Intel is expanding its range of desktop processors from the Core i-13000 series – the manufacturer is now presenting 16 CPUs at the CES 2023 technology fair, including six particularly energy-saving 35-watt models. For all CPUs, however, the following applies: Raptor Lake with the current Raptor Cove cores is guaranteed only in the top models. Underneath, Intel also continues to use the old Alder Lake dies.
For desktop PCs, the usual range comes from the Core i3-13100F to the Core i9-13900. All models below the already available Core i5-13600K(F) are specified in such a way that Intel can continue to use the earlier Alder Lake dies. This primarily means that the level 2 caches have been reduced from 2 to 1.25 MB per CPU core. The manufacturer uses the different dies depending on availability, but does not expect any performance differences due to the alignment.
The performance cores are therefore hardly faster than in the 12000 models; only the clock frequency increases slightly. The Core i5-13600, for example, is 200 MHz faster than its predecessor, the Core i5-12600, with a maximum turbo of 5.0 GHz. All new Core i5 CPUs, like the Core i9 and Core i7, use additional efficient cores for this – even the Core i5-13400(F) uses four such E-Cores and thus becomes a ten-core processor.
Especially in the price range up to 200 euros, Intel is one step ahead of AMD. AMD has the six-core Ryzen 5 5600X (from €172) and recently the eight-core Ryzen 7 5800X (from €199) has been discounted.
Meanwhile, there is no upgrade worth mentioning for Intel’s entry-level CPUs. The Core i3-13100 and its GPU-less sister model, the Core i3-13100F, remain quad-cores that now peak at 4.5 GHz instead of 4.3 GHz.
price increases
Compared to the previous K models, the newly introduced 13000 series processors are the more reasonable models, in particular because of their moderate thermal design power (TDP) of 65 watts. In return, they lose some of the base clock, but the turbo clock frequencies are still high. The processors are also cheaper: for example, the Core i9-13900F has a suggested retail price of $524, while the Core i9-13900KF is priced at $564.
Compared to the previous series, prices have gone up across the board, especially when you consider the original retail price recommendations. At the time of presentation at the beginning of 2022, Intel named an RRP of 464 US dollars for the Core i9-12900F, but the Ark company database already contains adjusted prices – in the case of the Core i9-12900F, starting at $510. MSRPs for the 13000 models are mostly $10 to $14 higher; the only exceptions are the Core i3.
(mma)
