Intel's Core i9-12900KS Alder Lake processor is coming in the next few months and we're starting to get some leaks about what it might be capable of. The allegedly 8+8 core CPU will feature a 5.5GHz clock speed, a base TDP as high as 150W, and cost between $780 and $792 at launch. That would make it one of the most expensive processors available today, but quite possibly the fastest too.
Intel's 12900K is currently the gaming king, offering eight performance cores alongside eight efficiency cores, for a total of 24 threads. It has fantastic single threaded and multi-threaded performance, boosting to 5.2GHz on one core and 5GHz on all cores. But it's clear that its 10-15% lead in gaming won't stand up to AMD's planned 5800X3D CPU which is set to land sometime in the next few months, so it's responding in kind, with a super-clocked, specially binned version of its 12900K. The 12900KS.
This is very much like the special 9900KS Intel released a few years ago when it was languishing behind AMD on performance and public mindshare, but this time at least it's building on a real success in the 12900K. The only problem is that this new version is going to be super expensive -- as much as a 16-core AMD Ryzen 5950X -- and its power demands could be extreme. The 12900K already demands at least 125W at base, and close to 250W when boosted. If the 12900KS has a base that's 25W higher, it seems likely it will start to close in on 300W to achieve its few hundred megahertz higher boost clock.
This is all to retain the gaming crown that AMD is threatening to steal, but with rumors of Zen 4 coming as soon as April, Intel may not have much of a leg to stand on.