As Intel prepares to launch new processors later this year, the company is simultaneously giving some its older stock the chop. After what will be five years of production, Team Blue will retire 10th Gen Core CPUs in 2025, the last of its 14nm chips. Alongside Comet Lake, though, Core i9-12900KS will join the silicon choir invisible too.
Once upon a time, Core i9-12900KS was the best CPU that Intel had to offer in terms of clock speeds. However, even at the time of its release, its price, power consumption, and paltry performance gains made it a poor purchase to all but the biggest enthusiasts. Since then, though, newer processors have made the Alder Lake apex practically redundant. Naturally, the same applies all the more to the much older 10th Gen Core series.
Intel published two ‘Product Change Notification’ papers (Link 1) (Link 2) on July 1, 2024 (via ZDNet). In each, the company outlines its intent to stop fulfilling new orders and eventually cease production altogether of Core i9-12900KS and 10th Gen Core series processors. This applies to both boxed chips as well as those sold on trays.
The discontinuance of 10th Gen Core series feels long overdue, with its maligned successor (11th Gen) already quietly retired last year. However, it’s worth noting that this final nail in the coffin specifically concerns SKUs from Core i5-10600 downwards, with other models having previously been put out to pasture. Given that budget Socket LGA 1700 processors are widely available, their removal from the market isn’t a massive blow and should help steer users to newer, generally higher-value CPUs.
The same token largely applies to Core i9-12900KS. Clock speed enthusiasts can get their fix through Core i9-13900KS or 14900KS, while those seeking parity with the Alder Lake CPU should look no further than Core i7-13700K or 14700K.
That’s looking at the market as it stands, now, however. Core Ultra 200 series processors could prove to be the better buy, but it’s impossible to say for now without having tested these CPUs. In meantime, though, AMD is all too happy to fill the gap with its upcoming Ryzen 9000 series and current generation 7000 series.
