As the fastest Intel processor currently on the market, the Intel® Core™ i9-10900K is for anyone who wants the highest speeds Intel has to offer straight out of the box. But Intel Global Marketing Launch Strategist Alejandro Hoyos insists that there&#39;s another viable option for those who want to attain speeds in a similar range.
&quot;I think all consumers that are looking into buying an Intel® Core™ i9-10900K should also take a close look at the Intel® Core™ i9-10850K,&quot; Hoyos said.
<img src="https://igames.gg/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Intel-10850k-Bnto-16x9-5.jpg" alt="" />
Here&#39;s his reasoning. There are two primary, quantitative differences between the Intel® Core™ i9-10900K and the Intel® Core™ i9-10850K: cost and frequency. The Intel® Core™ i9-10850K&#39;s specs are nearly identical to those of the Intel® Core™ i9-10900K save these two differences.
Those who are drawn to the Intel® Core™ i9-10850K&#39;s lower price, however, can also enjoy the cutting-edge speeds of an Intel® Core™ i9-10900K if they take the care to overclock it properly.
&quot;Intel® Core™ i9-10850K is a K processor, which means it is unlocked and you can overclock it,&quot; Hoyos said. &quot;With the right motherboard, cooling solution, and quick changes to overclocking knobs, you should be able to get very close to the same frequencies (or higher) than the Intel® Core™ i9-10900K for a lower price and use those extra bucks to get an SSD or better memory kit.&quot;
<img src="https://igames.gg/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Intel-10850k-Bnto-16x9-1.jpg" alt="" />
On the other hand, even if you aren&#39;t interested in overclocking, the difference in frequencies between the two processors might be negligible depending on your use case. The chart below illustrates that the difference amounts to about 100Mhz across the board:
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th></th>
<th style="text-align:center;">Intel® Core™ i9-10900K processor</th>
<th style="text-align:center;">Intel® Core™ i9-10850K processor</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Processor Base Frequency</td>
<td style="text-align:center;">3.7GHz</td>
<td style="text-align:center;">3.6GHz</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Max Turbo Frequency</td>
<td style="text-align:center;">5.3GHz</td>
<td style="text-align:center;">5.2GHz</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Intel Thermal Velocity Boost</td>
<td style="text-align:center;">5.3GHz</td>
<td style="text-align:center;">5.2GHz</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Intel Turbo Max Technology 3.0</td>
<td style="text-align:center;">5.2GHz</td>
<td style="text-align:center;">5.1GHz</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0</td>
<td style="text-align:center;">5.1GHz</td>
<td style="text-align:center;">5.0GHz</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
The good news, Hoyos explained, is that this difference is likely not relevant to the average gamer. &quot;Those 100MHz should not have too big of an impact for the majority of the population,&quot; Hoyos said. &quot;The only people for whom the 100MHz would not be negligible would be professional esports athletes as the level in which they play requires every bit of performance.&quot;
What isn&#39;t negligible, however, is the difference in core counts between this generation of processors and the last. Both processors use two more cores than their 9th-gen counterparts, giving users extra leeway for multitasking.
<img src="https://igames.gg/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Intel-10850k-Bnto-16x9-8.jpg" alt="" />
&quot;Many gamers are not only gaming on their system; some of us are trying to stream or record our gameplay,&quot; Hoyos said. &quot;If you are like me, a not-so-gifted gamer with poor reflex, you are also going to be running YouTube with a walkthrough of the game or looking into some pro tips.&quot; Having more cores allows your system to handle additional tasks simultaneously without compromising on gaming performance.
Another feature new to 10th-gen Intel Core processors is the ability to manage hyperthreading on a per-core basis. &quot;If you know how many threads are needed to safely run the game, then with this new feature you can go and disable the extra threads that you don&#39;t need via the <a href="https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/29183/Intel-Extreme-Tuning-Utility-Intel-XTU-">Intel Extreme Tuning Utility (XTU)</a> or your motherboard BIOS,&quot; Hoyos said. The extra thermal headroom gives users more freedom to keep their CPUs in turbo for longer periods of time.
<img src="https://igames.gg/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Intel-10850k-Bnto-16x9-4.jpg" alt="" />
A PC&#39;s capabilities are a result of money, effort, and the personal preferences of its owner. With the right tools and knowledge, the Intel® Core™ i9-10850K is as powerful a processor as you want it to be.
Whether you choose Intel® Core™ i9-10850K or Intel® Core™ i9-10900K, however, the latest generation of the Intel® Core™ processors aims to give users as much control as possible over frequency and efficiency.

As the fastest Intel processor currently on the market, the Intel® Core™ i9-10900K is for anyone who wants the highest speeds Intel has to offer straight out of the box.

GAMING ACCESS

Why You Shouldn’t Underestimate the Intel® Core™ i9-10850K