Brief Overview

The Intel Core i9 10900K is the current flagship 10th gen chip. While there are faster processors out there aimed for “professional use”, this is the best Intel chip available for consumers right now. It’s a part of the relatively new i9 lineup that was introduced back in 2017. For a lot of people, the i9 processors have become a great option when the budget allows. We already know it’s going to be great for gaming, so that’s already a win for the 10900K.

Quick Specs

This Intel Core i9 10900K processor is a ten-core and twenty-thread chip. It is based on Intel’s Comet Lake architecture, which uses the same 14nm process we’ve seen beforehand. The socket is different this time around, so 9th gen motherboards are not compatible. Intel is using the LGA1200 socket here, and this will be compatible with upcoming Rocket Lake or 11th gen CPUs.

This processor has 16 PCIe Gen 3 lanes, and a max total draw power of 125W. This comet lake processor is compatible with H410, B460, H470, and Z490 motherboards. The base clocks are rated 3.7GHz, and it can boost up to 5.4GHz.

How Fast Is the 10900K?

Well, to put it simply, the 10900K is more than fast enough for most people. In fact, if you’re just getting it for gaming, it is likely a tad bit overkill. But if you need all of the performance you can possibly have, this isn’t a poor option at all. Intel’s terminology for boost clocks is a bit confusing, however, so we’ll quickly explain that. 

At stock, we’re looking at a base clock of 3.7GHz. The official spec is that this can boost up to 5.3GHz. With that said, most of the cores reach about 4.9 - 5.1GHz in single-core performance. However, one or two core can boost up to 5.3GHz. Of course, we’re talking about the highest speed on any core. To put it simply, we’re looking at an average of 4.9 - 5.1GHz, and with spikes to 5.3 GHz in single-core performance.

Of course, these speeds drop when it comes to all-core performance. Even then, the 10900K is no slouch, as the speeds reach about 4156MHz during a Blender All-Core benchmark. 

Gaming Performance

The 10900K scales beautifully when paired with a high-end GPU. If you have something like an RTX 2080, or a GPU from the newer 3000 series, you are in luck. We say this because the 10900K can easily keep up with those GPUs, and we’re confident that it is going to extremely futureproof down the line. 

If you’re gaming at 1440p at 144Hz or more, then pair a high-end GPU with the 10900K and you’ll be good for several years. Not to mention that the 10900K has the ability to hit even higher-clock speeds with some fine-tuning. This is an excellent gaming processor.

For example, when paired with a 2080 Ti, we’re looking at excellent performance. In games like Total War: Three Kingdoms and Hitman 2, we can easily hit 140fps in 1080p in the highest graphical presets. In games like F1 2020, The Divison 2, and Shadow Of The Tomb Raider, we’re looking at numbers around the 200 mark. 

With all of that said, it’s safe to say that the 10900K makes quick work of most of the games that you’d want to throw at it. It’s going to be a very capable chip even many years from now.

Productivity

This 10-core 20-thread processor is a beast, and it’s great for gaming, sure. But you’re not buying a powerful flagship CPU like this just for gaming. If you want to put all of the ten cores to good work, then productivity workloads are a great way to do just that. While Intel markets this as the best gaming processor, it’s not bad at productivity either.

In Blender, we’re looking at better render times than the 9900K, and this remains true for most of the tests. It’s great for things like Adobe Premiere, Photoshop, Code compilation, and much more. For the average consumer, this is more than enough power for both gaming, video editing, and more. 

Power Consumption

Keeping a power-hungry and strong processor cool isn’t always easy. However, managing the 10900K is not as difficult as many people expect. The chip draws about 130W of power when you crank it to the max. This is near the rated TDP of 125W given to us by Intel. Of course, if you want to get the most out of this chip, you’ll want a good cooler to handle it all. 

Final Thoughts

Overall, the 10900K is quite a strong processor when it comes to both gaming and productivity. For a lot of people, it might be a bit overkill for everyday usage. However, people who need those extra cores are going to be quite happy with your purchase. If you’re one of those people, think of the excellent gaming performance as the cherry on top.