Intel announces new 13th generation Raptor Lake CPUs

Intel unveiled its first 13th Generation Core processors to the world at the Intel Innovation 2022 event, introducing the top-of-the-line i9-13900K CPU. Intel has so far shown only six of its 13th generation processors, but says its 13th generation desktop family will consist of 22 processors. This announcement is interesting because it comes just days after AMD announced its desktop-class CPUs, setting the tone for the epic semiconductor battle coming in October.

Intel 13th Generation Processors: Specifications and Features

Intel has revealed that its 13th generation processors are built on an upgraded version of the Intel 7 process previously used in 12th generation processors. Although the manufacturing process is the same, the new processors have many improvements, including increased power efficiency and increased core counts.

For example, the new Core i9 CPU is now available with up to 24 cores (8P cores and 16E cores) and an increased boost clock of 5.6 GHz , giving the new chip a 15% improvement in single-threaded tasks and up to multi-threaded workloads. improved by 41%.

Intel is also incorporating some other important additions into the new chip. First, the amount of cache has increased, with L2 cache increasing from 1MB to 2MB per P core and from 2MB to 4MB per E core group .

The new chip also has increased support for PCIe Gen 5.0, with up to 16 lanes running on the processor. Finally, the new processors have increased RAM speeds with support for DDR5-5600 and DDR5-5200, an improvement over the 12th generation CPU’s maximum limit of DDR5-4800.

Improved Intel Speed ​​Optimizer, Intel Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) 3.0 ecosystem, and Intel Dynamic Memory Boost are also supported.

Intel 700 Series Chipset: Specifications and Features

In addition to Raptor Lake CPUs, Intel also launched new Intel 700 series chipsets. It includes a number of improvements over the 600-series chipsets, including eight additional PCIe Gen 4.0 lanes, bringing the total number of PCIe lanes to 28 and increasing the count. Adding a USB 3.2 (20gbps) port and DMI Gen 4.0 support increases chipset-to-CPU throughput for faster access to peripherals and the network.

Additionally, Intel also revealed that the new 13th generation CPUs will be backward compatible. This means you can put newer processors on older 600 series motherboards.

Price and availability

Intel has announced that its first six desktop “K” processors and Z790 motherboards will be available starting October 20th. Intel also said this release date also applies to pre-built desktop systems sold by third-party OEMs.

Moving on to the pricing structure, despite rumors of a price increase, the top-of-the-line i9-13900k will be available for $589 , the same price as the i9-12900K at launch. The i9 variant is followed by the $409 i7-13700K . At the lower end of the spectrum is the Core i5-13500K, which is scheduled to hit retail stores for $319. Intel also showed off a KF version of the chip at the event, which does not include an integrated graphics processor. The i9-13900KF will be available for $564 and the i7-13700KF for $384.

The new Intel 13th Generation processors arrive at a very interesting time, as they come just 10 months after the release of the 12th Generation processors. However, AMD processors have punched well above their weight in recent years, and rapid improvements from Intel were expected. Can 13th generation processors hold up to the competition? We’ll find out on October 20th. So what do you think about Intel’s 13th generation announcement? Are you as excited as we are? Let us know in the comments section below.