Is Intel Core I9 9900k Still good Enough? CPU Test
Topic Introduction
Almost 4 years have passed since Intel released one of the most popular processors at the time Intel I9 9900k. With 8 cores and 16 threads in 2018, this CPU was overkill for most people, but since then the situation has changed and now we have processors with much more cores and threads.
I will revisit Intel I9 9900k in 2022 and show you the real image of how good this CPU is.
Although many people tested it and there is a lot of information about this processor, I wanted to make you one resource where all the essential information will be shown.
Is Intel Core I9 9900k Still good Enough? Short Topic Answer
Although it has been 4 years since Intel released the I9 9900k itself, this processor is still capable of 99% of tasks that most people will do. With 8 cores and 16 threads, Intel i9 9900k has enough power to deal with any kind of gaming and to be paired with almost every high-end graphics card.
Of course, there are some downsides to owning this processor in 2022, but you will need to keep reading for that information.
Intel Core I9 9900k Specifications
| Number of Cores | 8 cores |
| Number of Threads | 16 threads |
| Base Frequency | 3.6 GHz |
| Boost Frequency | 5 GHz |
| Process Size | 14nm |
| TDP | 95W |
| Socket | LGA 1151 |
Best Intel Core I9 9900k Offer
How Good Is Intel Core I9 9900k For Gaming?
The category that most people are interested in is probably gaming when it comes to the processor that is this expensive. Even tho Intel I9 9900k isn’t the newest CPU on the market, it still holds its value at more than 700 dollars on Amazon right now.
Of course, when you are paying that much, you would probably expect that this processor is a beast when it comes to the gaming itself, which maybe is the case. You can make sure that is true in the benchmarks that I did in my article below.
How Good Is Intel Core I9 9900k For Gaming In 1080p?
For the first benchmark, I wanted to test Intel Core I9 9900k in the resolution that suits CPU testing the most – 1080p. In this resolution, you will need to have both a good processor and a graphics card in order to get good results, so that is why I paired the Intel I9 9900k with the powerful Nvidia RTX 2070.
In order to give you a clear image, I tested these two components together in 5 different popular games along the 32GB of RAM
As you can see in the table below, almost every game that I tested averaged around 100 fps or much more. Considering that every game was played on the increased graphics settings, these results are more than good.
If you pair Intel I9 9900k with a powerful graphics card, you can easily play games at higher fps and refresh rate, if you have a suitable monitor
The overall experience in 1080p was more than good, every game felt smooth and there was no bottleneck from both GPU and CPU.
Take a look at the table yourself!
| Specs: Intel Core I9 9900k, Nvidia RTX 2070,l 32GB DDR4, 1TB SSD | AVERAGE FPS | 1% LOW FPS |
|---|---|---|
| Battlefield 5 (Ultra settings - 1080p) | 106 fps | 65 fps |
| GTA 5 (Very High settings - 1080p) | 115 fps | 75 fps |
| Shadow Of The Tomb Raider (Ultra settings - 1080p) | 97 fps | 56 fps |
| AC Odyssey (Very High settings - 1080p) | 91 fps | 61 fps |
| Far Cry 5 (Ultra settings - 1080p) | 119 fps | 72 fps |
How Good Is Intel Core I9 9900k For Gaming In 1440p?
For the second benchmark, I tested the Intel Core i9 9900k in 1440p resolution. Although the graphics card is doing more of the job in 1440p, you still need a powerful processor as support.
Since 2k is a mixture of good video quality and good performances, a lot of people are spending more time on this resolution. For you to see the difference clearly, I tested I9 9900k paired with the same graphics card as for the 1080p benchmark – Nvidia RTX 2070. Once again, all games were the same and they were all tested on graphics settings like in the previous testing.
As you can see in the table below, every game that I tested averaged more than 60 fps even on 2k Ultra/Very High settings.
Have in mind that the results are more the mirror of Nvidia RTX 2070 since this is 2k resolution, but I can tell you that Intel I9 9900k performed very well.
Every game felt smooth and the graphics quality was astonishing. You should take a look at the table yourself.
| Specs: Intel Core I9 9900k, Nvidia RTX 2070,l 32GB DDR4, 1TB SSD | AVERAGE FPS | 1% LOW FPS |
|---|---|---|
| Battlefield 5 (Ultra settings - 1440p) | 82 fps | 51 fps |
| GTA 5 (Very High settings - 1440p) | 83 fps | 57 fps |
| Shadow Of The Tomb Raider (Ultra settings - 1440p) | 66 fps | 48 fps |
| AC Odyssey (Very High settings - 1440p) | 67 fps | 52 fps |
| Far Cry 5 (Ultra settings - 1440p) | 86 fps | 53 fps |
Intel Core I9 9900k VS AMD Ryzen 9 3900x
There is a whole debate about Intel and AMD processors at the moment, but considering that both of these two processors are about 4 and 3 years old, people didn’t compare them that much.
I wanted to see the difference between the Intel Core I9 9900k and its biggest AMD rival and the equivalent AMD Ryzen 9 3900x.
Although AMD Ryzen 9 3900x is 1 year newer than the Intel I9 9900k and it has 12 cores and 24 threads, which is more by 4 cores and 8 threads than our today’s subject Intel I9 9900k has, they still have similar strength in multitasking and gaming.
If you take a look at the table below, you can see that I tested them both in 6 different popular games, and every game was played on either Ultra or Very High settings.
In order to get the most out of both processors, I paired them with a powerful Nvidia RTX 2080, which has enough power to do that successfully.
As you can see in the table below, In every game that I tested Intel Core I9 9900k averaged more fps than AMD Ryzen 9 3900x. For me, these results are expected since the I9 9900k was one of the best processors that Intel ever made.
Although Intel I9 9900k was older, Ryzen 9 3900x is much cheaper nowadays. There is about a 150-200 dollar difference in their price, which justifies the performance loss from AMD CPU.
Have in mind that the difference in performance wasn’t huge, so you need to think if spending that much more money on an Intel CPU is worth it for the 10 fps you will gain in gaming.
Personally, I wouldn’t buy both of these processors now, since there are much better Intel and especially AMD processors.
Take a look at the table below.
| Specs: Intel Core I9 9900k/AMD Ryzen 9 3900x, Nvidia RTX 2080 OC, 16GB DDR4, 1TB SSD | Intel Core I9 9900k - AVERAGE FPS | Intel Core I9 9900k - 1% LOW FPS | AMD Ryzen 9 3900x - AVERAGE FPS | AMD Ryzen 9 3900x - 1% LOW FPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battlefield 5 (Ultra settings - 1080p) | 183 fps | 112 fps | 180 fps | 114 fps |
| Hitman 2 (Ultra settings - 1080p) | 101 fps | 70 fps | 95 fps | 66 fps |
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey (Very High settings - 1080p) | 110 fps | 71 fps | 105 fps | 63 fps |
| The Witcher 3 (Ultra settings - 1080p) | 165 fps | 95 fps | 164 fps | 99 fps |
| Watch Dogs 2 (High settings - 1080p) | 119 fps | 79 fps | 111 fps | 73 fps |
| Rainbow Six Siege (Very High settings - 1080p) | 342 fps | 230 fps | 331 fps | 219 fps |
Best Graphics Card To Pair With Intel Core I9 9900k
Nvidia RTX 2080 Ti is the best graphics card that you can pair with Intel Core I9 9900k. With this combination, you will be able to run any program or video game in every resolution, even on increased graphics settings. With 11GB of GDDR6 memory, RTX 2080 Ti still has a reputation as a High-End GPU.
Best Nvidia RTX 2080 Ti Offer At The Moment
Is Intel Core I9 9900k Future-Proof Processor?
Although Intel Core I9 9900k is about 4 years old, it is definitely a future-proof CPU. As time passes, both Intel and AMD are releasing new processors that are improving with every new generation, but the Intel I9 9900k can be used for at least 3 to 5 years without problems with 8c/16th it has.
