Here’s What We Know About Intel’s New i9-12900KS Processor

Intel has revealed its next high-performance desktop processor, the i9-12900KS, which it claims can provide speeds up to 5.5 GHz.

Intel believes it will "provide the ultimate gaming experience"—until the next ultimate experience comes along, anyway—and will allow even more speed for overclocking enthusiasts. However, we'll have to wait until the i9-12900KS has been publicly released to put all of this to the test.

Key features and capabilities for the i9-12900KS, as listed by Intel, start with a maximum speed of up to 5.5 GHz (when using Intel's Thermal Velocity Boost feature). The hardware also contains eight performance and eight efficient cores (16 cores total) for higher processing speeds and 24 threads so it can handle more processes simultaneously. It also supports DDR5 4800 and DDR4 3200 RAM and is compatible with current Z690 motherboards

"Intel continues to push the envelope for desktop gaming with the new 12th Gen Intel Core i9-12900KS processor," said Intel's general manager of Gaming, Creator & Esports Segment, Marcus Kennedy, in the press release, "Based on Intel's 12th Gen performance hybrid architecture, this processor can hit 5.5 GHz on up to two cores for the first time, giving the most extreme gamers the ability to maximize performance."

The i9-12900KS will be up for sale on April 5, starting at $739.

Intel says it will be available on its own (so you can manually install it yourself) or as a component in new systems purchased from Intel or its distributors.