The Core i9-12900KS already holds the best gaming CPU title, and the Intel Alder Lake chip is currently the world’s fastest processor. As you’d perhaps expect, overlocking the chip unleashes monstrous clock speeds that rip previously set records apart, but you’ll need more than an AIO cooler to keep it from melting your gaming PC.
Thanks to the overclocker TSAIK, the Intel Alder Lake Core i9-12900KS reaches a ridiculous max speed of 7.45GHz (via Tom’s Hardware). Of course, there’s a lot of shenanigans involved when it comes to pushing past the chip’s natural 5.5Ghz cap, as TSAIK uses liquid nitrogen to keep temperatures down.
Impractical cooling solutions aside, the Core i9-12900KS’ impressive speeds come with another caveat, as TSAIK’s methods use a single core. In other words, while reaching 7.45Ghz is impressive, you won’t be able to reap any practical rewards boost fps on your rig at home.
Overclocking has become something of a processor sport, and the Alder Lake flagship lets enthusiasts reach lofty heights. It’ll probably be a while before we see the new top i9-12900KS speeds replicated naturally, but the fact it was achieved on an Intel chip first means that it’ll probably take at least AMD’s Zen 4 CPUs to knock team blue from the CPU throne.