Intel Core i9-14900KS review: Incredible performance comes at a cost

The Intel Core i9-14900KS is the best processor from the brand for its 14th generation of Core chips, marketed for creators and gamers alike and boasting some of the fastest stock clock speeds of any processor. This is likely the last Raptor Lake Refresh processor we’ll see from Intel until the next generation of Arrow Lake CPUs launch. Based on the Intel Core i9-14900K we positively reviewed with a few caveats, the new 14900KS has some impressive specifications and is the best-performing bin that should provide additional headroom for overclocking.

I took the Core i9-14900KS for a spin in various benchmarks, stress tests, games, and software to see how the processor performed as a whole. I was expecting a slightly better 14900K performance and a similar experience to what my esteemed colleague Adam Conway wrote in his in-depth review. Supporting 600 and 700-series motherboards with an LGA 1700 socket, the Intel Core i9-14900KS is capable of pulling up to 253W of power, according to Intel, though I found it pushing to 320W with its Extreme Power Delivery profile.

About this review: Intel provided XDA a Core i9-14900KS sample for this review, but the company had no input to its contents.

Price, specs, and availability

Taking up to 320W of power through the motherboard, the Intel Core i9-14900KS is an absolute monster of a processor. It’s priced accordingly, launching with an MSRP of $690. Like its 14900K sibling, there are 8 P-cores for performance and 16 E-cores for smaller tasks. The P-cores can boost up to 6.2 GHz and the E-cores are capable of hitting 4.5 GHz. The base power rating is 150W, a full 25W increase over the 14900K. Intel is pushing this architecture hard to get as much out of it ahead of Arrow Lake.

The results are still impressive, but you will need some beefy CPU cooling to handle more than 300W of power.

With 36MB of L3 cache, the 14900KS is capable of powering through even the most demanding tasks, beating the best desktop-class AMD processors which is astonishing for a processor built on a 10 nm process. Compared to the 14900K, there's not a massive difference between the two chips. You've got slightly better performance, but a higher power draw to make this possible.

• 	Intel Core i9-14900KS	Intel Core i9-14900K
  Socket	LGA 1700	LGA 1700
  Cores	8 P-cores, 16 E-cores	8 P-cores, 16 E-cores
  Threads	32	32
  Base Clock Speed	3.2 GHz, 2.4 GHz	3.2 GHz, 2.4 GHz
  Boost Clock Speed	6.2 GHz	6.0 GHz, 4.4 GHz
  PCIe	5.0	5.0
  Cache	36 MB	36 MB L3
  Graphics	Intel UHD Graphics 770	Intel UHD Graphics 770
  Architecture	Raptor Lake Refresh	Raptor Lake Refresh
  Process	10 nm	Intel 7 (10 nm)
  TDP	150W	125 W
  RAM support	DDR5-5600, DDR4-3200	DDR5-5600, DDR4-3200
  Power Draw	~350 W	~253 W

Performance, power draw, and thermals

The Intel Core i9-14900KS is a power-hungry processor, requiring a considerable amount of DC to meet its advertised speeds. The normal 14900K could also draw a lot of power and quickly hit its throttle temperature limit, which pulled back performance even when paired with a capable NZXT Z53 Kraken AIO with a 240 mm radiator. For this review, we're using a slightly larger radiator and fans with the Arctic Liquid Freeze III 280 AIO, but even then we saw the CPU thermal throttle in a matter of seconds.

As you can see, the 14900KS hits 100 degrees Celcius almost instantly when firing up Cinebench. The 280 AIO continues to struggle to handle the heat output even with the CPU throttling back to maintain lower temperatures. The results are still impressive, but you will need some beefy CPU cooling to handle more than 300W of power. For single-core tests, it was a different story with the processor able to keep everything in check with the AIO to maintain a higher clock speed.

Comparing results against the Intel Core i9-14900K and AMD Ryzen 7950X puts the 14900KS ahead of both processors. Using the CPU in a select few apps and games also showcased just how capable this chip is. When not running system-intensive benchmark utilities, the real-world usage of the 14900KS allows the CPU cooler to maintain better temperatures with a draw of between 150 - 200 W. The higher boost speeds do make a difference in software and games that can utilize the additional instruction bandwidth.

You will be able to brute force your way through games with the 14900KS and a capable GPU.

If you want the best CPU for gaming, I would still migrate towards AMD's X3D processors, namely the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D. If you run a combination of software and games, a more generic processor such as this 14900KS would be a better match than a specialist chip. You will be able to brute force your way through games with the 14900KS and a capable GPU. Pairing this thing with an AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX or Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 / 4090 would yield some excellent results. It's just a shame about the power draw.

Competition

Comparing benchmark data between processors doesn't help much when looking at real-world data, but it can provide insight into how all the different chips compare when tasked with heavier workloads. Intel's own Core i9-14900K is a direct competitor to this chip. On AMD's side, there's the impressive AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, though I would recommend checking the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 if you'd like to save the most possible without sacrificing too much performance.

Intel's Core i9-14900KS is in a league of its own with the results, the power draw, the efficiency (or lack thereof), and the heat. It's even possible to push the processor harder, which lowers efficiency further but that does mean you can hit higher clock speeds across all cores, turning this into a weapon for high compute workloads.

Should you buy the Intel Core i9-14900KS?

You should buy the Intel Core i9-14900KS if:

• You have a capable CPU cooler such as an AIO with a 360mm radiator.
• You plan to do some overclocking.
• You need one of the most powerful desktop-class CPUs available.

You shouldn't buy the Intel Core i9-14900KS if:

• Your cooling solution isn't capable of handling the heat.
• You don't have more than $600 to spend on a CPU.
• You want a power-efficient processor.

Intel has done some serious work pushing its Raptor Lake architecture to its limit and that's in the form of the Core i9-14900KS. This is one impressive processor, rocking 32 threads in total and the ability to boost up to 6.2 GHz with its P-cores, though you'll find it dropping below 6.0 GHz with sustained loads. Just be sure to factor in the immense power draw when looking at a new power supply. It's possible to see the 14900K suck more than 300W of power and will be matched by some of the best GPUs.

The Intel Core i9-14900KS is fantastic in terms of performance.

We've seen what Raptor Lake is capable of with this refresh and Intel's next series of chips will likely use new motherboards and chipsets. We're expecting big things from Arrow Lake. It needs to deliver to allow Intel to stay in the game with AMD. Processors like the Intel Core i9-14900KS are fantastic in terms of performance, but the power draw and heat generated by the chip under load make it a tough sell to those who don't want to spend a considerable sum of money on a PSU and CPU cooler.