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Intel Rocket Lake-S Review: Only 8 cores for the Core i9-11900K

All new? A lot of information about the Rocket Lake-S processors has already been made public, and now we make our own contribution. Whether or not Intel manages to overcome the 2-core deficit with its top-end model? Moreover, we also got our hands on the fastest 6-core chip from the new generation. Read our review to learn what kind of performance the new chips offer and whether or not AMD needs to start preparing for the worst.
Rocket Lake-S (source: Intel)
Rocket Lake-S (source: Intel)
Rocket Lake-S - Performance (source: Intel)
Rocket Lake-S - Performance (source: Intel)
Rocket Lake-S - Features (source: Intel)
Rocket Lake-S - Features (source: Intel)
Rocket Lake-S - Microarchitecture (source: Intel)
Rocket Lake-S - Microarchitecture (source: Intel)

The specifications sheets of the new Rocket Lake-S CPUs deserve more than a cursory look. Despite the fact that Rocket Lake-S processors are still manufactured on the 14-nm node, a lot has changed under the heat spreader. The old Skylake architecture has been supplanted by the new Sunny Cove architecture. We have already seen Sunny Cove cores in Intel’s Ice Lake-based mobile chips. One of the features of the new architecture is a larger L2 cache. Each core has gotten a bit larger, which is why the die size has increased. What is more, Intel has reworked the integrated graphics chip. It is now based on the Intel Iris Xe architecture and takes up a little more space. This is why this generation’s top-end model features only 8 cores. For comparison, the Intel Core i9-10900K offered 10 cores.

In this review, we are going to examine the Intel Core i9-11900K and the Intel Core i5-11600K. Both are K SKUs, which means that they come with an unlocked multiplier. Moreover, both chips come with integrated GPUs. The well-known naming scheme is preserved with this generation. There are also models without an iGPU and with a locked multiplier, which makes overclocking basically impossible. The current Rocket Lake generation still uses the LGA 1200 socket. Intel has also released a new high-end chipset (Z590) for its new CPUs. However, the new processors can be used with older 400-series motherboards as well, provided you get a BIOS update. Whether or not older boards will support new features will depend on the board maker. The only sure-fire way to get all the new features is to get the latest motherboard. This way, you will definitely be able to take advantage of the 20 PCIe 4.0 lanes that the CPUs offer. The lower-end chipsets have the following names: H570, B560 and H510. The main difference between the chipsets is memory overclocking, which is supported by all chipsets, except the H510. 

In the table below, you can see the most important Rocket Lake-S chips that Intel has released.

Overview of the Rocket Lake-S Core CPUs

Model Core/thread count Base clock Turbo boost 2.0 Turbo boost 3.0 TVB 1C/xC All core boost Memory Graphics TDP Price (MSRP)
Core i9-11900K 8/16 3.5 GHz 5.1 GHz 5.3 GHz 5.3 / 4.8 GHz 4.7 GHz DDR4-3200 UHD 750 125 watts €629
Core i9-11900KF 8/16 3.5 GHz 5.1 GHz 5.2 GHz 5.3 / 4.8 GHz 4.7 GHz DDR4-3200 - 125 watts €599
Core i9-11900 8/16 2.5 GHz 5.0 GHz 5.1 GHz 5.2 / 4.7 GHz 4.6 GHz DDR4-3200 UHD 750 65 watts €509
Core i9-11900F 8/16 2.5 GHz 5.0 GHz 5.1 GHz 5.2 / 4.7 GHz 4.6 GHz DDR4-3200 - 65 watts €479
Core i9-11900T 8/16 1.5 GHz 4.8 GHz 4.9 GHz - 3.7 GHz DDR4-3200 UHD 750 35 watts TBD
Core i7-11700K 8/16 3.6 GHz 4.9 GHz 5.0 GHz - 4.6 GHz DDR4-3200 UHD 750 125 watts €469
Core i7-11700KF 8/16 3.6 GHz 4.9 GHz 5.0 GHz - 4.6 GHz DDR4-3200 - 125 watts €439
Core i7-11700 8/16 2.5 GHz 4.8 GHz 4.9 GHz - 4.4 GHz DDR4-3200 UHD 750 65 watts €379
Core i7-11700F 8/16 2.5 GHz 4.8 GHz 4.9 GHz - 4.4 GHz DDR4-3200 - 65 watts TBD
Core i7-11700T 8/16 1.4 GHz 4.5 GHz 4.6 GHz - 3.6 GHz DDR4-3200 UHD 750 35 watts TBD
Core i5-11600K 6/12 3.9 GHz 4.9 GHz - - 4.6 GHz DDR4-3200 UHD 750 125 watts €299
Core i5-11600KF 6/12 3.9 GHz 4.9 GHz - - 4.6 GHz DDR4-3200 - 125 Watt watts
Core i5-11600 6/12 2.8 GHz 4.8 GHz - - 4.3 GHz DDR4-3200 UHD 750 65 watts €259
Core i5-11600T 6/12 1.7 GHz 4.1 GHz - - 3.5 GHz DDR4-3200 UHD 750 35 watts TBD
Core i5-11500 6/12 2.7 GHz 4.6 GHz - - 4.2 GHz DDR4-3200 UHD 750 65 watts €229
Core i5-11500T 6/12 1.5 GHz 3.9 GHz - - 3.4 GHz DDR4-3200 UHD 750 35 watts TBD
Core i5-11400 6/12 2.6 GHz 4.4 GHz - - 4.2 GHz DDR4-3200 UHD 730 65 watts €209
Core i5-11400F 6/12 2.6 GHz 4.4 GHz - - 4.2 GHz DDR4-3200 - 65 watts €179
Core i5-11400T 6/12 1.3 GHz 3.7 GHz - - 3.3 GHz DDR4-3200 UHD 730 35 watts TBD
Z500 chipset overview (source: Intel)
Z500 chipset overview (source: Intel)
Z500 chipset overview (source: Intel)
Z500 chipset overview (source: Intel)
Z500 chipset overview (source: Intel)
Z500 chipset overview (source: Intel)

Our Test System

We used the following hardware to perform our benchmarks and tests:

  • Raijintek Paean Benchtable
  • Intel Core i9-11900K, Intel Core i5-11600K
  • Asus Z590 ROG Maximus XIII Hero
  • Alphacool Eisbear 280 AiO
  • Nvidia Titan RTX
  • Corsair HX 1200X (power supply)
  • Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB (2x 16GB - DDR4-3200)
  • Intel Optane 905p
  • Microsoft Windows 10 Professional 64-Bit (Version 20H2)

Intel provided us with both CPUs, the RAM and the new Z590 motherboard. The Raijintek Paean bench comes from Caseking. For cooling we used the Alphacool Eisbear 280 AiO, which we received from Alphacool.

Intel Rocket Lake-S
Intel Rocket Lake-S
Intel Rocket Lake-S
Intel Rocket Lake-S
Intel Rocket Lake-S
Intel Rocket Lake-S
Intel Rocket Lake-S
Intel Rocket Lake-S
Intel Rocket Lake-S
Intel Core i9-11900K
Intel Core i9-11900K
Intel Core i5-11600K
Intel Core i5-11600K
Intel Core i9-11900K and Intel Core i5-11600K
Intel Core i9-11900K
Intel Core i9-11900K and Intel Core i5-11600K
Intel Core i5-11600K
Asus Z590 ROG Maximus XIII Hero
Asus Z590 ROG Maximus XIII Hero
Asus Z590 ROG Maximus XIII Hero
Asus Z590 ROG Maximus XIII Hero
Asus Z590 ROG Maximus XIII Hero
Asus Z590 ROG Maximus XIII Hero
Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB (2x 16GB - DDR4-3200)
Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB (2x 16GB - DDR4-3200)
Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB (2x 16GB - DDR4-3200)
Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB (2x 16GB - DDR4-3200)

CPU Benchmarks

Intel Core i9-11900K vs. Cinebench R15 1T
Intel Core i9-11900K vs. Cinebench R15 1T
Intel Core i5-11600K vs. Cinebench R15 1T
Intel Core i5-11600K vs. Cinebench R15 1T

When compared to Comet Lake-S chips, Rocket Lake-S CPUs are considerably more capable, which is quite surprising, given the fact that the Rocket Lake-S processors are manufactured using the same 14-nm node. AMD is much farther ahead with the 7-nm node. To make things fairer for Intel, we only included 6- and 8-core AMD processors in this review. However, in this direct comparison, AMD comes out ahead. AMD’s 6- and 8-core processors outperform their Intel counterparts. Nevertheless, it was still important for Intel to make these chips in order to narrow the considerable performance gap that existed between Comet Lake-S parts and Zen 3 processors. Now the Intel chips are only 5% behind their AMD counterparts, according to our cumulative synthetic benchmark results.

Now, we have to mention that the generational jump in performance is quite considerable. The Intel Core i9-10900K is able to beat the Core i9-11900K only in a few multi-core benchmarks. However, the gap in multi-core performance is very small, which is why the Core i9-11900K is an overall more capable chip. In our view, Intel has managed to overcome the 2-core deficit quite gracefully, especially given the fact that the Core i9-11900K provides up to 20% more performance in single-core workloads. It is worth mentioning that AMD offers 12- and 16-core CPUs in the consumer space. This is why it has a considerable performance lead here. To keep up with AMD in this area, Intel will have to switch to a smaller node so that it could produce processors with more cores on the die of the same size.

Intel Core i5-11600K

CPU-Z
CPU-Z
CPU-Z
CPU-Z
CPU-Z
CPU-Z
CPU-Z
HWiNFO

Intel Core i9-11900K

CPU-Z
CPU-Z
CPU-Z
CPU-Z
CPU-Z
CPU-Z
CPU-Z
HWiNFO
Performance Rating - Percent
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
R7 5800X, 3800 MHz
54.2 pt
Intel Core i9-11900K
i9-11900K, 3500 MHz
52.4 pt
Intel Core i9-10900K
i9-10900K, 3700 MHz
50.9 pt
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
R5 5600X, 3700 MHz
49.5 pt
Intel Core i5-11600K
i5-11600K, 3900 MHz
47.7 pt
Intel Core i5-10600K
i5-10600K, 4100 MHz
42.2 pt
Cinebench R15
CPU Single 64Bit
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
R7 5800X, 3800 MHz
266 Points +2%
Intel Core i9-11900K
i9-11900K, 3500 MHz
262 Points
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
R5 5600X, 3700 MHz
254 Points -3%
Intel Core i5-11600K
i5-11600K, 3900 MHz
242 Points -8%
Intel Core i9-10900K
i9-10900K, 3700 MHz
224 Points -15%
Intel Core i5-10600K
i5-10600K, 4100 MHz
205 Points -22%
CPU Multi 64Bit
Intel Core i9-10900K
i9-10900K, 3700 MHz
2620 Points +8%
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
R7 5800X, 3800 MHz
2616 Points +7%
Intel Core i9-11900K
i9-11900K, 3500 MHz
2436 Points
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
R5 5600X, 3700 MHz
1968 Points -19%
Intel Core i5-11600K
i5-11600K, 3900 MHz
1738 Points -29%
Intel Core i5-10600K
i5-10600K, 4100 MHz
1452 Points -40%
Cinebench R20
CPU (Single Core)
Intel Core i9-11900K
i9-11900K, 3500 MHz
647 Points
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
R7 5800X, 3800 MHz
625 Points -3%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
R5 5600X, 3700 MHz
601 Points -7%
Intel Core i5-11600K
i5-11600K, 3900 MHz
595 Points -8%
Intel Core i9-10900K
i9-10900K, 3700 MHz
532 Points -18%
Intel Core i5-10600K
i5-10600K, 4100 MHz
464 Points -28%
CPU (Multi Core)
Intel Core i9-10900K
i9-10900K, 3700 MHz
6381 Points +6%
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
R7 5800X, 3800 MHz
6068 Points +1%
Intel Core i9-11900K
i9-11900K, 3500 MHz
5997 Points
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
R5 5600X, 3700 MHz
4567 Points -24%
Intel Core i5-11600K
i5-11600K, 3900 MHz
4349 Points -27%
Intel Core i5-10600K
i5-10600K, 4100 MHz
3443 Points -43%
Cinebench R11.5
CPU Single 64Bit
Intel Core i9-11900K
i9-11900K, 3500 MHz
3.1 Points
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
R7 5800X, 3800 MHz
3.09 Points 0%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
R5 5600X, 3700 MHz
2.95 Points -5%
Intel Core i5-11600K
i5-11600K, 3900 MHz
2.87 Points -7%
Intel Core i9-10900K
i9-10900K, 3700 MHz
2.56 Points -17%
Intel Core i5-10600K
i5-10600K, 4100 MHz
2.19 Points -29%
CPU Multi 64Bit
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
R7 5800X, 3800 MHz
29.31 Points +10%
Intel Core i9-10900K
i9-10900K, 3700 MHz
29.03 Points +8%
Intel Core i9-11900K
i9-11900K, 3500 MHz
26.76 Points
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
R5 5600X, 3700 MHz
21.75 Points -19%
Intel Core i5-11600K
i5-11600K, 3900 MHz
19.32 Points -28%
Intel Core i5-10600K
i5-10600K, 4100 MHz
15.76 Points -41%
Cinebench R10
Rendering Single CPUs 64Bit
Intel Core i9-11900K
i9-11900K, 3500 MHz
14149 Points
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
R7 5800X, 3800 MHz
13039 Points -8%
Intel Core i5-11600K
i5-11600K, 3900 MHz
12957 Points -8%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
R5 5600X, 3700 MHz
12563 Points -11%
Intel Core i9-10900K
i9-10900K, 3700 MHz
10625 Points -25%
Intel Core i5-10600K
i5-10600K, 4100 MHz
9594 Points -32%
Rendering Multiple CPUs 64Bit
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
R7 5800X, 3800 MHz
83426 Points +3%
Intel Core i9-11900K
i9-11900K, 3500 MHz
80613 Points
Intel Core i9-10900K
i9-10900K, 3700 MHz
80495 Points 0%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
R5 5600X, 3700 MHz
69545 Points -14%
Intel Core i5-11600K
i5-11600K, 3900 MHz
64663 Points -20%
Intel Core i5-10600K
i5-10600K, 4100 MHz
51816 Points -36%
Blender - v2.79 BMW27 CPU
Intel Core i5-10600K
i5-10600K, 4100 MHz
302.4 Seconds * -59%
Intel Core i5-11600K
i5-11600K, 3900 MHz
264.5 Seconds * -39%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
R5 5600X, 3700 MHz
260.2 Seconds * -37%
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
R7 5800X, 3800 MHz
196.8 Seconds * -3%
Intel Core i9-11900K
i9-11900K, 3500 MHz
190.3 Seconds *
Intel Core i9-10900K
i9-10900K, 3700 MHz
167.3 Seconds * +12%
wPrime 2.10
32m
Intel Core i5-11600K
i5-11600K, 3900 MHz
4.919 s * -24%
Intel Core i5-10600K
i5-10600K, 4100 MHz
4.648 s * -17%
Intel Core i9-11900K
i9-11900K, 3500 MHz
3.982 s *
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
R5 5600X, 3700 MHz
3.891 s * +2%
Intel Core i9-10900K
i9-10900K, 3700 MHz
3.582 s * +10%
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
R7 5800X, 3800 MHz
3.037 s * +24%
1024m
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
R5 5600X, 3700 MHz
113.9 s * -46%
Intel Core i5-10600K
i5-10600K, 4100 MHz
113.2 s * -45%
Intel Core i5-11600K
i5-11600K, 3900 MHz
107.6 s * -38%
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
R7 5800X, 3800 MHz
86.1 s * -11%
Intel Core i9-11900K
i9-11900K, 3500 MHz
77.9 s *
Intel Core i9-10900K
i9-10900K, 3700 MHz
66.3 s * +15%
X264 HD Benchmark 4.0
Pass 1
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
R7 5800X, 3800 MHz
339 (338min - 341max) fps +10%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
R5 5600X, 3700 MHz
320 (319min - 321max) fps +3%
Intel Core i9-11900K
i9-11900K, 3500 MHz
309.5 (308min - 311max) fps
Intel Core i5-11600K
i5-11600K, 3900 MHz
299 (294min - 299max) fps -3%
Intel Core i9-10900K
i9-10900K, 3700 MHz
289.5 (289min - 291max) fps -6%
Intel Core i5-10600K
i5-10600K, 4100 MHz
251.5 (250min - 253max) fps -19%
Pass 2
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
R7 5800X, 3800 MHz
152 (151min - 152max) fps +11%
Intel Core i9-10900K
i9-10900K, 3700 MHz
149 (149min - 149max) fps +9%
Intel Core i9-11900K
i9-11900K, 3500 MHz
137 (137min - 137max) fps
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
R5 5600X, 3700 MHz
117 (117min - 117max) fps -15%
Intel Core i5-11600K
i5-11600K, 3900 MHz
101 (101min - 101max) fps -26%
Intel Core i5-10600K
i5-10600K, 4100 MHz
88.2 (88min - 88.2max) fps -36%
WinRAR - Result
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
R7 5800X, 3800 MHz
15604 KB/s +73%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
R5 5600X, 3700 MHz
13282 KB/s +47%
Intel Core i9-10900K
i9-10900K, 3700 MHz
9739 KB/s +8%
Intel Core i9-11900K
i9-11900K, 3500 MHz
9030 KB/s
Intel Core i5-11600K
i5-11600K, 3900 MHz
7850 KB/s -13%
Intel Core i5-10600K
i5-10600K, 4100 MHz
6536 KB/s -28%
TrueCrypt
AES Mean 100MB
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
R7 5800X, 3800 MHz
15 GB/s +15%
Intel Core i9-10900K
i9-10900K, 3700 MHz
14.6 GB/s +12%
Intel Core i9-11900K
i9-11900K, 3500 MHz
13 GB/s
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
R5 5600X, 3700 MHz
10.7 GB/s -18%
Intel Core i5-11600K
i5-11600K, 3900 MHz
9.7 GB/s -25%
Intel Core i5-10600K
i5-10600K, 4100 MHz
8 GB/s -38%
Twofish Mean 100MB
Intel Core i9-10900K
i9-10900K, 3700 MHz
2.6 GB/s +37%
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
R7 5800X, 3800 MHz
2 GB/s +5%
Intel Core i9-11900K
i9-11900K, 3500 MHz
1.9 GB/s
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
R5 5600X, 3700 MHz
1.5 GB/s -21%
Intel Core i5-11600K
i5-11600K, 3900 MHz
1.5 GB/s -21%
Intel Core i5-10600K
i5-10600K, 4100 MHz
1.4 GB/s -26%
Serpent Mean 100MB
Intel Core i9-10900K
i9-10900K, 3700 MHz
1.5 GB/s +25%
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
R7 5800X, 3800 MHz
1.3 GB/s +8%
Intel Core i9-11900K
i9-11900K, 3500 MHz
1.2 GB/s
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
R5 5600X, 3700 MHz
0.938 GB/s -22%
Intel Core i5-11600K
i5-11600K, 3900 MHz
0.9 GB/s -25%
Intel Core i5-10600K
i5-10600K, 4100 MHz
0.82 GB/s -32%
Geekbench 5.5
Multi-Core
Intel Core i9-10900K
i9-10900K, 3700 MHz
11414 Points +3%
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
R7 5800X, 3800 MHz
11354 Points +3%
Intel Core i9-11900K
i9-11900K, 3500 MHz
11035 Points
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
R5 5600X, 3700 MHz
8980 Points -19%
Intel Core i5-11600K
i5-11600K, 3900 MHz
8523 Points -23%
Intel Core i5-10600K
i5-10600K, 4100 MHz
7248 Points -34%
Single-Core
Intel Core i9-11900K
i9-11900K, 3500 MHz
1885 Points
Intel Core i5-11600K
i5-11600K, 3900 MHz
1752 Points -7%
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
R7 5800X, 3800 MHz
1665 Points -12%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
R5 5600X, 3700 MHz
1657 Points -12%
Intel Core i9-10900K
i9-10900K, 3700 MHz
1449 Points -23%
Intel Core i5-10600K
i5-10600K, 4100 MHz
1286 Points -32%
Geekbench 5.0
5.0 Multi-Core
Intel Core i9-10900K
i9-10900K, 3700 MHz
11407 Points +4%
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
R7 5800X, 3800 MHz
11246 Points +2%
Intel Core i9-11900K
i9-11900K, 3500 MHz
11008 Points
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
R5 5600X, 3700 MHz
8926 Points -19%
Intel Core i5-11600K
i5-11600K, 3900 MHz
8542 Points -22%
Intel Core i5-10600K
i5-10600K, 4100 MHz
7237 Points -34%
5.0 Single-Core
Intel Core i9-11900K
i9-11900K, 3500 MHz
1863 Points
Intel Core i5-11600K
i5-11600K, 3900 MHz
1731 Points -7%
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
R7 5800X, 3800 MHz
1673 Points -10%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
R5 5600X, 3700 MHz
1587 Points -15%
Intel Core i9-10900K
i9-10900K, 3700 MHz
1440 Points -23%
Intel Core i5-10600K
i5-10600K, 4100 MHz
1281 Points -31%
Geekbench 4.4
64 Bit Single-Core Score
Intel Core i9-11900K
i9-11900K, 3500 MHz
7976 Points
Intel Core i5-11600K
i5-11600K, 3900 MHz
7438 Points -7%
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
R7 5800X, 3800 MHz
7333 Points -8%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
R5 5600X, 3700 MHz
6953 Points -13%
Intel Core i9-10900K
i9-10900K, 3700 MHz
6348 Points -20%
Intel Core i5-10600K
i5-10600K, 4100 MHz
5821 Points -27%
64 Bit Multi-Core Score
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
R7 5800X, 3800 MHz
44131 Points +4%
Intel Core i9-10900K
i9-10900K, 3700 MHz
43058 Points +2%
Intel Core i9-11900K
i9-11900K, 3500 MHz
42329 Points
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
R5 5600X, 3700 MHz
35617 Points -16%
Intel Core i5-11600K
i5-11600K, 3900 MHz
33266 Points -21%
Intel Core i5-10600K
i5-10600K, 4100 MHz
28391 Points -33%
3DMark 11 - 1280x720 Performance Physics
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
R7 5800X, 3800 MHz
23381 Points +10%
Intel Core i9-10900K
i9-10900K, 3700 MHz
22140 Points +5%
Intel Core i9-11900K
i9-11900K, 3500 MHz
21175 Points
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
R5 5600X, 3700 MHz
19649 Points -7%
Intel Core i5-11600K
i5-11600K, 3900 MHz
17381 Points -18%
Intel Core i5-10600K
i5-10600K, 4100 MHz
15961 Points -25%
7-Zip 18.03
7z b 4
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
R7 5800X, 3800 MHz
74306 MIPS +18%
Intel Core i9-10900K
i9-10900K, 3700 MHz
70968 MIPS +13%
Intel Core i9-11900K
i9-11900K, 3500 MHz
62746 MIPS
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
R5 5600X, 3700 MHz
56607 MIPS -10%
Intel Core i5-11600K
i5-11600K, 3900 MHz
45322 MIPS -28%
Intel Core i5-10600K
i5-10600K, 4100 MHz
40379 MIPS -36%
7z b 4 -mmt1
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
R7 5800X, 3800 MHz
6970 MIPS +5%
Intel Core i9-11900K
i9-11900K, 3500 MHz
6652 MIPS
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
R5 5600X, 3700 MHz
6594 MIPS -1%
Intel Core i5-11600K
i5-11600K, 3900 MHz
6136 MIPS -8%
Intel Core i9-10900K
i9-10900K, 3700 MHz
5954 MIPS -10%
Intel Core i5-10600K
i5-10600K, 4100 MHz
5289 MIPS -20%
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2 - 4k Preset
Intel Core i9-10900K
i9-10900K, 3700 MHz
21 fps +6%
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
R7 5800X, 3800 MHz
20.8 fps +5%
Intel Core i9-11900K
i9-11900K, 3500 MHz
19.8 fps
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
R5 5600X, 3700 MHz
15.7 fps -21%
Intel Core i5-11600K
i5-11600K, 3900 MHz
14.7 fps -26%
Intel Core i5-10600K
i5-10600K, 4100 MHz
12.2 fps -38%
R Benchmark 2.5 - Overall mean
Intel Core i5-10600K
i5-10600K, 4100 MHz
0.593 sec * -25%
Intel Core i9-10900K
i9-10900K, 3700 MHz
0.528 sec * -12%
Intel Core i5-11600K
i5-11600K, 3900 MHz
0.506 sec * -7%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
R5 5600X, 3700 MHz
0.4778 sec * -1%
Intel Core i9-11900K
i9-11900K, 3500 MHz
0.4733 sec *
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
R7 5800X, 3800 MHz
0.4509 sec * +5%
LibreOffice - 20 Documents To PDF
Intel Core i9-10900K
i9-10900K, 3700 MHz
76 s * -5%
Intel Core i9-11900K
i9-11900K, 3500 MHz
72.5 s *
Intel Core i5-10600K
i5-10600K, 4100 MHz
46.06 s * +36%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
R5 5600X, 3700 MHz
45.14 s * +38%
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
R7 5800X, 3800 MHz
43.31 s * +40%
Intel Core i5-11600K
i5-11600K, 3900 MHz
39.7 s * +45%
WebXPRT 3 - Overall
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
R7 5800X, 3800 MHz
296 Points +36%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
R5 5600X, 3700 MHz
286 Points +32%
Intel Core i5-11600K
i5-11600K, 3900 MHz
280 Points +29%
Intel Core i9-10900K
i9-10900K, 3700 MHz
255 Points +18%
Intel Core i5-10600K
i5-10600K, 4100 MHz
239 Points +10%
Intel Core i9-11900K
i9-11900K, 3500 MHz
217 Points
Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total
Intel Core i5-10600K
i5-10600K, 4100 MHz
760 ms * -40%
Intel Core i9-10900K
i9-10900K, 3700 MHz
709 ms * -30%
Intel Core i5-11600K
i5-11600K, 3900 MHz
587 ms * -8%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
R5 5600X, 3700 MHz
578 ms * -6%
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
R7 5800X, 3800 MHz
558 ms * -3%
Intel Core i9-11900K
i9-11900K, 3500 MHz
544 ms *
3DMark
3840x2160 Fire Strike Ultra Physics
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
R7 5800X, 3800 MHz
31095 Points +12%
Intel Core i9-10900K
i9-10900K, 3700 MHz
29374 Points +6%
Intel Core i9-11900K
i9-11900K, 3500 MHz
27685 Points
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
R5 5600X, 3700 MHz
26038 Points -6%
Intel Core i5-11600K
i5-11600K, 3900 MHz
23190 Points -16%
Intel Core i5-10600K
i5-10600K, 4100 MHz
19942 Points -28%
1920x1080 Fire Strike Physics
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
R7 5800X, 3800 MHz
30938 Points +7%
Intel Core i9-10900K
i9-10900K, 3700 MHz
29805 Points +3%
Intel Core i9-11900K
i9-11900K, 3500 MHz
28927 Points
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
R5 5600X, 3700 MHz
25990 Points -10%
Intel Core i5-11600K
i5-11600K, 3900 MHz
22631 Points -22%
Intel Core i5-10600K
i5-10600K, 4100 MHz
20040 Points -31%
2560x1440 Time Spy CPU
Intel Core i9-10900K
i9-10900K, 3700 MHz
14326 Points +7%
Intel Core i9-11900K
i9-11900K, 3500 MHz
13433 Points
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
R7 5800X, 3800 MHz
11599 Points -14%
Intel Core i5-11600K
i5-11600K, 3900 MHz
9482 Points -29%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
R5 5600X, 3700 MHz
8911 Points -34%
Intel Core i5-10600K
i5-10600K, 4100 MHz
8290 Points -38%

* ... smaller is better

Rocket Lake-S vs. Cinebench R15 Multi-Core Loop

In the first stress test, both chips hold up very well. The octa-core i9-11900K is beaten by the deca-core i9-10900K, but only by a small margin. The battle between the Core i5 models is fairer. This is why the Core i5-11600K is able to significantly outperform the Core i5-10600K.

010020030040050060070080090010001100120013001400150016001700180019002000210022002300240025002600Tooltip
Intel Core i9-11900K Intel Core i9-11900K, Intel Core i9-11900K: Ø2414 (2368.69-2445.74)
Intel Core i5-11600K Intel Core i5-11600K, Intel Core i5-11600K: Ø1732 (1712.77-1749.02)
Intel Core i9-10900K Intel Core i9-10900K, Intel Core i9-10900K: Ø2598 (2576.32-2623.98)
Intel Core i5-10600K Intel Core i5-10600K, Intel Core i5-10600K: Ø1408 (1402.92-1413.73)
Intel Core i9-9900KS, Nvidia Titan RTX Intel Core i9-9900KS, Intel Core i9-9900KS: Ø1952 (1736.19-2159.71)
Intel Core i7-10700K Intel Core i7-10700K, Intel Core i7-10700K: Ø2010 (1996.11-2018.37)

Productivity Benchmarks

PCMark 10 - Score
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
NVIDIA Titan RTX
8270 Points +7%
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
NVIDIA Titan RTX
8252 Points +7%
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
7745 Points
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
7740 Points 0%
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
7641 Points -1%
Intel Core i7-10700K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
7512 Points -3%
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
7279 Points -6%
SPECviewperf 12
1900x1060 Solidworks (sw-03)
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
NVIDIA Titan RTX
199.1 fps +9%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
NVIDIA Titan RTX
194 fps +7%
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
182 fps
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
172.2 fps -5%
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
171 fps -6%
Intel Core i7-10700K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
168.3 fps -8%
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
158.2 fps -13%
1900x1060 Siemens NX (snx-02)
Intel Core i7-10700K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
274.5 fps +12%
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
NVIDIA Titan RTX
266.3 fps +9%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
NVIDIA Titan RTX
266 fps +9%
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
263.3 fps +7%
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
259.1 fps +6%
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
251 fps +2%
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
245 fps
1900x1060 Showcase (showcase-01)
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
203 fps
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
202 fps 0%
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
196.1 fps -3%
Intel Core i7-10700K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
194.1 fps -4%
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
192.4 fps -5%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
NVIDIA Titan RTX
191.9 fps -5%
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
NVIDIA Titan RTX
190.6 fps -6%
1900x1060 Medical (medical-01)
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
94.6 fps +8%
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
94.5 fps +8%
Intel Core i7-10700K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
93.7 fps +7%
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
88.7 fps +1%
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
NVIDIA Titan RTX
88.4 fps +1%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
NVIDIA Titan RTX
88.3 fps +1%
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
87.8 fps
1900x1060 Maya (maya-04)
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
NVIDIA Titan RTX
233.8 fps +17%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
NVIDIA Titan RTX
226 fps +14%
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
199 fps
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
188.7 fps -5%
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
186 fps -7%
Intel Core i7-10700K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
183 fps -8%
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
169.4 fps -15%
1900x1060 Energy (energy-01)
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
28.77 fps +2%
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
28.72 fps +2%
Intel Core i7-10700K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
28.55 fps +1%
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
28.3 fps 0%
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
28.2 fps
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
NVIDIA Titan RTX
27.85 fps -1%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
NVIDIA Titan RTX
27.75 fps -2%
1900x1060 Creo (creo-01)
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
NVIDIA Titan RTX
175.2 fps +1%
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
173 fps
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
NVIDIA Titan RTX
169.7 fps -2%
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
164 fps -5%
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
157.2 fps -9%
Intel Core i7-10700K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
153.4 fps -11%
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
142.7 fps -18%
1900x1060 Catia (catia-04)
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
269 fps
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
NVIDIA Titan RTX
267.4 fps -1%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
NVIDIA Titan RTX
263.4 fps -2%
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
251 fps -7%
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
225.2 fps -16%
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
215.5 fps -20%
Intel Core i7-10700K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
212.9 fps -21%
1900x1060 3ds Max (3dsmax-05)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
NVIDIA Titan RTX
299.9 fps +4%
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
297.4 fps +3%
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
296.9 fps +3%
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
NVIDIA Titan RTX
296 fps +2%
Intel Core i7-10700K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
293.2 fps +1%
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
289 fps
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
288 fps 0%
SPECviewperf 13
Solidworks (sw-04)
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
NVIDIA Titan RTX
199.9 fps +1%
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
198 fps
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
NVIDIA Titan RTX
195.1 fps -1%
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
185 fps -7%
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
166.2 fps -16%
Intel Core i7-10700K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
162.6 fps -18%
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
153.9 fps -22%
Siemens NX (snx-03)
Intel Core i7-10700K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
494.5 fps +10%
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
NVIDIA Titan RTX
481.9 fps +7%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
NVIDIA Titan RTX
480.1 fps +7%
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
472.9 fps +5%
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
469.1 fps +4%
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
453 fps +1%
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
450 fps
Showcase (showcase-02)
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
195.1 fps +1%
Intel Core i7-10700K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
194.5 fps 0%
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
194.1 fps 0%
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
194 fps
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
193 fps -1%
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
NVIDIA Titan RTX
192 fps -1%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
NVIDIA Titan RTX
190.8 fps -2%
Medical (medical-02)
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
NVIDIA Titan RTX
90.8 fps +1%
Intel Core i7-10700K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
90.6 fps +1%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
NVIDIA Titan RTX
90.6 fps +1%
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
90 fps
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
90 fps 0%
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
89.7 fps 0%
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
88.7 fps -1%
Maya (maya-05)
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
NVIDIA Titan RTX
459.6 fps +1%
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
454 fps
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
NVIDIA Titan RTX
453.6 fps 0%
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
449 fps -1%
Intel Core i7-10700K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
411.5 fps -9%
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
405.9 fps -11%
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
387.5 fps -15%
Energy (energy-02)
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
53.9 fps 0%
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
53.7 fps
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
53.3 fps -1%
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
53.2 fps -1%
Intel Core i7-10700K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
52.4 fps -2%
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
NVIDIA Titan RTX
52.3 fps -3%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
NVIDIA Titan RTX
52.2 fps -3%
Creo (creo-02)
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
355 fps
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
354 fps 0%
Intel Core i7-10700K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
353.3 fps 0%
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
NVIDIA Titan RTX
353.3 fps 0%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
NVIDIA Titan RTX
350 fps -1%
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
336.3 fps -5%
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
331.7 fps -7%
Catia (catia-05)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
NVIDIA Titan RTX
427.8 fps +3%
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
NVIDIA Titan RTX
415.1 fps 0%
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
415 fps
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
397 fps -4%
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
362.1 fps -13%
Intel Core i7-10700K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
342.8 fps -17%
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
341.7 fps -18%
3ds Max (3dsmax-06)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
NVIDIA Titan RTX
298.8 fps +4%
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
NVIDIA Titan RTX
297.6 fps +4%
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
294.4 fps +3%
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
292.5 fps +2%
Intel Core i7-10700K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
290.8 fps +1%
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
288 fps 0%
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX
287 fps

Gaming Benchmarks

Intel Core i9-11900K vs. Intel Corei9-10900K
Intel Core i9-11900K vs. Intel Corei9-10900K
Intel Core i5-11600K vs. Intel Corei5-10600K
Intel Core i5-11600K vs. Intel Corei5-10600K

Now we turn to gaming performance, Intel’s strong suit. Not that long ago, before the arrival of Zen 3 parts, Intel was king when it came to gaming performance. Unfortunately, Rocket Lake-S chips fail to reclaim the gaming crown. The Intel Core i9-11900K takes third place in our suite of gaming benchmarks. However, the difference in performance between the Intel Core i9-11900K and the Ryzen 7 5800X is so small that virtually no one ever is going to be able to notice any difference between them in actual gameplay. Both chips here go toe-to-toe with each other, which is a good thing for consumers.

The lower-end Intel Core i5-11600K has made some serious progress. Nevertheless, it only manages to take fourth place in our suite of gaming benchmarks. However, the performance gap between the Core i5-11600K and the Ryzen 5 5600X is so vanishingly small that we cannot declare a clear winner here.

Both Rocket Lake-S chips are superb gaming CPUs. The Intel Core i9-11900K is able to achieve high frame rates in CPU-bound titles, because it offers a high level of IPC performance. In GPU-limited titles, the graphics card represents the main bottleneck, which is why CPU performance in such games is not as important. Only a very small number of video games can fully leverage CPUs with a huge core count. Here, consumers have to decide for themselves what is important to them. Nevertheless, the price and the availability also have to be taken into account.

Performance Rating - Percent
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X -2!
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R7 5800X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
98.2 pt
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X -2!
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R5 5600X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
95.5 pt
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-11900K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
95.3 pt
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-11600K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
91 pt
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G
90.8 pt
Intel Core i7-10700K -4!
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i7-10700K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
88.4 pt
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K
83.6 pt
Borderlands 3
1280x720 Very Low Overall Quality (DX11)
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R7 5800X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
221 fps +11%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R5 5600X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
214 fps +7%
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-11900K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
200 fps
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G
191.1 fps -4%
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-11600K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
188 fps -6%
Intel Core i7-10700K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i7-10700K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
183 fps -8%
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K
166 fps -17%
1920x1080 Badass Overall Quality (DX11)
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-11900K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
118 fps
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G
117 fps -1%
Intel Core i7-10700K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i7-10700K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
117 fps -1%
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-11600K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
117 fps -1%
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R7 5800X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
116 fps -2%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R5 5600X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
115 fps -3%
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K
114 fps -3%
Metro Exodus
1280x720 Low Quality AF:4x
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R7 5800X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
251 (133.65min - 406.67max) fps +10%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R5 5600X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
236 (118.48min - 380.23max) fps +4%
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-11900K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
228 (127.65min - 337.61max) fps
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G
220 (124.13min - 328.3max) fps -4%
Intel Core i7-10700K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i7-10700K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
212 (118.78min - 321.23max) fps -7%
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K
210 fps -8%
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-11600K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
210 (112.73min - 312.21max) fps -8%
1920x1080 Ultra Quality AF:16x
Intel Core i7-10700K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i7-10700K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
111 (54.82min - 183.28max) fps +5%
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G
109 (54.08min - 184.88max) fps +3%
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K
109 (55.97min - 176.52max) fps +3%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R5 5600X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
107 (52.63min - 189.04max) fps +1%
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R7 5800X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
106 (52.28min - 186.95max) fps 0%
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-11900K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
106 (53.75min - 171.59max) fps
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-11600K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
105 (52.3min - 170.91max) fps -1%
Far Cry New Dawn
1280x720 Low Preset
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-11900K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
178 (137min - 252max) fps
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-11600K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
168 (127min - 244max) fps -6%
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R7 5800X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
166 (110min - 256max) fps -7%
Intel Core i7-10700K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i7-10700K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
164 (125min - 236max) fps -8%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R5 5600X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
164 (119min - 254max) fps -8%
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G
151 (114min - 207max) fps -15%
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K
147 (112min - 212max) fps -17%
1920x1080 Ultra Preset
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-11900K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
135 (99min - 206max) fps
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-11600K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
129 (93min - 200max) fps -4%
Intel Core i7-10700K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i7-10700K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
126 (89min - 199max) fps -7%
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R7 5800X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
124 (84min - 203max) fps -8%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R5 5600X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
123 (82min - 205max) fps -9%
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K
109 (77min - 171max) fps -19%
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G
98 (70min - 139max) fps -27%
Forza Horizon 4
1280x720 Very Low Preset
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-11900K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
251 fps
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G
246 fps -2%
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-11600K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
236 fps -6%
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K
222 fps -12%
1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:2xMS
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G
193 fps +1%
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-11900K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
192 fps
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-11600K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
189 fps -2%
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K
187 fps -3%
Far Cry 5
1280x720 Low Preset AA:T
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-11900K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
212 (165min - 280max) fps
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R7 5800X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
207 (163min - 285max) fps -2%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R5 5600X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
200 (150min - 272max) fps -6%
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-11600K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
199 (160min - 261max) fps -6%
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G
193 (151min - 263max) fps -9%
Intel Core i7-10700K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i7-10700K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
193 (151min - 259max) fps -9%
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K
157 (125min - 208max) fps -26%
1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:T
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-11900K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
164 (127min - 216max) fps
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R7 5800X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
158 (119min - 208max) fps -4%
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-11600K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
157 (124min - 212max) fps -4%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R5 5600X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
153 (111min - 205max) fps -7%
Intel Core i7-10700K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i7-10700K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
152 (117min - 205max) fps -7%
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G
149 (110min - 200max) fps -9%
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K
126 (86min - 173max) fps -23%
X-Plane 11.11
1280x720 low (fps_test=1)
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R7 5800X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
178 fps +5%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R5 5600X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
172 fps +1%
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-11900K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
170 fps
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-11600K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
157 fps -8%
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G
149 fps -12%
Intel Core i7-10700K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i7-10700K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
139 fps -18%
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K
133 fps -22%
1920x1080 high (fps_test=3)
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R7 5800X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
128 fps +2%
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-11900K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
125 fps
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R5 5600X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
123 fps -2%
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-11600K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
112 fps -10%
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G
106 fps -15%
Intel Core i7-10700K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i7-10700K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
102 fps -18%
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K
96.8 fps -23%
Final Fantasy XV Benchmark
1280x720 Lite Quality
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R7 5800X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
225 fps +3%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R5 5600X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
225 fps +3%
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G
221 (135min - 247max) fps +1%
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-11900K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
219 fps
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-11600K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
216 fps -1%
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K
201 (101min - 247max) fps -8%
Intel Core i7-10700K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i7-10700K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
201 fps -8%
1920x1080 High Quality
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-11900K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
143 fps
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G
142 (88min - 220max) fps -1%
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-11600K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
141 fps -1%
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K
140 (80min - 214max) fps -2%
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R7 5800X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
140 fps -2%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R5 5600X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
138 fps -3%
Intel Core i7-10700K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i7-10700K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
134 fps -6%
Dota 2 Reborn
1280x720 min (0/3) fastest
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R7 5800X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
242.5 (205.4min) fps +24%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R5 5600X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
228.9 (193.7min) fps +17%
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G
198.8 (172min) fps +2%
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-11900K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
195.1 (157.1min) fps
Intel Core i7-10700K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i7-10700K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
186.9 (161.4min) fps -4%
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-11600K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
184.8 (164.4min) fps -5%
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K
171.6 (149.6min) fps -12%
1920x1080 ultra (3/3) best looking
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R7 5800X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
186.8 (158.3min) fps +13%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R5 5600X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
180 (150.9min) fps +9%
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G
172.2 (143min) fps +4%
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-11900K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
165.3 (145.1min) fps
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-11600K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
162.9 (142min) fps -1%
Intel Core i7-10700K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i7-10700K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
157.3 (135.9min) fps -5%
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K
148.1 (128.3min) fps -10%
The Witcher 3
1024x768 Low Graphics & Postprocessing
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R7 5800X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
602 (527min - 685max) fps +17%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R5 5600X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
570 (500min - 647max) fps +11%
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G
518 (463min - 597max) fps +1%
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-11900K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
514 fps
Intel Core i7-10700K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i7-10700K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
468 (427min - 528max) fps -9%
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-11600K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
466 fps -9%
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K
413 (379min - 462max) fps -20%
1920x1080 Ultra Graphics & Postprocessing (HBAO+)
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-11600K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
144 fps +3%
Intel Core i7-10700K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i7-10700K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
142 (128min - 155max) fps +1%
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K
140 (126min - 155max) fps 0%
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-11900K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
140 fps
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G
139 (129min - 151max) fps -1%
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R7 5800X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
139 (126min - 154max) fps -1%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R5 5600X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
139 (122min - 156max) fps -1%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
1280x720 Lowest Preset
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R7 5800X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
230 fps +13%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R5 5600X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
217 fps +7%
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G
204 fps 0%
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-11900K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
203 fps
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-11600K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
188 fps -7%
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K
178 fps -12%
1920x1080 Highest Preset AA:T
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R7 5800X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
170 fps +1%
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-11900K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
168 fps
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G
165 fps -2%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R5 5600X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
165 fps -2%
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-11600K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
158 fps -6%
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K
149 fps -11%

Intel Core i9-11900K + Nvidia Titan RTX

low med. high ultraQHD4K
The Witcher 3 (2015) 514 447 190 140 105
Dota 2 Reborn (2015) 195.1 180.2 173.2 165.3 161.8
Final Fantasy XV Benchmark (2018) 219 186 143 108 64.9
X-Plane 11.11 (2018) 170 153 125 109
Far Cry 5 (2018) 212 183 175 164 141 80
Shadow of the Tomb Raider (2018) 203 186 178 168 127 70.4
Forza Horizon 4 (2018) 251 221 218 192 162 115
Far Cry New Dawn (2019) 178 155 149 135 126 82
Metro Exodus (2019) 228 173 133 106 84.6 54.7
Borderlands 3 (2019) 200 175 141 118 84.8 47.2

Intel Core i5-11600K + Nvidia Titan RTX

low med. high ultraQHD4K
The Witcher 3 (2015) 466 396 275 144 106
Dota 2 Reborn (2015) 184.8 170.7 164.8 162.9 159.1
Final Fantasy XV Benchmark (2018) 216 182 141 107 65.5
X-Plane 11.11 (2018) 157 138 112 99.3
Far Cry 5 (2018) 199 177 167 157 140 83
Shadow of the Tomb Raider (2018) 188 171 168 158 127 70.2
Forza Horizon 4 (2018) 236 209 207 189 165 117
Far Cry New Dawn (2019) 168 148 143 129 122 83
Metro Exodus (2019) 210 167 132 105 85.4 55.2
Borderlands 3 (2019) 188 165 138 117 85 47.2

Energy Consumption

The Intel Core i9-11900K during the stress test
The Intel Core i9-11900K during the stress test
The Intel Core i5-11600K during the stress test
The Intel Core i5-11600K during the stress test

When compared to Comet Lake-S chips, the power draw is on the same level. Intel still specifies a PL1 TDP of 125 watts and a PL2 TDP of 250 watts. The TAU values, which determine the Turbo Boost duration, are also unchanged. When idle, the entire system draws only 57 watts with the Core i9-11900K and 67 watts with the Core i5-11600K. These are very good results. Here, AMD offers worse results. Howbeit, it is worthing bearing in mind that the system power draw can fluctuate depending on the motherboard and other components. 

During our stress test, the system power draw hovered around 300 watts. When gaming, the Core i9 system actually drew up to 387 watts. Surprisingly enough, the Intel Core i5-11600K drew more power than the Core i9-11900K when gaming. This indicates that the hexa-core CPU is more heavily utilised when gaming. In any case, the octa-core i9-11900K appears to be a more energy-efficient gaming CPU. In terms of energy consumption, the Core i9-11900K compares well against the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X, even though it has a higher TDP, at least on paper. Under load, the temperatures are high, but not critical. For our review, we used an All-in-One cooler with a 280-mm radiator. Users will also need good fans to keep the octa-core CPU from hitting high temperatures.

Power Consumption
1920x1080 The Witcher 3 ultra (external Monitor)
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-11600K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5 (Idle: 69.49 W)
435 (427min - 463max) Watt * -12%
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R7 5800X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5 (Idle: 77.5 W)
418.7 (403min - 452max) Watt * -8%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R5 5600X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5 (Idle: 79.23 W)
409.2 (381min - 434max) Watt * -6%
Intel Core i7-10700K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i7-10700K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5 (Idle: 67.7 W)
397.9 (386min - 409max) Watt * -3%
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G (Idle: 52.3 W)
396.2 (380min - 475max) Watt * -2%
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-11900K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5 (Idle: 57.3 W)
387 (380min - 410max) Watt *
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K (Idle: 52.2 W)
386.9 (380min - 404max) Watt * -0%
Prime95 V2810 Stress (external Monitor)
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-11900K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5 (Idle: 57.3 W)
302.2 (263min - 353max) Watt *
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G (Idle: 52.3 W)
275.7 (254min - 385max) Watt * +9%
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R7 5800X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5 (Idle: 77.5 W)
242.3 (222min - 254max) Watt * +20%
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-11600K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5 (Idle: 69.49 W)
228 (212min - 295max) Watt * +25%
Intel Core i7-10700K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i7-10700K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5 (Idle: 67.7 W)
205 (194min - 260max) Watt * +32%
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K (Idle: 52.2 W)
204.4 (191min - 261max) Watt * +32%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R5 5600X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5 (Idle: 79.23 W)
175.8 (170min - 179max) Watt * +42%
Cinebench R15 Multi (external Monitor)
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G (Idle: 52.3 W)
268.5 (265min - 270max) Watt * -4%
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-11900K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5 (Idle: 57.3 W)
259.3 (256min - 281max) Watt *
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R7 5800X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5 (Idle: 77.5 W)
220.7 (219min - 222max) Watt * +15%
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-11600K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5 (Idle: 69.49 W)
219.9 (206min - 236max) Watt * +15%
Intel Core i7-10700K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i7-10700K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5 (Idle: 67.7 W)
207.7 (206min - 209max) Watt * +20%
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K (Idle: 52.2 W)
172.5 (170min - 176max) Watt * +33%
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R5 5600X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5 (Idle: 79.23 W)
170.1 (165min - 210max) Watt * +34%
Temperatures - CPU Temperature Prime95
Intel Core i9-11900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-11900K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
91 °C
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
NVIDIA Titan RTX, R7 5800X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
90.6 °C 0%
Intel Core i9-10900K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G
88 °C -3%
Intel Core i5-11600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-11600K, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5
88 °C -3%
Intel Core i5-10600K
NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K
70 °C -23%

* ... smaller is better

System power draw (when idle) - Core i5-11600K
System power draw (when idle) - Core i5-11600K
System power draw (Prime95) - Core i5-11600K
System power draw (Prime95) - Core i5-11600K
System power draw (Cinebench R15 multi-core) - Core i5-11600K
System power draw (Cinebench R15 multi-core) - Core i5-11600K
System power draw (when gaming - The Witcher 3; ultra preset) Core i5-11600K
System power draw (when gaming - The Witcher 3; ultra preset) Core i5-11600K
Stress test with Prime95 - Core i5-11600K
Stress test with Prime95 - Core i5-11600K
System power draw (when idle) - Core i9-11900K
System power draw (when idle) - Core i9-11900K
System power draw (Prime95) - Core i9-11900K
System power draw (Prime95) - Core i9-11900K
System power draw (Cinebench R15 multi-core) - Core i9-11900K
System power draw (Cinebench R15 multi-core) - Core i9-11900K
System power draw (when gaming - The Witcher 3; ultra preset) - Core i9-11900K
System power draw (when gaming - The Witcher 3; ultra preset) - Core i9-11900K
Stress test with Prime95 - Core i9-11900K
Stress test with Prime95 - Core i9-11900K

Pros

+ very good gaming performance
+ great productivity performance
+ very low power draw when idle
+ PCI Express 4.0
+ well-priced (11600K)

Cons

- high power consumption under load
- high price (11900K)

Verdict - Only 8 cores, but still pretty fast!

Intel Core i9-11900K and Intel Core i5-11600K - Provided courtesy of: Intel Germany
Intel Core i9-11900K and Intel Core i5-11600K - Provided courtesy of: Intel Germany

With Rocket Lake-S, Intel has tried to close the performance gap with AMD. Intel has succeeded in some areas, while in other areas it is basically on the same level as AMD. However, prospective buyers should not forget that Intel’s consumer chips currently top out at 8 cores and 16 threads, whereas AMD’s chips reach up to 16 cores and 32 threads. However, high core-count AMD processors are a lot more expensive, which is why they are not a good option for most consumers. Speaking of expensive processors, the Intel Core i9-11900K with an MSRP of 629 Euros (~$740) is no bargain either, because the similarly capable AMD Ryzen 7 5800X costs about 200 Euros (~$240) less. The Intel Core i5-11600K is much more interesting, especially since it offers very similar gaming performance. The 299-Euro (~$350) AMD Ryzen 5 5600X has a very similar price tag to the Core i5-11600K.

The Intel Core i9-11900K is a very good gaming CPU. However, it fails to reclaim the gaming crown for Intel.

Only time will tell whether AMD or Intel CPUs will end up ruling this cycle. A lot will depend on availability, of course. If Intel manages to avoid supply shortages, then its Rocket Lake-S chips will probably do reasonably well. However, the price of the Core i9-11900K needs to fall considerably for it to become competitive. Intel’s octa-core i9-11900K simply cannot be positioned to compete against AMD’s dodeca-core Ryzen 9 5900X.  

In summary, we would like to state that we are quite impressed by the amount of performance that Intel has been able to squeeze out of its ageing 14-nm node. Here, Intel has basically delivered a completely new chip on the LGA 1200 socket. Howbeit, potential buyers should keep in mind the fact that the Rocket Lake-S chips are the last CPUs, which are going to use the LGA 1200 socket. The next generation of Intel’s desktop CPUs is rumoured to use the LGA 1700 socket, support DDR5 RAM and be manufactured on the 10-nm node.

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Reviews > Intel Rocket Lake-S Review: Only 8 cores for the Core i9-11900K
Sebastian Bade, 2021-03-30 (Update: 2021-04- 3)