Valid Intel Core i9-13900K Geekbench run leaves Raptor Lake possibly facing Zen 4 extinction event

A few weeks ago, the Intel Core i9-13900K took a trip to Geekbench, where it was clocked at up to 5.5 GHz but in a test run that was classified as invalid. Now the upcoming Raptor Lake processor has returned to the same benchmark site and managed a valid run that actually produced quite similar results. The single-core score was 2,147 points and the multi-core score was 23,982 points, with the i9-13900K once again hitting around 5.5 GHz. The Raptor Lake chip was part of an Asus system that utilized an Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Apex motherboard. In addition, 32 GB DDR5 RAM at 3299 MHz was recorded as part of the test result, which is a little faster than the previous entry (3200 MHz).

On the surface, the results for the Intel Core i9-13900K look terrific: The single-core score would remove the i9-12900KS as champion in that particular chart (as should be expected) while the multi-core score leaves the Raptor Lake part rubbing shoulders with the Ryzen Threadripper 3990X and Ryzen Threadripper 3970X. But more in-depth scrutiny actually leaves the i9-13900K looking like just a bit of a lukewarm upgrade over the Intel Core i9-12900K at the moment. The single-core score is only about +8% better (Geekbench’s charts; our median scores give an even lower +7% difference) and the multi-core score is only an impressive-looking +38.74% better because of the significant core-count difference: 24 cores (i9-13900K) vs. 16 cores (i9-12900K).

The first Zen 4 parts have also started cropping up on benchmark sites, revealing high clock rates and potentially excellent (if clearly misread) performance results. With Intel’s recent financial report rocking investor confidence, there will likely be many hoping that Raptor Lake can take on Ryzen 7000 and win minds if not so many hearts. It’s still early days for chips like the Intel Core i9-13900K, although it’s unlikely that results like the recent Geekbench scores will climb particularly higher. It will be down to real-world tests such as gaming and performance efficiency tied together with an aggressive pricing strategy and fluctuating consumer confidence in the brand that will decide if Intel’s Raptor Lake chips face extinction against the upcoming Zen 4 Raphael series. Either way, it’s a good time to be in the market for a new desktop PC processor.

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