Intel Raptor Lake processors should arrive on the scene by the end of this year, and their coming could signal the beginning of a new era of CPU clock speeds. Reports suggest that team blue might be working on a chip that will break the 5.0GHz ceiling we’ve found ourselves under for the past several years.
Hardware leaker OneRaichu says at least one Intel Raptor Lake processor may turbo all the way up to a staggeringly high 6.0GHz. This would make it the first bit of Intel silicon to be officially specced at such a speed, making it a prime candidate for the title of best gaming CPU.
However, OneRaichu says this will likely only be possible using Intel Thermal Velocity Boost, and it’s likely that only one or two cores will be able to hit 6.0GHz. The processor in question probably isn’t a “normal SKU,” they say, possibly indicating that a Core i9 13900KS could be in the works.
No one can say with any certainty how a 6.0GHz Intel Raptor Lake CPU will compete against its AMD Ryzen 7000 competition, as clock speeds are but one of many factors that affect processor performance. And, of course, this being a rumour, you might want to season your expectations with a healthy dose of salt.