Intel’s Core i9 12900KS is out in the wild, with a dual-core boost clock of up to 5.5GHz. But even that clock speed seems like just a taste of what’s to come. New rumors point to a whopping 5.8GHz boost clock for Intel’s flagship 13th Gen Raptor Lake model.

The news comes from a tweet from @OneRaichu through El Chapuzas Informatico. It says Intel may add 200-300 MHz above the 12900KS. Although it remains to be seen what kind of impact this will have on fuel efficiency, as it is well known that power requirements increase sharply while chasing those last few megahurts.

Nevertheless, this type of clock will be exclusive to the high-end model where performance is more important than energy efficiency. The i7 and i5 models will surely be a little more grounded, without the need for high-end cooling solutions. CPUs like the Core i5 12400 definitely impress for this and other reasons.

If Intel is able to deliver impressive clock speed improvements with more cache, more E cores, and improved IPC of Raptor Cover P cores, then Intel could have a very competitive lineup on its hands.

Rumor has it that Intel isn’t the only company pushing for clock speed gains. AMD is also poised to improve clock speed with its upcoming Zen 4 lineup, with 5GHz or more across all cores being a distinct possibility. But will V-cache be coming to Zen 4 or will it be introduced at a later date?

We know the Ryzen 7 5800X3D’s stacked cache delivers great gaming performance, so maybe Intel thinks it needs to push the clocks to the absolute limit to retain the gaming crown? Or perhaps its own cache size increases will provide a similar improvement in gaming performance? I can’t wait to find the answer to these and all other questions that arise when launching a new generation of CPUs.

Intel’s 13th Gen Raptor Lake and AMD’s Zen 4 processors are set to face off in the second half of 2022.