Intel Core i9-14901KE With Just 8 P-Cores Is Faster Than Core i9-12900KS With 16 Cores

Intel's fastest P-Core Only CPU, the Core i9-14901KE, has been tested and ends up being faster than the 16-core Core i9-12900KS.

Last month, Intel silently introduced its P-Core-only offerings as the 14th Gen "E" series. These new chips are designed for embedded platforms but feature support on the LGA 1700 socket. The CPUs range from 6 P-cores to 8 P-cores and feature up to 36 MB of L3 cache & up to 5.8 GHz clocks. The lineup also includes a "K" Unlocked SKU with a TDP rated at 125W. This is the Core i9-14901KE which is also the flagship of the family.

While the Intel Core i9-14900K features 24 Cores and 32 threads (8 P-Cores + 16 E-Cores), the Core i9-14901KE features 8 P-Cores and 16 threads. The 14901KE has a 200 MHz lower peak boost since the 14900K can boost up to 6.0 GHz though it mostly averages around 5.8 GHz. The CPU has been tested at Geekbench 6 now on a CloudSky server featuring a server-oriented motherboard with the LGA 1700 socket.

In terms of performance, the Intel Core i9-14901KE CPU scored 3018 points in the single-core and 16,308 points in the multi-core tests. The CPU averages around 5.5 GHz in clock speeds and never hits the maximum 5.8 GHz boost clocks.

As you can see, the single-core performance of the Intel Core i9-14901KE is faster than the Core i9-13900K and close to the Core i9-14900K with the latter only leading by 2.2%. In multi-core tests, the Core i9-14901KE ends up faster than the Core i9-12900KS which is a 16-core chip with 24 threads.

It does end up a lot slower than the Core i9-14900K/13900K since those chips not only have a higher number of cores but also come with higher power limits and clocks. The potential of a P-Core chip can be seen here and with Bartlett Lake CPUs launching in 2025, it should be fun times to have two different chips, one with hybrid P/E core configs and one with P-Core only flavors.

News Source: Benchleaks