Although what interests us from the outset is performance and it should be noted that the company co-founded by Gordon Moore has not talked this time about performance improvements through the IPC, but rather has focused on other areas of the processor with such power to boot. a 15% more single-threaded and 41% multi-threaded performance over the previous generation. In a comparison it is understood that it is model by model.
Processor efficiency improvements
If we want a better processor than another without increasing the IPC, then we only have to increase the clock speed, this has led to the maximum consumption rising from 241W to 253WHowever, staying with just that part of the message is counterproductive. Since Intel has managed to improve the curve between the clock speed and the voltage, which has allowed them to launch models at higher frequencies than in the previous generation and it is also expected a i9-13900 KS with the ability to run at 6 GHz in Turbo.
Improved Thread Director
P-Cores and E-Cores have different performance, but when to use one or the other? Well, the control unit of the Intel Core 13 is one of the most complex points, since it has the job of assigning which core the different software processes go to. The trick is to have a system that correctly categorizes processes, something that the operating system usually does. Well, Thread Director performs this function and best of all, it learns over time to correctly place these in the corresponding core thanks to the Machine Learning functions that it incorporates.
The Thread Director It is one of the essential pieces for the asymmetric core philosophy to work and it will improve with each new generation of Intel Core. The objective is that the operating system is not in charge of distributing the work, but the processor itself, taking into account elements such as latency and the energy cost of operations according to the resources available at any given time.
Important changes in the E-Cores
If we talk about the performance cores, the so-called P-Cores, the changes have been small, however, the E-Cores that were designed to perform tasks in the background and free up the first ones have received a quite important improvement. First of all, we have that the amount has doubled in the high-end models. Secondly, they have been improved by increasing their L2 cache in the process and thirdly, their Boost has been increased to 4.3 GHz.
Improvements in internal communication and DDR5
Intel uses a ring-shaped topology in its processors, this means that for each clock cycle the data is transmitted to the next segment. What’s good about this? It reduces the complexity in the intercommunication, but as the cores and other connected elements increase, the latency increases and is counterproductive. With the i9-13900 being 8 P-Cores with 16 HyperThreading connections and then 16 E-Cores this makes a total of 32 elements. An increase of 33% compared to the previous generation that has also come with a greater amount of L3 cache, which now reaches 36 MB.
Think of the ring as a radial or circular highway where each processor core is an exit. What has Intel done? Well, in order to reduce latency, the speed at which it works has increased. It is a decision that is not easy, since it requires a redesign of the CPU from scratch in order not to shoot up energy consumption compared to the previous generation. What have they achieved? Go from 900 MHz speed to 5 GHz.
If we already talk about memory, then we will find that the Intel Core 13 maintains the DDR4 memory controller in which there are no changes compared to the previous generation, however, all the meat on the grill is in its improved support for DDR5 . A type of memory that we recommend using for those who want to buy a new PC. This time it supports DDR5-5600 memories without overclocking and, therefore, without added latency and up to DDR5-8800 memories with overclocking and consequently with added latency.
Intel Core 13 gaming performance
As usual, Intel has shown in comparative graphs the performance of its new processors compared to those of the previous generation and the AMD Ryzen 5000. As a negative point, we must point out that the comparison with the Ryzen 7000 has not been made, although It is understandable given the closeness in the launch of the two processors.
What are the available models of the Intel Core 13?
The initial models of the Intel Core 13 and their specifications are as follows:
In passing we will remember that the KF models differ from the K by the fact that they lack the integrated graphics inside. In passing we will remember that they are not the only microprocessors of this family that we will see in the coming months.
