Intel Core i9-13900K and i5-13600K Review: Raptor Lake Brings More Bite
by Gavin Bonshor on October 20, 2022 9:00 AM ESTSPEC2017 Single-Threaded Results
SPEC2017 is a series of standardized tests used to probe the overall performance between different systems, different architectures, different microarchitectures, and setups. The code has to be compiled, and then the results can be submitted to an online database for comparison. It covers a range of integer and floating point workloads, and can be very optimized for each CPU, so it is important to check how the benchmarks are being compiled and run.
We run the tests in a harness built through Windows Subsystem for Linux, developed by Andrei Frumusanu. WSL has some odd quirks, with one test not running due to a WSL fixed stack size, but for like-for-like testing it is good enough. Because our scores aren’t official submissions, as per SPEC guidelines we have to declare them as internal estimates on our part.
For compilers, we use LLVM both for C/C++ and Fortan tests, and for Fortran we’re using the Flang compiler. The rationale of using LLVM over GCC is better cross-platform comparisons to platforms that have only have LLVM support and future articles where we’ll investigate this aspect more. We’re not considering closed-source compilers such as MSVC or ICC.
clang version 10.0.0
clang version 7.0.1 (ssh://git@github.com/flang-compiler/flang-driver.git
24bd54da5c41af04838bbe7b68f830840d47fc03)
-Ofast -fomit-frame-pointer
-march=x86-64
-mtune=core-avx2
-mfma -mavx -mavx2
Our compiler flags are straightforward, with basic –Ofast and relevant ISA switches to allow for AVX2 instructions.
To note, the requirements for the SPEC licence state that any benchmark results from SPEC have to be labeled ‘estimated’ until they are verified on the SPEC website as a meaningful representation of the expected performance. This is most often done by the big companies and OEMs to showcase performance to customers, however is quite over the top for what we do as reviewers.
Opening things up with SPECint2017 single-threaded performance, it's clear that Intel has improved ST performance for Raptor Lake on generation-upon-generation basis. Because the Raptor Cove P-cores used here don't deliver significant IPC gains, these performance gains are primarily being driven by the chip's higher frequency. In particular, Intel has made notable progress in improving their v/f curve, which allows Intel to squeeze out more raw frequency.
And this is something Intel's own data backs up, with one of Intel's performance breakdown slides showing that the bulk of the gains are due to frequency, while improved memory speeds and the larger caches only making small contributions.
The ST performance itself in SPECint2017 is marginally better going from Alder Lake to Raptor Lake, but these differences can certainly be explained by the improvements as highlighted above. What's interesting is the performance gap between the Core i9-13900K and the Ryzen 9 7950X isn't as far apart as it was with Alder Lake vs. Ryzen 9 5950X. In 500.perlbench_r, the Raptor Lake chip actually outperforms the Zen 4 variant by just under 4%, while Ryzen 9 7950X is a smidgen over 10% better in the 505.mcf_r test.
Looking at the second set of SPEC2017 results (fp), the Ryzen 9 7950X is ahead of the Core i9-13900K by 16% in the 503.bwaves_r test, while the Raptor Lake chip is just under 10% better off in the 508.namd_r test. The key points to digest here is that Intel has done well to bridge the gap in single-threaded performance to Ryzen 7000 in most of the tests, and overall, it's a consistent trade-off between which test favors which mixture of architecture, frequency, and most importantly of all, IPC performance.
While we highlighted in our AMD Ryzen 9 7950X processor review, which at the time of publishing was the clear leader in single-core performance, it seems as though Intel's Raptor Lake is biting at the heels of the new Zen 4-core. In some instances, it's actually ahead, but stiff competition from elsewhere is always good as competition creates innovation.
With Raptor Lake being more of a transitional and enhanced core design that Intel's worked with before (Alder Lake), it remains to be seen what the future of 2023 holds for Intel's advancement in IPC and single-threaded performance. Right now, however SPEC paints a picture where it's pretty much neck and neck between Raptor Cove and Zen 4.
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WannaBeOCer - Friday, October 21, 2022 - link
Did you even read the article? Intel advertises the 13900k as a 253w chip. It drew 32% more than it advertised while AMD advertises its 7950x as a 170w and it drew 30% more than they advertised.“Processor Base Power
125 W
Maximum Turbo Power
253 W”
Wrs - Friday, October 21, 2022 - link
You're comparing the PL2 of one chip with the TDP of the other. Also, the article mentioned the motherboard may have something to do with ignoring the PL2 on the 13900k.If the chip can't dissipate PL2, it'll incrementally step down to TDP gracefully. It's like you're complaining your 130mph sedan went 165mph on the race track...
Gastec - Sunday, October 23, 2022 - link
Oh, so the motherboards are the culprits for overclocking the CPU's to new height of financial success, not Intel?WhatYaWant - Thursday, October 20, 2022 - link
7600x seems a bit overpriced, doesn’t it?ingwe - Thursday, October 20, 2022 - link
Yeah it does. $250 seems like a better price--maybe even a bit lower. It will probably come down. I just picked up a 5600 for $125 though so I am set. I suspect that the price will only come down on the 7600x once the stock of 5 series is cleared out.meacupla - Thursday, October 20, 2022 - link
I am happy that Raptor Lake offers stiff competition to Zen 4. Hopefully AMD brings down the price of 7600X, and hurry up and launch their B650 boardscaqde - Thursday, October 20, 2022 - link
?? B650 is released? At least on Newegg and amazon you can purchase a selection of B650 motherboards today. Out of the 23 boards listed, 1 is out of stock and 5 are preoders for the 21st or 27th. So that leaves 17 boards that you can purchase today that are in stock, the in stock boards go from 170-350 (Asrock 650M PG Riptide and Gigabyte B650E Aorus Master respectively). But yeah AMD should and from what I have heard can lower Zen 4 prices to compete with Intel's prices.haukionkannel - Thursday, October 20, 2022 - link
When AMD release 3d cache versions, it will reduce the prices of normal versions.How much, is interesting question. I expect that AMD also will release 7600 to compete with intel in price, so 7600x may not come down a lot.
meacupla - Thursday, October 20, 2022 - link
Oh, B650 is out already? I saw no news coverage of them, so I thought they were still waiting to be released.techguymaxc - Thursday, October 20, 2022 - link
You list Handbrake under legacy tests however, either the graphs or mislabeled or the tests are not included. Did you test these CPUs with Handbrake? If so, please post the results. If not, please consider testing and updating the article. This is the only workload that matters to me, and the number one reason I come to Anandtech for CPU reviews/benchmarks.