i9-14900K’s Achilles heel is its power hunger and thermals. It requires premium cooling and power delivery to extract the full performance, limiting its accessibility. With how hot this CPU gets, it can be hard to justify pushing it with an overclock. For most users, last year’s i9-13900K delivers nearly equivalent speed and should save you a bit if you don’t need the absolute newest available. But for enthusiasts seeking the pinnacle of x86 performance regardless of power, the i9-14900K stands on top. It brings incremental but meaningful gains over the 13900K that reinforce Intel’s leadership.

While not revolutionary, the i9-14900K succeeds in pushing desktop CPU limits. It remains the choice for enthusiasts who want the utmost speed. Coming from 12th Gen Alder Lake, there is a notable reason to jump over to 14th gen, pushing the limits on your system while potentially able to keep many of the same parts, but for people already sitting with a Raptor Lake CPU, the incremental upgrade is not worth the cost. While an incredibly powerful CPU, the Intel i9-14900K is not necessarily the right choice for everyone.