Intel Core i9-9900KS 5GHz (8C16T) CPU Review

1. Core i9-9900K On Steroids: The 5GHz Core i9-9900KS2. Overclocking Core i9-9900KS3. Testing Methodology4. CPU Tests: Cinebench R15 & R20, Blender5. CPU & Memory Tests: 7-Zip, Handbrake x264 & x2656. Memory Tests: Memory Bandwidth and Latency7. Gaming 1: 3DMark, Ashes, Deus Ex, Far Cry 5, GTA V8. Gaming 2: GRW, Hitman 2, SotTR, The Division 29. 1440p Gaming: Deus Ex, Far Cry 5, & The Division 210. Technical: Power Draw, Efficiency, Temperatures11. Closing Thoughts12. View All Pages

3DMark

Ashes Escalation

Ashes of the Singularity Escalation features is a well multi-threaded DX12 title that features a CPU-focused benchmark test. We use the game's built-in benchmark with quality set to Crazy.

Ashes of the Singularity Escalation is fairly well multi-threaded in its CPU-focused test. Despite its thread count deficit versus the AMD Ryzen 9 3900X, Intel’s Core i9-9900KS takes a comfortable victory. The performance lift over the 9900K is slim in this game.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

Despite its age, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided remains a demanding title even for modern hardware. We use the game's built-in benchmark with quality set to Ultra, MSAA disabled, and DX12 mode.

The 9900KS 5GHz eight-core chip hovers around the top spot in Deus Ex. The performance lead over the 300MHz slower 9900K is minor. However, the FPS advantage versus the Ryzen 3000 competitors is perhaps a little more noticeable for high refresh rate gamers.

Far Cry 5

We use the Far Cry 5 built-in benchmark with quality set to Ultra.

Far Cry 5 catapults the Core i9-9900KS to top position in our chart. Frequency is the key driver in this benchmark, so overclocking the 9900KS to 5.2GHz helps to open up an advantage versus our slightly slower 9900K.

Far Cry 5’s engine typically favours Intel hardware, and that’s exactly what we see when checking the Ryzen 3000 results. If you must game at ultra-high refresh rates in Far Cry 5, the Core i9-9900KS is a better option than AMD’s Ryzen 9 3900X.

Grand Theft Auto V

Grand Theft Auto V remains an immensely popular game for PC gamers and as such retains its place in our test suite. The DX11-built game engine is capable of providing heavy stress to a number of system components, including the GPU, CPU, and Memory.

We run the built-in benchmark using a 1080p resolution and generally Maximum quality settings (including Advanced Graphics).

Grand Theft Auto V is another title that tends to favour Intel’s frequency-rich processors. We see the Core i9-9900KS boosted to top position thanks to its frequency advantages stock versus stock and overclocked versus overclocked.

Compared to the stock Ryzen 9 3900X, the 5GHz Core i9-9900KS offers 12% higher average FPS which, importantly for high refresh rate gamers, puts the Intel chip past 120 FPS on average.

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