Intel 14900K vs 13900K: Should you upgrade?
Intel’s latest refresh of its CPUs comes in the form of the 14th generation chips, with the 14900K being the new flagship. Though, is it worth the upgrade?
There’s a lot to say about the Intel 14th generation. It’s a little unprecedented, as it’s just a minor refresh rather than a bigger new platform, that was rumored previously. Intel has delayed any true upgrade until next year at this point. Instead, we get Raptor Lake Refresh, the 14th generation, which posits a question: Is it worth even investing in the 14th generation?
With the reviews and benchmarks now out in the wild, it appears there’s not much of an improvement over the last generation to outright recommend an upgrade. However, if you’re coming in fresh to a build, it could very much be worth your while.
Intel 13900K vs 14900K: Price
Both the 13th and 14th generation chips have the same listed price from Intel. While you’ll find neither at those designated prices at most retailers, it’s worth considering the 14th generation in this case.
From our scouring of prices from different retailers, the 13th generation’s lower-end chips have had discounts that’d make them preferable. However, if you’re building a beast that houses a CPU like the 14900K or 13900K, what’s $30?
That’s right, the cheapest 13900K is just a mere $30 under the latest 14900K. In this case, we’d say jump all the way into the 14th generation.
Amazon, B&H, and Newegg all list the 13900K at $569.99, while the 14th generation – on Amazon and B&H – is sat at $599 (or $598 on B&H). If you’re all about squeezing the absolute most out of your PC, it becomes a no-brainer.
14900K vs 13900K: Specs
| CPU | Cores (Performance + Efficiency) | Threads | P-Core Base (GHz) | E-Core Base (GHz) | P-Core Boost (GHz) | E-Core Boost (GHz) | Base Power (W) | Turbo Power (W) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| i9-14900K | 24 (8+16) | 32 | 3.2 | 2.4 | 5.6 | 4.4 | 125 | 253 |
| i9-13900K | 24 (8+16) | 32 | 3 | 2.2 | 5.4 | 4.3 | 125 | 253 |
On paper, the i9-14900K is a minimal upgrade, and in reality, they’re almost identical. Where you’re going to start seeing the major differences is in the super gritty details.
In terms of specs, the main difference is that the i9-14900K can hit that 6GHz, but can breach a monster 300W power requirement. Some videos online state it can also run up to 370W.
For hosting other components, the 14th generation chip can now use beyond 8000MT/s DDR5 RAM. This should allow those fitting it in their systems more options once these sticks land.
If you’re wondering why this is a brief segment, it’s because there’s not a lot to talk about. Intel is using the same architecture and fabs to produce the 14th generation. It’s not really a true new generation when you break it down, but marketing is king.
Intel 14900K vs 13900K: Performance
Looking at Cinebench scores for the two CPUs, the 14900K and 13900K are separated by a tiny fraction. An additional 126 points over the last generation, the 14900K sits at 2327 versus the 13900K’s 2201 in single-core tests.
Multicore is a bit of a different story, but again, these are marginal upgrades over the last versions. Intel has quite literally ‘refreshed’ the 13th generation and it appears that outside of a few higher clock speeds, going with either is fair game here.
For the scores in the multicore tests, the 13900K scored 37967, while the 14900K scored 40644. Of course, this is all mileage and variety.
Synthetic benchmarks don’t mean squat when you’re gaming though. How do they work in a real-world environment? Well, as pointed out by many outlets now, there’s little difference. According to Techradar, there’s a 0.2% difference when playing titles like Returnal.
14900K vs 13900K: Which should you buy?
Intel has an odd situation on its hands this time around. The 14th generation is so close in terms of performance and general specs to the 13th, that it becomes a hard toss-up. If the 13th generation ever gets its price slashed, and we suspect it will soon, we’d say go for the 13900K. The differences in terms of gaming are negligible and in other productivity or production applications, it’ll be a workhorse for years to come.
However, if by the time Black Friday comes around, the 13900K hasn’t seen a price drop, we’d say spend the extra $30 and have the freshest CPU available to you.
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