Intel Allegedly Readies Pre-Binned Core i9-12900KS Alder Lake CPU, 5.2 GHz All Core Frequency Guaranteed

Intel is allegedly preparing a new & pre-binned variant of its flagship Gen Alder Lake CPU known as the Core i9-12900KS.

Videocardz claims that there is a pre-binned variant of the standard Core i9-12900K CPU in the works which will be branded as Core i9-12900KS. The 'S' stands for special edition and we have seen a few of those from Intel in the past with the last one being the Core i9-9900KS which we reviewed here.

That chip was released back in 2019 so it's been 2-generations since Intel hasn't released a new pre-binned chip themselves. Also, since Silicon Lottery has shut its doors, there's no other way to get binned CPUs aside from getting a large stock and sorting them by yourselves. It looks like Intel could target the niche overclocking market with this pre-binned variant that would offer better chip stability for higher clocks.

Intel Core i9-12900KS 16 Core / 24 Thread Desktop CPU

The Intel Core i9-12900KS will be the flagship chip in the 12th Gen Alder Lake Desktop CPU lineup. It will feature 8 Golden Cove cores and 8 Gracemont cores for a total of 16 cores (8+8) and 24 threads (16+8).

The P-cores (Golden Cove) will operate at a maximum boost frequency of up to 5.3 GHz with 1-2 active cores and 5.2 GHz with all-cores active while the E-cores (Gracemont) will operate at 3.90 GHz across 1-4 cores and up to 3.7 GHz when all cores are loaded. The CPU will feature 30 MB of L3 cache and TDP values are maintained at 125W (PL1) but it is unknown if the PL2 rating remains the same at 241W (MTP) or goes beyond 250W. Other specifications would include 30 MB of L3 cache.

The Intel Core i9-12900K has an MSRP of $589 US so we can definitely expect the Core i9-12900KS to be priced even higher. Intel could most likely show this chip during CES 2022 along with a range of other announcements so stay tuned for the 4th of January.