Intel Core i9-13900K and i5-13600K Review: Raptor Lake Brings More Bite
by Gavin Bonshor on October 20, 2022 9:00 AM ESTZ790 Chipset: More I/O Than Z690, But Same Performance
One of the main talking points surrounding all processor launches at present is platform affordability. When Intel launched its 12th Gen Alder Lake core series processors towards the tail end of 2021, it enabled users to utilize the higher bandwidth DDR5 memory in a desktop platform. As DDR5 memory supply was low and consumer demand was high during Alder Lake’s initial launch, this sky rocketed prices and it made it near impossible for users to buy a DDR5 kit to use with 12th Gen. Intel did offer support for both DDR5-4800 and DDR4-3200, but motherboards (600-series) could only support one or the other.
Although this hasn’t changed with Intel’s latest Z790 chipset, Intel does offer support for both DDR5 and DDR4 with its 13th Gen Raptor Lake Core processors; something AMD doesn’t do with Ryzen 7000 series, much to consumer’s angst. Even though Intel has opted for a higher DDR5 memory speed (5600 MT/s versus 4800 MT/s) compared to Alder Lake, DDR4 memory support remains at DDR4-3200.
| Intel Z690, Z590, and Z490 Chipset Comparison | ||||
| Feature | Z790 | Z690 | Z590 | Z490 |
| Socket | LGA1700 | LGA1700 | LGA1200 | LGA1200 |
| PCIe Lanes (CPU) | 16 x 5.0 4 x 4.0 |
16 x 5.0 4 x 4.0 |
20 x 4.0 | 16 x 3.0 |
| PCIe Lanes (Chipset) | 20 x 4.0 8 x 3.0 |
12 x 4.0 16 x 3.0 |
24 x 3.0 | 24 x 3.0 |
| PCIe Specification (CPU) | 5.0/4.0 | 5.0/4.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 |
| Memory Support | DDR5-5600B DDR4-3200 |
DDR5-4800B DDR4-3200 |
DDR4-3200 | DDR4-2933 |
| PCIe Config | x16 x8/x8 x8/x8/x4 |
x16 x8/x8 x8/x8/x4 |
x16 x8/x8 x8/x8/x4 |
x16 x8/x8 x8/x8+x4 |
| DMI Lanes | x8 4.0 | x8 4.0 | x8 3.0 | x4 3.0 |
| Max USB 3.2 (Gen2/Gen1) | 10/10 | 10/10 | 6/10 | 6/10 |
| USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) | Y (5) | Y (4) | Y (4) | ASMedia |
| Total USB | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 |
| Max SATA Ports | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 |
| Memory Channels (Dual) | 2/2 | 2/2 | 2/2 | 2/2 |
| Intel Optane Memory Support | N | Y | Y | Y |
| Intel Rapid Storage Tech (RST) | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Integrated Wi-Fi MAC | Wi-Fi 6E | Wi-Fi 6E | Wi-Fi 6 | Wi-Fi 6 |
| Intel Smart Sound | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Overclocking Support | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Intel vPro | N | N | N | N |
| ME Firmware | 16 | 16 | 15 | 14 |
| TDP (W) | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
Looking at the Intel chipset comparison table above, one could really question what’s actually different about Z790 when compared directly to Z690, especially given that Z690 does allow full support for 13th Gen processors; yes, there is no hidden secret sauce or performance unlocking features, Z690 and Z790 will perform the same in compute and gaming.
The key differences are that Z790 offers an additional 8 x PCIe 4.0 lanes from the chipset, but at the cost of 8 x PCIe 3.0 lanes. This means Z790 still offers a total of 28 x PCI lanes when compared to Z690, but it gives vendors further flexibility to utilize the extra PCIe 4.0 lanes for high bandwidth M.2 slots and additional Thunderbolt 4 controllers, while still offering a few PCIe 3.0 lanes for devices such as additional NICs, streaming cards, and other non-bandwidth critical devices.
Intel says Goodbye to Optane Memory (Cache), No Support on Z790
One thing to note with Z790 is that along with Intel’s decision to kill its Optane business; this chipset will NOT support Intel's Optane Memory, Intel's Optane-based drive caching solution. Using Z690 combined with 12th Gen should still yield the same level of support as before, but using Z790 will not allow Optane Memory to be used, which is understandable as Intel winds down its Optane and 3DXpoint storage division.
The main benefit for opting for Z790 over Z690 is essentially down to PCIe 4.0 I/O capabilities, with support for one more additional USB 3.2 G2x2 Type-C port compared to Z690. Having spoken to Intel directly about processor performance with either chipset, they made it clear that they do not expect compute or gaming performance to be any different regardless of whether you’re using the new Z790 or the existing Z690 chipset.
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OreoCookie - Tuesday, October 25, 2022 - link
Yes, TDP has a meaning, and technically, neither company is using it correctly. Back in the good-ol’ days when TDP was really max power under load, it easily allowed you to spec a cooler. Clock boosts were meant to be temporary, transient states so that *on average*, you’d still lie within the thermal budget of the cooler. Obviously, we are well past that.So yes, AMD is playing it a bit loose (+31 %). But Intel is playing it ridiculous: the i9’s max power (as tested here) is 2.7x (!) their “TDP”. Reply
shaolin95 - Thursday, October 20, 2022 - link
AMD does the same thing. dont be a fanboy Replyyh125d - Thursday, October 20, 2022 - link
If you're equating AMD going ~50w over TDP to intel going 210w over TDP, you're being the fanboy. ReplyYojimbo - Friday, October 21, 2022 - link
AMD's turbo clocking is more than 50W. ReplyYojimbo - Friday, October 21, 2022 - link
i checked and it's 60 W. That doesn't make AMD "less dishonest”. Neither company are being dishonest. It means AMD does not intend their desktop products to be used in lower power products. If you want to design a product around a Ryzen 7950X you need a 170 W cooling solution. Whereas you can put an i9 13900K in a product that can only dissipate 125 W. That's the difference between the two processors in terms if the TDPs. That's what TDP means. ReplyTruebilly - Friday, October 21, 2022 - link
I'd like to see someone run that 13900k with 120mm rad ReplyWrs - Friday, October 21, 2022 - link
I mean, it works. The processor automatically steps down the v/f curve and doesn't hiccup with a puny cooler good for 140'ish W. I tested a 12900k with a low-profile AXP-200 from my Skylake days. Performance wasn't bad, over 4GHz all 16 cores. I left all the OC settings on, or else stock E-cores would be 3.9GHz. Replynandnandnand - Thursday, October 20, 2022 - link
Go look at some efficiency curves for the 7950X and 13900K, for example at 19:00 in Hardware Unboxed's review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P40gp_DJk5E ReplyYojimbo - Friday, October 21, 2022 - link
none of the companies "do” anything here. The "doing" is by the people who, though they are ignorant, write seething rants in comment sections damning the companies. Replybji - Friday, October 21, 2022 - link
This issue would be a lot less contentious if technical sites like Anandtech actually used their expertise to curate information presented. They just shouldn't even show TDP as it's simply not relevant to the end users who are reading the articles. They should have some standard benchmark they run to determine peak and maximum sustained power draws and show ONLY those values in any charts. Reply