12th Gen Intel Core i9-12900K “Alder Lake” CPUs Already Being Sold in China for Over $1,000

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Image: Intel

Intel’s 12th generation of Core processors isn’t slated for launch until later this year, but enthusiasts who live in China and have the right connections can reportedly get their hands on one of the models now if they’re willing to pay a premium price. As alleged by hardware leaker YuuKi_AnS, one anonymous merchant has received qualification samples of Intel’s Core i9-12900K “Alder Lake” processor and is selling them for prices ranging from $1,064.95 to $1,157.55. While some might actually try to acquire the unreleased CPU for bragging rights, it doesn’t seem like the most sensible idea, as the motherboards required to run these chips aren’t available yet. The merchant is also only willing to sell the Core i9-12900K as part of a bulk order (minimum 100 units). Officially demonstrated during CES 2021, Intel’s Alder Lake processors are anticipated for their novel design comprising both high-performance and high-efficiency cores.

Image: VideoCardz

The engineering samples (ES) of the Core i9-12900K feature a 5.3 GHz dual-core boost clock and a 5 GHz all-core boost clock on the Golden Cove cores. As for the Gracemont cores, they operate with a 3.9 GHz quad-core boost clock and a 3.7 GHz all-core boost clock. It’s safe to assume that the qualification samples could feature improved clock speeds.

Source: YuuKi_AnS (via Tom’s Hardware)

Tsing Mui
News poster at The FPS Review.

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