Intel to pioneer out-of-the-box 6 GHz clock speeds: Will it help performance?

Last night, Intel teased insane 6 GHz clock speeds in an unannounced 13th gen Raptor Lake SKU. The clock speed wars, which ravaged the CPU industry in the middle of the 2000s, seem back as both Team Red and Team Blue try to launch CPUs that clock faster.

After CPUs hit the 3 GHz mark, processor manufacturers hit the physical barriers of how fast a chip can be clocked. Developments have since focused on higher IPCs instead of higher clocks.

However, in recent years, CPUs have been climbing the clock speed charts extremely fast. According to Intel, the eight-year-old 8.7 GHz world record on an AMD FX-8370 chip might be broken by Raptor Lake chips this season.

Intel did not introduce a 6 GHz chip last night. The Core i9 13900K has a maximum stock turbo speed of 5.8 GHz with its fastest chip. However, the 6 GHz clocks may be reserved for

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Do 6 GHz clock speeds mean better performance?

A CPU (Image via Intel)

The processor's clock speed does determine its performance levels. However, users should note that performance metrics depend on numerous metrics. One cannot take up a processor clocked at 4.8 GHz and remark that it is faster than another chip clocked at 4.6 GHz.

While the 4.6 GHz chip can be faster than the previous processor, the results can be solely based on clock speeds. One should also check the IPC and the overall architecture on which the processor is based. The process can get incredibly complex. This is where benchmark software like Cinebench R23 and Geekbench become helpful.

Thus, whether 6 GHz clock speeds mean exceptional performance is debatable.

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Intel's 6 GHz clock speed flex is a marketing gimmick

Intel dropped a lot of information on Raptor Lake last night (Image via Intel)

Intel is losing customer faith with the recent Arc Alchemist discrete GPU availability fiasco. The company had been preparing the models for the last year and showcased them to several media houses. The lineup has also started to launch in some Asian markets. However, the company canceled the GPUs at the last minute.

Thus, the Raptor Lake CPUs are the company's last line of hope to regain the market in Team Blue's favor. Thus, it might start losing ground if Intel does not do something spectacular over what AMD offers.

The 6 GHz CPU is a part of this marketing strategy. The company will likely introduce a KS variant of their 13th gen Core i9 which will be clocked at 200-300 MHz over the current 13900K. However, we expect the 13900KS to be very expensive like the last gen. This could kill the slight performance edge the improved clock speeds can bring to the table.

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Conclusion

Although 6 GHz clock speeds have been attained before, Intel invented a formula to make it mainstream. Although no other information on this chip has been revealed yet, we can expect it to be a binned 13900K that can clock higher when more power is supplied.