Due to an early Intel Core i9-13900K retail overview on Bilibili, we get an early take a look at Raptor Lake’s architectural enhancements and efficiency enhancements over Intel’s twelfth Gen Alder Lake structure on finalized CPU silicon. Be warned that this overview is tremendous early, launched far sooner than the October 20 official launch. So take all this data with a grain of salt.
The overview exhibits us that Intel’s design philosophy going into Raptor Lake was to enhance each its frequency headroom and its multi-threaded efficiency – by doubling the E cores and enhancing the structure’s L2 and L3 cache efficiency.
However beginning with core frequencies first, the Core i9-13900K sees an enormous clock pace enchancment over its predecessor, the Core i9-12900K, that includes a 5.8 GHz peak increase on cores 1 and a pair of, whereas cores 3-8 see a peak turbo increase clock of 5.5 GHz. Likewise, the E cores noticed a stellar enchancment, going from 3.7 GHz on the Core i9-12900K to 4.3 GHz on the Core i9-13900K – regardless of core counts doubling from 8 to 16 concurrently.
In keeping with the reviewer, Intel has additionally optimized the ring bus to assist enhance entry delays between the cores. In Intel’s Alder Lake design, the ring bus would drop 3600 MHz when the E cores have been primarily energetic over the P cores. Nevertheless, with the Core i9-13900K, the ring bus now operates at greater than 4600 MHz. This small however important change vastly improves core-to-core communication latency to round 30-33 ns throughout all 24 cores, excluding exceptions. Alder Lake’s core latency outcomes present roughly 30-33 ns for eight cores and 35-40ns for the remainder.
Raptor Lake Cache Enhancements
Total, the Core i9-13900K sees a 5-11% latency enchancment within the L1, L2, and L3 caches in comparison with the Core i9-12900K on the P cores. In distinction, the E cores see a way more vital 16-18% enchancment in benchmarks examined.
On prime of this, due to Raptor Lake’s greater L2 and L3 cache sizes, latency additionally improves for an extended period, as every check can keep within the L2 or L3 cache for longer since cache sizes have elevated. Raptor Lake accomplishes this increase in latency with two strategies, the primary is because of Raptor Lake’s frequency enhancements to the cores, and second, the cache efficiency largely stays the identical when taking frequency out of the equation.
It’s good as a result of increased cache capability often straight impacts cache latency. However with Raptor Lake, we’re not seeing this habits as appropriate for efficiency. The one exception to the latency enhancements is with the L3 cache, the place we all know a bit of additional latency on the edges of the L3 check. Nevertheless, the E cores are honest, simply pretty much as good, and even higher the place the L3 cache is worried, and so they see a latency discount in comparison with Alder Lake.
Bandwidth has additionally improved quite a bit, however it will depend on the workload. For instance, learn efficiency will increase with the L1 cache by 12.5% in single-threaded testing on the P cores. In every single place else, nonetheless, efficiency is similar between each architectures – together with the E cores. However, in multi-threaded workloads, cache bandwidth is vastly improved from 11% to 44%. In keeping with the reviewer, it is because of monstrous pure L3 cache bandwidth enhancements, from increased affiliation as much as 12 means vs. 10 means.
Raptor Lake Efficiency
In Cinebench R15, R20, and R23, the Core i9-13900K gained a 12.5% common efficiency enchancment over the Core i9-12900KF with the P cores solely within the single-threaded check. Nevertheless, in testing with the E-cores, the Core i9-13900K sees a 16% single-threaded enchancment in efficiency over the Core i9-12900K’s E cores, however the identical 12% within the different Cinebench variations.
Multi-threaded outcomes confirmed much more excellent outcomes, with a 48% common efficiency enchancment for the Raptor Lake half in all three Cinebench variations. Moreover, in all different assessments the overview performed, together with 7z decompression, compression, cryptography, 3DMark, and extra, the Core i9-13900K was, on common, 41% quicker than the Core i9-12900KF.
The reviewer additionally examined pure IPC outcomes with a locked 3.6 GHz frequency. For the P cores, they netted a 12% IPC enchancment for the Core i9-13900K over the Core i9-12900KF and a 6% enchancment for the E cores.
Gaming assessments have been additionally performed in a number of video games, together with Ashes of the Singularity, CSGO, and extra. Total, the Core i9-13900K netted a ten%+ enchancment over the Core i9-12900KF.
If this reviewer’s knowledge is correct, Raptor Lake is a major improve over Alder Lake in nearly each means. It gives a generational leap in efficiency in most areas with out shifting to a more recent Intel node. These enhancements will be attributed to the L2 and L3 cache density, latency, bandwidth enhancements, and the added frequency headroom. To not point out including 2x extra E cores in comparison with Alder Lake.
Nevertheless, we have now to emphasize that these are very, very early outcomes for Raptor Lake, they could very nicely be correct, however we have now to take them with a grain of salt for now till we see extra third occasion critiques come out round Raptor Lake’s launch date of October 20.
