Intel Core i9-13900K CPU Review

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Gaming Performance

Now we come to the interesting testing we are sure you all can’t wait for, we were also anxious to get to this part and see how it all ends up for gaming performance. In order to test this properly, really get a good feel for it, and cover all the bases for the big picture, we decided to test 1080p, 1440p, and 4K resolutions, all three resolutions to see from top to bottom how these CPUs affect performance games. For testing, we are using an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti Founders Edition video card. Since we are testing all 3 resolutions, it’ll be a good mix to see where the CPU matters and where it doesn’t.

All the graphs below are not sorted, they are not sorted from fastest to slowest as in previous graphs, instead, they are simply labeled in groups by platform, from fastest CPU to least fastest CPU. As you look at performance, try to look down the column of the resolution, to see which one is faster than the other, to help your eyes see which one is faster.

F1 2022

Intel Core i9-13900K F1 2022 Performance Graph

In F2 2022 we do not see any major changes at 4K, and only very slight differences at 1440p. If you want to get nitpicky at 1440p, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D and Intel Core i9-13900K have the same performance, which is higher than that of the Ryzen 7000 series CPUs. At 1080p there is a larger difference, and again we see the Intel Core i9-13900K on top in performance, and this time beating the Ryzen 7 5800X3D by 1 FPS.

Dying Light 2

Intel Core i9-13900K Dying Light 2 Performance Graph

We do see some bigger differences start to show in Dying Light 2. First, at 4K there isn’t any difference, or hardly anyway, maybe an FPS at most. However, at 1440p there is as much as a few FPS difference between the Intel Core i9-13900K and Ryzen 7000 series CPUs and even the 5800X3D. We see larger differences at 1080p though. Take note that the Ryzen 7 5800X3D is outperformed by the new Intel Core i9-13900K at 1080p here. The 13900K is also faster than all of the Ryzen 7000 CPUs at 1080p. The 13900K is the same performance as the 12900K.

Far Cry 6

Intel Core i9-13900K Far Cry 6 Performance Graph

Out of all the games so far, Far Cry 6 is showing the most drastic differences, and we have seen this time and time again with this game. It is sensitive to CPU performance, even at 4K. At 4K the slowest CPUs are all of the Ryzen 7000 series CPUs, they actually sit at the lowest performance, under 90FPS. The Ryzen 7 5800X3D improved upon this, and apparently, the new Intel Core i9-13900K can also match the Ryzen 7 5800X3D in performance at 4K. This difference is even more drastic at 1440p, where the Ryzen 7000 series CPUs are about 8-9 FPS behind the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, but the new Intel Core i9-13900K can actually beat the Ryzen 7 5800X3D in performance at 1440p. This makes the Core i9-13900K about 11% faster than the Ryzen 9 7950X at 1440p, which is a resolution that is real-world even for a 3090. At 1080p the difference is exaggerated, the 13900K is 17% faster than the Ryzen 9 7950X, which is significant. It’s also 10% faster than the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, which is an amazing feat. The 13900K is also 7% faster than the 12900K.

Watch Dogs Legion

Intel Core i9-13900K Watch Dogs Legion Performance Graph

In Watch Dogs Legion, see a similar pattern with this game that we saw with Far Cry 6. Even at 4K, the Intel Core i9-1300K is slightly faster, a few FPS, compared to the Ryzen 7000 series CPUs. It’s enough to even push past the Ryzen 7 5800X3D. At 1440p the difference grows and Core i9-13900K is 8% faster than the Ryzen 9 7950X and 3% faster than the Ryzen 7 5800X3D. At 1080p the i9-13900K is 7% faster than the Ryzen 9 7950X and 5% faster than the Ryzen 7 5800X3D. The 13900K is the same performance as the 12900K is.

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REVIEW OVERVIEW

Performance
10
Efficiency (Perf per Watt)
5
Features
10
Value
7

SUMMARY

We put the Intel Core i9-13900K Raptor Lake CPU through its paces and benchmarked synthetic and gaming scenarios at various resolutions. The CPU maintained a high-performance level, rivaling the competition, AMD Ryzen 7000 series. However, it came at a high cost, that cost was power usage and temperature. While it is loaded with features, its overall value is detracted by way of this tremendous power utilization in order to maintain its performance leadership.
Brent Justicehttps://www.thefpsreview.com
Former managing editor of GPUs at HardOCP for 18 years, Brent Justice has been reviewing computer components since the late 90s, educated in the art and method of the computer hardware review, he brings experience, knowledge, and hands-on testing with a gamer-oriented and hardware enthusiast perspective. You can follow him on Twitter - @Brent_Justice You can sub to his YouTube channel - Justice Gaming https://www.youtube.com/c/JusticeGamingChannel You can check out his computer builds on KIT - @BrentJustice https://kit.co/BrentJustice

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We put the Intel Core i9-13900K Raptor Lake CPU through its paces and benchmarked synthetic and gaming scenarios at various resolutions. The CPU maintained a high-performance level, rivaling the competition, AMD Ryzen 7000 series. However, it came at a high cost, that cost was power usage and temperature. While it is loaded with features, its overall value is detracted by way of this tremendous power utilization in order to maintain its performance leadership.Intel Core i9-13900K CPU Review