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Intel Core i9-14900KF is ranked fastest single-core CPU

The 14th Gen Intel processor's 4,939 point PassMark score sees it claim the top spot as fastest CPU from the Intel Core i9-13900KS.

Intel Core i9 14900KF PassMark benchmark: an Intel Core logo appears against a blue background.

The Intel Core i9-14900KF, arriving this October, has taken top spot for the PassMark benchmarking software. The unparalleled Intel Core i9 14900KF PassMark score of 4,939 eclipses the 4,769 scored by the previous leader, last generation’s Intel Core i9-13900KS.

With the Intel 14th gen release date approaching, we’re excited to see what Intel has accomplished with its hotly anticipated Raptor Lake Refresh processors. Now that more benchmarks are appearing online, such as this new data from PassMark, we can start to build up a picture of the sort of performance gains the latest generation represents. The gain is nothing groundbreaking, but still an improvement over what’s come before.

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PassMark collects data on desktop CPUs, among others, and how they fare against each other when asked to perform single and multicore tasks. Until the Intel Core i9-14900KF, which doesn’t have integrated graphics, came along, the top spots were dominated by Intel Raptor Lake CPUs. But it looks like the new generation is going to change that, at least where single-core performance is concerned.

The Intel Core i9-14900KF’s score of 4,939, achieved in the single-core benchmark, makes it the fastest CPU on PassMark. However, when it comes to multi-core output, it’s actually slightly slower than the i9-13900KS (the integrated graphics-less cousin of the 13900K). If you need your PC to execute multiple, complex tasks, that’s something you might want to bear in mind.

But gamers will be happy to see the new generation of CPUs pulling away in single-core speed. The Intel Core i9 14900KF achieved its top spot thanks to a beastly boost clock speed of 6GHz out of the box, which is an impressive enough speed anyway, let alone for a chip with 24 cores and able to run 32 threads at a time (though it won’t hit 6GHz with all those cores loaded).

Intel has several entries in our list of the best gaming CPUs, but AMD currently has more, thanks largely to its X3D cache technology providing a boost in real-world gaming performance. Will the launch of Intel’s 14th gen processors do anything to change that? We’ll have to wait and see, as the early signs suggest the new processors could see just a modest performance jump from the previous generation.

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