Intel 13th-Gen Raptor Lake Release Date, Specifications, Price, and Benchmarks

Once Intel’s 12^th generation Alder Lake CPUs came in full force, it quickly dethroned AMD and took over as the best performance-per-dollar lineup in the CPU world.

The successor to Alder Lake will be Raptor Lake, Intel’s 13^th-generation processors bring a considerable upgrade over 12^th gen CPUs, but how do they compare with AMD’s Ryzen 7000 series?

Let’s see exactly what Raptor Lake offers!

Release Date

Intel released its 13th-generation processors on October 20, 2022.

Lower TDP non-K and F variant CPUs launched January 3rd, 2023, alongside the T variant CPUs that offer even lower TDP at the cost of base and boost clock frequency.

Based on this Intel leaked roadmap, the Raptor Lake Refresh is coming soon, most likely in Q3 of 2023.

Furthermore, another leak regarding the supported platforms by oneVPL Intel GPU runtime shows that Meteor Lake will be supported, which is named as 14th Generation Intel Core.

In other words, the Raptor Lake Refresh will fall under the 13th Gen Series.

The 13th Gen CPUs use the same LGA1700 socket, so you can fit them in older Z690, B660, H670, and H610 motherboards. However, newer motherboards with the Z790 chipset are also available.

Note that AMD’s cheaper and lower TDP Ryzen 7000 processors are also out!

If you’re looking for the next generation of Intel processors, Meteor Lake will be coming in the second half of 2023.

Price

Intel’s 12^th generation CPUs were priced accordingly and delivered a great performance-per-dollar, easily taking down previous Ryzen best value processors.

Here are the prices for the initial Raptor Lake K-variant CPUs:

• Intel i9-13900KS – $699
• Intel i9-13900K – $589
• Intel i9-13900KF – $564
• Intel i7-13700K – $409
• Intel i7-13700KF – $384
• Intel i5-13600K – $319
• Intel i5-13600KF – $294

Here are the non-K and F variants:

• Intel i9-13900 – $549
• Intel i9-13900F – $524
• Intel i7-13700 – $384
• Intel i7-13700F – $359
• Intel i5-13600 – $255
• Intel i5-13500 – $232
• Intel i5-13400 – $221
• Intel i5-13400F – $196
• Intel i3-13100 – $134
• Intel i3-13100F – $109

Here are the T variants:

• Intel i9-13900T – $549
• Intel i7-13700T – $384
• Intel i5-13600T – $255
• Intel i5-13500T – $232
• Intel i5-13400T – $221
• Intel i3-13100T – $134

Overall, the pricing of these CPUs does not deviate too much from their predecessors, and it is pretty competitive against AMD’s Ryzen 7000 Series.

However, a proper motherboard paired with fast RAM is also important if you want to get the most performance out of a 13th Gen CPU, so that price must be factored in too.

Fortunately, 13th Gen CPUs can also be paired with DDR4 motherboards and RAM. And, even if you go down the DDR5 route, you’ll be glad to hear that you won’t need the most expensive DDR5 RAM kit for top tier performance.

Have a look at this chart:

When the i9-13900K is paired with a tuned/overclock DDR5 7200MHz RAM kit ($200+), it’s only about 2% faster than a setup wit a DDR5 6000 MHz RAM kit(~$120).

So, you can save a lot of money by tuning a cheaper RAM kit than spending $250 for high-end DDR5 RAM.

Specifications

Intel’s 13^th generation of processors use the big.LITTLE architecture (the same one on Alder Lake) on the 10nm Enhanced Superfin node or Intel 7.

Even though Intel didn’t go for a node shrink, the performance gains are quite impressive. The big.LITTLE architecture has a lot of room to grow and mature, and Intel can pull a lot of extra performance out of that.

Here’s a full specificaitons list of the Raptor Lake SKUs:

CPU	Cores	Threads	Base Frequency	Boost Clock	L3 Cache	TDP	Price
CPU	Cores	Threads	Base Frequency	Boost Clock	L3 Cache	TDP	Price
Intel Core i9-13900KS	8P+16E	32	?	6.0 GHz	36MB	125W+
Intel Core i9-13900K	8P+16E	32	4.3 GHz	5.8 GHz	36MB	125W	$589
Intel Core i9-13900KF	8P+16E	32	4.3 GHz	5.8 GHz	36MB	125W	$564
Intel Core i9-13900F	8P+16E	32	2.0 GHz	5.6 GHz	36MB	65W	$549
Intel Core i9-13900	8P+16E	32	2.0 GHz	5.6 GHz	36MB	65W	$524
Intel Core i9-13900T	8P+16E	32	1.1 GHz	5.3 GHz	36MB	35W	$549
Intel Core i7-13700K	8P+8E	24	4.2 GHz	5.4 GHz	30MB	125W	$409
Intel Core i7-13700KF	8P+8E	24	4.2 GHz	5.4 GHz	30MB	125W	$384
Intel Core i7-13700F	8P+8E	24	2.1 GHz	5.2 GHz	30MB	65W	$384
Intel Core i7-13700	8P+8E	24	2.1 GHz	5.2 GHz	30MB	65W	$359
Intel Core i7-13700T	8P+8E	24	1.4 GHz	4.9 GHz	30MB	35W	$384
Intel Core i5-13600K	6P+8E	20	3.5 GHz	5.1 GHz	24MB	125W	$319
Intel Core i5-13600KF	6P+8E	20	3.5 GHz	5.1 GHz	24MB	65W	$294
Intel Core i5-13600	6P+8E	20	2.7 GHz	5.0 GHz	24MB	65W	$255
Intel Core i5-13600T	6P+8E	20	1.8 GHz	4.8 GHz	24MB	35W	$255
Intel Core i5-13500	6P+8E	20	2.5 GHz	4.8 GHz	24MB	65W	$232
Intel Core i5-13500T	6P+8E	20	1.6 GHz	4.6 GHz	24MB	35W	$232
Intel Core i5-13400F	6P+4E	16	2.5 GHz	4.6 GHz	20MB	65W	$196
Intel Core i5-13400	6P+4E	16	2.5 GHz	4.6 GHz	20MB	65W	$221
Intel Core i5-13400T	6P+4E	16	1.3 GHz	4.4 GHz	20MB	35W	$221
Intel Core i3-13100	4P+0E	8	3.4 GHz	4.5 GHz	12MB	60W	$134
Intel Core i3-13100F	4P+0E	8	3.4 GHz	4.5 GHz	12MB	60W	$109
Intel Core i3-13100T	4P+0E	8	2.5 GHz	4.2 GHz	12MB	35W	$134

These SKUs easily fit on the top of our CPU Hierarchy list.

The initial release of Intel’s 13th generation brought fast and power-hungry CPUs to the table, but the latter release delivered affordable and more power-efficient options.

CPUs like the i9-13900, i7-13700, i5-13500, i5-13400F, and several others offer similar performance at a much lower TDP.

The upcoming Raptor Lake Refresh should be a response to AMD’s Ryzen 7000X3D CPUs, which are currently some of the fastest gaming chips.

However, Intel’s 13th-Gen biggest flaw is power consumption/efficiency while it is Zen 4’s stronger points. So, the success of this refreshed lineup will depend on whether the efficiency will improve or worsen.

Performance

There were several performance benchmarks/charts Intel released, but to get a clear picture of the CPU situation, we’ll need to look at some third-party benchmarks.

Intel Core i9-13900KS

The i9-13900KS was Intel’s last move with Raptor Lake to own the world’s fastest gaming processor, however, the Ryzen 7000X3D CPUs quickly took over that title.

Here are some benchmarks:

However, the “fastest gaming CPU” title shouldn’t have any affect on your CPU purchase.

Why?

Well, those four top CPUs on the chart above all perform practically on the same level differentiating from each other by no more than 5% in FPS.

So, the i9-13900KS is overkill. Less than a few percent faster than the i9-13900K while costing $100+ more.

Overall, the flagship i9 with DDR5 is about 4% faster than the Ryzen 7 7700X and 5% faster than the Ryzen 9 7950X and i7-13700K. So, value-wise the i7 and Ryzen 7 are a considerably better option.

Intel Core i9-13900K

This cheaper i9 makes a lot more sense in comparison to the i9 KS.

Here it is in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive:

CS:GO favors single-core speeds, so that’s why the R9 7950X edges out the i9-13900K by about 3%. But, a negligible difference.

In Shadow of the Tomb Raider, we see a different story.

Here, the i9-13900K is almost 10% faster than high-end contenders like the Ryzen 9 7950X and Ryzen 7 5800X3D.

But, the 7950X3D and the simulated Ryzen 7 7800X3D end up being faster. The fake 7800X3D is even 10% faster than the i9-13900KS.

So, gaming looks pretty good, but what about productivity tasks and efficiency?

Both the Ryzen 9 7950X and Intel i9-13900K top the charts for productivity tasks. The Ryzen is usually faster in Blender, compression, and decompression, while the i9 outperforms in code compiling, Adobe Photoshop, and others.

However, the i9-13900K is $110 cheaper than the Ryzen flagship!

Last, but not least is power consumption. To put it bluntly, if you are looking for an efficient processor, the Intel Core i9-13900K is not for you.

The i9-13900K pulls 300W during all-core workloads. That’s 45W more than the Ryzen 9 7950X and 139W more than the 7950X3D.

Gamers Nexus claims that the i9-13900K has the worst CPU efficiency.

Intel Core i7-13700K

This time around, we’ll start with productivity tasks simply because the i7 excels at them thanks to those 24 threads.

At just $409, the Intel i7-13700K has performance on par with the $549 Ryzen 9 7900X and sometimes even outperforms it.

This CPU technically should be a competitor to the 8-core Ryzen 7 7700X, but, in almost all productivity workloads, the i7 can be up to 36% faster. It’s also less than 10% slower than the i9-13900K.

But, what about gaming?

Raptor Lake delivers exceptional gaming performance, so naturally, the i7-13700K is up there, delivering performance identical to the Ryzen 7 7700X.

However, to get that 7700X-like performance, you must go with DDR5 RAM and motherboard. Otherwise, the i7 with DDR4 memory will be about 6% slower than the Ryzen 7 7700X.

Power consumption isn’t great, as it comes right behind the i9-13900K and pulls slightly more power than the i9-12900K. The heat output is also pretty high, so make sure to get a beefy cooler for this CPU.

The i9 and i7 are certainly one of the fastest CPUs in the world right now, but what about something with a much better price and considerably less power-hungry?

Let’s check out the i5-13600K!

Intel Core i5-13600K

The Intel i5-13600K is undoubtedly the best value CPU you can get out of the entire generation, for now.

This CPU delivers in all aspects while holding a reasonable price tag. To prove that, here are the benchmarks:

While these are charts just from two games, Final Fantasy XIV and Far Cry 6, the performance is consistent all across the board.

The i5-13600K beats all Ryzen 7000 CPUs in Far Cry 6, and it even outperforms the Ryzen 5 7600X by about 12%, which is its closest price contender.

The i5 is only about $20 more expensive than the 6-core Ryzen, so the superior option here is obvious.

But the bad news for AMD doesn’t end there. In productivity workloads, the i5-13600K is also pretty powerful.

In Blender, the i5-13600K is faster than numerous high-end CPUs like the i7-12700K, Ryzen 9 5950X, and Ryzen 7 7700X.

The only real downside to the Intel Core i5-13600K is its power consumption, something that we’ve noticed with all 13th-gen CPUs.

Peak power consumption is around 160W (with an all-core workload), surpassing even the i7-12700K. Although ultimately, its efficiency is better than the Ryzen 5 7600X!

Intel Core i5-13400F

While the i9s, i7s, and 13600K get most of the focus during the release of a new CPU generation, the real value is always in the lower TDP CPUs.

The i5-12400F was Intel’s best-value CPU (for gaming) throughout 2021 and 2022. Its successor, i5-13400F, which was released in early 2023, is now here to take over the value crown.

But will it?

Based on PC Centric’s testing, the 13400F doesn’t seem to hold up as good as the i5-12400F did. In Shadow of The Tomb Raider, the i5-13400F is more than 20% slower than the Ryzen 5 7600X.

This kind of performance gap means that the i5-13400F is only slightly faster than the 12400F, if at all. So, even though this new i5 has a price under $200, the i5-12400F remains the better value since it is cheaper.

Intel Core i3-13100/F

Over the past couple of CPU generations, even low-core CPUs offers some serious value, especially in gaming.

The i3-13100F, a 4-core/8-thread CPU has the potential to be the next best CPU under $150.

However, AMD’s Ryzen 5 5600 and Ryzen 5 5500 have already gotten huge price cuts, so the i3 does have competition. Let’s look at how Intel’s 4-core CPU fares in games.

With all three GPUs tested, the Ryzen 5600 comes out on top in gaming. With high-end GPUs like the RTX 4090 and 6950 XT, the Ryzen can be 10% faster or more than the i3-13100F.

Considering that both CPUs come at a similar price, the Ryzen is the obvious pick.

However, the i3-13100F may be closer to the $100 mark and may offer better value than the Ryzen.

Raptor Cove, Core Count And Clock Speeds

In this new generation of processors, Intel introduced the new high-performance (P-Cores) core, Raptor Cove, which repalced Golden Cove cores from Alder Lake.

There is also an increase in cores. Raptor Cove cores go up to 8 while E-cores go up to 16.

Three of the most popular SKUs get an upgrade in cores, threads, and core clocks.

The i9-13900K is also backed up with the new Enhanced Thermal Velocity Boost technology. That’s how the i9-13900KS reaches a record-breaking 6.0 GHz boost clock.

One thing is for sure is that Intel is a strong contender for the fastest gaming CPU title.

More Cache

AMD’s flagship gaming CPU, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, has a considerable performance gain over the regular 5800X thanks to the new 3D V-Cache technology. AMD managed to cram 96MB of L3 cache in one CPU with this technology.

So, it’s apparent that cache memory can significantly impact gaming performance. That is why Intel bumped up L2 and L3 cache.

So, each Raptor Cove core gets 2Mb of L2 cache (compared to 1.25Mb for Golden Cove), while each Gracemont Cluster can have between 2MB to 4MB.

L3 Cache is also upgraded to 3 MB per P-Core and 3 MB per Gracemont Cluster. So, potentially that’s 32MB of L2 cache + 36 MB of L3 cache, which amounts to 68MB of cache.

Socket

Intel is well known for changing its socket/platform too frequently, but, fortunately, this new generation of CPUs fits in the same LGA1700 socket that Alder Lake used.

So, if anyone is looking to upgrade from Alder Lake to a Raptor Lake chip, any of the old motherboards will suffice. But, of course, with the right BIOS version.

Unlike AMD, though, Intel will continue its support for DDR4 memory with Raptor Lake, ultimately making the switch to this new platform relatively cheaper.

So, when you’re building your Intel 13th-Gen system, you can either go with DDR5 or DDR4 with the 700 series motherboards.

More USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, Thunderbolt 4 and PCIe 5.0 M.2 slots are also supported

Laptop 13th-Gen CPUs

Intel’s 13th-Gen desktop CPUs have certainly made a huge impact, but the laptop processors are nothing to scoff at either.

The three high-end Raptor Lake CPUs easily took place in the top 10 laptop CPU list by PassMark.

The i9-13980HX is especially incredible since it took that number one spot and right next to it is the i9-13900HX, both overtaking AMD’s Ryzen 9 7845HX.

However, once Ryzen 9 7945HX was tested in PassMark and reviews started dropping, AMD quickly took back that number one spot for laptop CPUs.

The multi-core benchmark in Cinebench R23, the Ryzen 9 7945HX is about 4% faster than the i9-13980HX. But remember that mobile CPU performance is always heavily influenced by the laptop’s cooling.

Still, the flagship laptop CPU is definitely a beast, just have a look at this Cinebench R23 comparison:

In this test, the i9-13980HX (displayed as i9-13980HK) is 17% faster than the desktop i9-12900K and about 107% faster than the M2 Max!

However, this performance does come at a cost. Power consumption is through the rough, going up to 150W and averaging around 120W, That’s 4 times more than the M2 Max

Either way, the i9-13980HX shows us that Intel’s 13th-Gen laptop CPUs have the potential to offer serious performance.

That’s about it from Raptor Lake. Intel released all of the 13th-generation processors, which brought more than enough performance over Alder Lake.

Next up is Intel’s 14th-Gen CPUs, Meteor Lake!