10th Gen Intel Core i9 10900K
- iGPU:
- Intel UHD Graphics 630
- Boost/Base Clock:
- 5.3 GHz / 3.7 GHz
- Core/Thread Count:
- 10 Core / 20 Thread
- Cache:
- 20MB L3 + 2.5MB L2 + 640KB L1
- TDP:
- 125 W
- CPU Process Node:
- 14 Nanometers
- CPU Socket:
- FCLGA1200
- CPU Series:
- Comet Lake, 10th Gen Intel Core
- Memory Support:
- DDR4-2933
- Form Factor:
- Desktop
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Manufacturer: Intel Last updated: September 9, 2026
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10th Gen Intel Core i9 10900K Review
The 10th Gen Intel Core i9 10900K was Intel's flagship desktop processor of the Comet Lake generation, 10 cores and 20 threads reaching up to a genuinely high 5.3 GHz boost clock within a 125 Watt TDP, unlocked for overclocking on the LGA1200 socket.
At launch, this chip's high single-core clock speed made it a genuinely strong gaming CPU specifically, even as AMD's Zen 3 desktop chips eventually closed much of that single-thread gap; Comet Lake's mature 14nm process allowed Intel to push clocks unusually high for a mainstream desktop part.
Intel UHD Graphics 630
A basic integrated GPU intended for display output and light desktop use; this chip is built primarily for buyers pairing it with a discrete GPU.
How Is the Core i9 10900K in Terms of Performance
The genuinely high 5.3 GHz boost clock made this chip a strong gaming CPU at launch, particularly in titles that leaned more on single-thread speed, while the full 10-core, 20-thread layout also handled content creation and productivity workloads competently.
Benchmarks
The benchmarks below are published results for specific applications. They are measured separately and do not feed the two scores above.
Puget Bench for Photoshop v1.0 - points (More is Better)
- Apple M5 Max15043.83 points
- Apple M5 Pro14885.21 points
- Apple M512095.89 points
- AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D12088.31 points
- Intel Core i9-14900KF10029.96 points
- 11th Gen Intel Core i7 11700K7098.88 points
- 10th Gen Intel Core i9-10900KF6892.97 points
- 10th Gen Intel Core i9 10900K (this product)6435 points
Puget Systems runs a fixed set of real Photoshop jobs: opening and saving large files, resizing, content-aware fill, blurs and filters. A higher score means less waiting on the tasks a retoucher repeats all day.
Photoshop is decided mostly by how fast a few cores are, not how many there are, so a chip with fewer but faster cores often beats one with more cores. Treat a gap under about 5 percent as something you would never notice while working.
Puget Bench for Premiere Pro v1.0-1.1 - points (More is Better)
- 10th Gen Intel Core i9-10900KF8213.67 points
- 11th Gen Intel Core i7 11700K8123.47 points
- 10th Gen Intel Core i9 10920X8063.5 points
- 10th Gen Intel Core i9 10900K (this product)7881.73 points
- 10th Gen Intel Core i9-10980XE7835.06 points
- 10th Gen Intel Core i9 10850K7227.4 points
- 9th Gen Intel Core i9-9900KS7211.33 points
- 10th Gen Intel Core i9-10900X7135.4 points
Plays back and exports 4K and 8K timelines across several camera codecs, with effects and multi-stream sequences, in Adobe Premiere Pro.
Export time rewards more cores, but much of the timeline work runs on the hardware decoder and the graphics card instead of the processor. A small gap here rarely changes how the edit feels.
Puget Bench for After Effects v1.0-1.1 - points (More is Better)
- Intel Core i9-14900KF13588.09 points
- AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D12906.24 points
- Apple M5 Max11280.89 points
- Apple M5 Pro9928.85 points
- Apple M57261.63 points
- 9th Gen Intel Core i9-9900K6945.81 points
- 10th Gen Intel Core i9 10900K (this product)6799.67 points
- 10th Gen Intel Core i5 10400F5598.67 points
RAM preview and rendering of 2D and 3D compositions in After Effects, including camera tracking.
After Effects still runs largely on one core at a time, so per-core speed decides this and extra cores add very little. This is the benchmark where a high-clock chip pulls ahead of a many-core one.
Puget Bench for DaVinci Resolve v1.0-1.2 - points (More is Better)
- 10th Gen Intel Core i9 10900K (this product)7805.2 points
- 10th Gen Intel Core i9-10980XE7088 points
- 10th Gen Intel Core i9 109006352 points
- 10th Gen Intel Core i9 10850K6101.6 points
- 11th Gen Intel Core i7 11700K6038.67 points
- 10th Gen Intel Core i9 10920X5853.67 points
- 9th Gen Intel Core i9-9900K5670.25 points
- 10th Gen Intel Core i7-10700K5033.4 points
Grading, effects, AI tools and export in DaVinci Resolve Studio, across the codecs a colourist actually works in.
Resolve leans harder on the graphics card than on the processor, so the CPU difference here is usually smaller than the difference your GPU choice would make. Use it to rule out a bottleneck, not to pick a winner.
Benchmarks
Cinebench R23 multi-core scores of 15,825 and single-core scores of 1,391 reflect genuinely strong flagship desktop performance for its generation. Geekbench 5 multi-core scores of 11,062 confirm this chip's standing as Intel's top mainstream desktop offering at launch.
Our verdict
Reviewed by Burooj Alam. Rated by us, not by users.
Best for
- Desktop gaming builds specifically wanting the highest available Comet Lake single-core clock speed
Not for
- Budget-conscious buyers, the near-identical 10850K, covered elsewhere on this site, delivers very close performance for typically less
Specifications
What these specs meanIdentity
| Brand | Intel |
|---|---|
| Product Line | Core i9 |
| Model Number | 10900K |
| Codename | Comet Lake |
| Release Year | 2020 |
Segment and platform
| Market Segment | Desktop |
|---|---|
| Microarchitecture | Comet Lake, 10th Gen Intel Core |
| Socket | FCLGA1200 |
| Socket Status | Mature |
| Process Node | 14 nm |
Core configuration
| Total Cores | 10 |
|---|---|
| Performance Cores | 10 |
| Efficiency Cores | 0 |
| Total Threads | 20 |
| SMT Enabled | Yes |
Clock speeds
| P-Core Base Clock | 3.7 GHz |
|---|---|
| P-Core Boost Clock | 5.3 GHz |
| Unlocked Multiplier | Yes |
Cache
| L2 Cache | 2.5 MB |
|---|---|
| L3 Cache | 20 MB |
Power and thermal
| Base Power | 125 W |
|---|---|
| Max Turbo Power | 250W |
Memory
| Memory Type | DDR4-2933 |
|---|---|
| Max Memory Speed | 4 MT/s |
| Memory Channels | 2 |
| ECC Support | No |
Graphics and AI
| Integrated Graphics | Yes |
|---|---|
| iGPU Model | Intel UHD Graphics 630 |
| iGPU Compute Units | 24 |
Expansion
| PCIe Generation | PCIe 3.0 |
|---|---|
| PCIe Lanes | 16 |
Commercial
| Launch MSRP | 488 USD |
|---|---|
| Retail Availability | Retail |
| Form Factor | Desktop |
|---|---|
| TDP | 125 W |
| iGPU | Intel UHD Graphics 630 |
FAQs
What are the key specifications of the 10th Gen Intel Core i9 10900K?
The 10th Gen Intel Core i9 10900K has 10 cores and 20 threads, a 3.7 GHz base and 5.3 GHz boost clock, 20 MB of L3 cache and a 125 W TDP. Integrated graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 630. Socket: FCLGA1200.
Will the 10th Gen Intel Core i9 10900K work with my current setup?
The 10th Gen Intel Core i9 10900K lists CPU Socket is LGA1200. Check that against the hardware you already own before buying, since this is the field that most often decides whether a part fits.
Who is the 10th Gen Intel Core i9 10900K best suited to?
Best suited to: Desktop gaming builds specifically wanting the highest available Comet Lake single-core clock speed.
What are the drawbacks of the 10th Gen Intel Core i9 10900K?
Not the best fit for: Budget-conscious buyers, the near-identical 10850K, covered elsewhere on this site, delivers very close performance for typically less.
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