Intel Core i9-14900K CPU Review

The FPS Review may receive a commission if you purchase something after clicking a link in this article.

Patriot Viper Xtreme 5 DDR5 8000MT/s RAM

In addition to pairing our Intel Core i9-14900K with a robust motherboard, we also wanted to give it the best chance possible and pair it with the fastest memory we could get our hands on in a very short time period. We reached out to Patriot, and they provided us with some of the fastest DDR5 memory that they currently have. We were able to include testing with Patriot’s Viper Xtreme 5 DDR5 32GB Kit rated at 8000MT/s CL38. We will be performing a full review of this RAM in the future, in the meantime we will use it in this review in all the i9-14900K data.

Patriot does offer the Viper Xtreme 5 DDR5 at up to 8200MT/s, and we have the 8000MT/s kit. The CAS Latencies are low at 38-48-48-84 and it operates at 1.45V and they come with a limited lifetime warranty. This is Patriot’s flagship memory in its Viper Gaming lineup. These RAM modules are made from a high-quality IC that is selected and screened for overclocking abilities. They utilize an aluminum Viper-head style heatshield and also have RGB options. They support Intel XMP 3.0 and RGB App, and have an unlocked PMIC for full performance options.

Now, while this RAM is rated at 8000MT/s, that all depends on the motherboard, BIOS, and CPU lottery for IMC controller. Unfortunately, we were not able to run this RAM at 8000MT/s as the ASRock Phantom Gaming Z790 NOVA WIFI is currently configured with 2.01 BIOS. Keep in mind that all of this is happening before the launch, and as such BIOS versions are in flux, and always an evolution of software.

When we installed the RAM into the motherboard and applied the XMP Profile 1 (8000MT/s) the motherboard would not make it through POST. This is likely an issue with BIOS, or even CPU/IMC silicon lottery (you never know). We have yet to try the RAM on other 14th Gen CPUs, or other motherboards. In the future, we will be testing the RAM with other 14th Gen CPUs and motherboards, so perhaps they will do better. In addition, we are sure ASRock will be releasing newer BIOS in the future for this motherboard, and then at that point, it may work just fine at 8000MT/s. We don’t think it’s the fault of the RAM, in this case.

All of that said, we did manage to run the Patriot Viper Xtreme 5 DDR5 RAM kit at the XMP Profile 2 instead. What this does is run the RAM at 7800MT/s instead, and still at the same CL38 setting. When we did this, the motherboard booted right up, and all of our testing went perfectly without a hitch.

Thankfully Patriot includes 3 XMP profiles into the RAM, which gives you options if 8000MT/s won’t work. In XMP Profile 1, it will set it to 8000MT/s CL38, at XMP Profile 2 it will run at 7800MT/s CL38, and at XMP Profile 3 it will run at 7600 CL36, so you have options. We ended up running it just fine at XMP Profile 2 for 7800MT/s CL38 in all of our testing today. In the future, when we get 8000 MT/s working, we can try out some CPU and game testing to see how that changes things.

Join the discussion in The FPS Review Forums...

REVIEW OVERVIEW

Performance
10
Efficiency (Perf per Watt)
5
Features
10
Value
8

SUMMARY

We reviewed the Intel Core i9-14900K, this refinement of the architecture allows a higher clock speed and that pays off in multi-core and multi-thread and single-core and single-thread workloads. It allows fast performance in productivity applications, and the fastest performance in games rivaling the competition. It requires huge power demand to achieve this performance, making it not very efficient, and it runs very hot. It's loaded with features, and the value is increased due to providing faster performance than the 13900K at the same price.

Discussion (8 replies)

Join Discussion →
Niner51

Nice review. I didn't have really high hopes for this "refresh", but was thinking of maybe a 14700K, but now that just wouldn't make sense.

D
David_Schroth 👍 1

"Niner51, post: 77600, member: 106" wrote:

Nice review. I didn't have really high hopes for this "refresh", but was thinking of maybe a 14700K, but now that just wouldn't make sense.


We have a 14700K in house - it should be on its way to Brent to get the review done (it was used on the launch motherboard review we did).

I ran benches on it for a few days and generally observed it to be on par or slightly faster than the 13900K except for some all core exercises like Cinebench while using the same amount of power.

Niner51

"David_Schroth, post: 77601, member: 1" wrote:

We have a 14700K in house - it should be on its way to Brent to get the review done (it was used on the launch motherboard review we did).



I ran benches on it for a few days and generally observed it to be on par or slightly faster than the 13900K except for some all core exercises like Cinebench while using the same amount of power.


That is good to hear, but from everything I have read here and have read everywhere else this 14th gen isn't worth the upgrade from my 13600K.

Brent_Justice
Brent_Justice 👍 3

14th Gen was never intended to be an upgrade from 13th Gen.

It was known well ahead of time that it would be just a refresh with a clock speed bump. It's been called Raptor Lake refresh for ages. The results are expected. I don't know why everyone is so shocked.

Niner51

"Brent_Justice, post: 77679, member: 3" wrote:

14th Gen was never intended to be an upgrade from 13th Gen.



It was known well ahead of time that it would be just a refresh with a clock speed bump. It's been called Raptor Lake refresh for ages. The results are expected. I don't know why everyone is so shocked.


A lot of people are overreacting for sure. I came in with an open mind that if one of these 14th gen processors were a worthy upgrade then I’d pull the trigger.

Peter_Brosdahl
Peter_Brosdahl 👍 2

Yeah, we had a post about a month ago with the Intel's road map post refresh and by mid-end 24 to early 2025, things look kind of exciting. Panther Lake and the next socket design.

https://www.thefpsreview.com/2023/09/21/intel-confirms-arrow-lake-lunar-lake-and-panther-lake-processor-lineups-will-begin-launching-in-2024-and-into-2025/

Grimlakin
Grimlakin 👍 1

Yep and right in line with the next CPU for AM5 right? should be a good time for CPU's, not so much for GPU's I'm thinking. Well 2025 maybe.

Niner51
Niner51 👍 1

"Peter_Brosdahl, post: 78141, member: 87" wrote:

Yeah, we had a post about a month ago with the Intel's road map post refresh and by mid-end 24 to early 2025, things look kind of exciting. Panther Lake and the next socket design.



https://www.thefpsreview.com/2023/09/21/intel-confirms-arrow-lake-lunar-lake-and-panther-lake-processor-lineups-will-begin-launching-in-2024-and-into-2025/


Yep, I will be waiting until next year to upgrade I believe. My 13600K is doing fine and should easily last me until then.

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

Recent News