Intel Coffee Lake Refresh: Global Price Check on 9900K, 9700K, 9600K

Intel has now started sales of its 9^th Gen Core unlocked processors for mainstream desktop platforms featuring the company’s Socket H4 v2 for 1151-pin CPUs. The new products feature up to eight cores, up to 5 GHz turbo frequency, and an improved thermal interface. The new chips are more expensive than their direct predecessors, which will make PCs based on the new unlocked CPUs more expensive than before, especially after profit margin of retailers and PC makers is added. Perhaps a bigger problem is the fact that stock seems to be surprisingly thin, and fluctuating daily.

Table of Contents:

• Unlocked Intel 9th Gen Core Processors: A Family Portrait
• More Cores = Larger Dies = Higher Prices
• Per Core Pricing: Going Down
• Actual Pricing and Availability
• Some Thoughts

Unlocked Intel 9^th Gen Core Processors: A Family Portrait

For many years Intel offered two unlocked CPUs for its mainstream platform within each generation of products. There of course were exceptions (e.g., unlocked Pentium in 2014), but as a general rule the company strictly offered an unlocked Core i5 and an unlocked Core i7. Last year the chip giant added an unlocked Core i3 to the mix in a bid to meet demands of enthusiasts in budget. This time Intel is changing the rules of the game once again. Instead of expanding its lineup of unlocked chips for mainstream platforms with a yet another reasonably-priced offering, the company decided to raise the bar and offer a Core i9-branded CPU instead (at least for now).

The current lineup of Intel’s unlocked 9^th Gen Core processors consists of three offerings: the eight-core hyperthreaded Core i9-9900K with 16 MB of cache, the eight-core Core i7-9700K with 12 MB of cache, and the six-core Core i5-9600K with 9 MB of cache. Besides more cores on the higher-end models, all the new CPUs feature hardware mitigations for Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities, and use soldered bonded metal interface between the silicon die and the heat spreader. Soldered thermal interface material (STIM) provides a better thermal conductivity than paste, which Intel used in the recent years, so it is reasonable to expect the new processors to be fairly good overclockers.

REVIEW: The Intel 9th Gen Review: Core i9-9900K, Core i7-9700K and Core i5-9600K Tested

More Cores = Larger Dies = Higher Prices

Since Intel has used various versions of its 14 nm manufacturing technology to make its chips since 2014/2015, adding more cores and cache to CPUs, or altering fabrication process for higher clocks, inevitably means adjusting the die size and ultimately the cost of its products.

Intel’s Core i7-7700K was estimated to have a die size of around 125 mm², the Core i7-8700K increased its die size to around 151 mm², and the Core i9-9900K is estimated to feature a die size of at least 177 mm². While historically 177 mm² die was not a problem for Intel’s mainstream CPUs (this is the size of the Core i7-4770K made at 22 nm node), keep in mind that production cycles tend to get longer and therefore every square millimeter of a CPU real estate tends to get more expensive at more advanced nodes.

As a result, Intel has risen its RCPs (recommended customer prices for tray CPUs in 1000-unit quantities) - the unlocked Coffee Lake CPUs rose by $15 – $20 last year. This year the company not only further increases pricing of unlocked 9^th Gen Core i5/i7 by $5 – $15, but also introduces a Core i9-branded offering at rather whopping $488, commanding a $114 premium for a tray CPU.

When it comes to pricing of unlocked 9^th Gen Core i5/i7, a $5-$15 increase of RCP when compared to direct predecessors does not sound too bad for two extra cores (i7), higher clocks (i5) and STIM. Evidently, the prices are still $20 – $35 higher than Intel’s “usual” prices of unlocked quad-core i7 mainstream CPUs, but let’s keep in mind inflation too. On the other hand, there is also the Core i9-9900K priced $149 higher compared to the usual RCP of Intel’s top-of-the-range mainstream quad-core Core i7 CPU. Meanwhile, the hyperthreaded eight-core i9-9900K chip sits comfortably below HEDT-aimed Core i7-9800X that is priced at $589.

Per Core Pricing: Going Down

As noted last year, Intel did not change core count of its flagship mainstream desktop CPUs from 2006 to 2017 while slowly increasing core count of its high-end desktop processors. There are many reasons why this happened, but luckily Intel introduced its six-core mainstream chips in 2017 and now it brings eight-core mainstream CPUs to the market. The new Core i7/i9 products are more expensive than previous-gen flagship offerings for LGA115x platforms, but there is one metrics that nearly always goes down with the core count increase: that is pricing per core. Let’s have a quick look.

Per-core pricing of the eight-core Core i9-9900K is about the same as per-core pricing of the six-core Core i7-8700K, yet it is considerably lower that the per-core pricing of the quad-core Core i7-7700K. Meanwhile, if this metrics matters at all, the Core i7-9700K brings down per-core pricing to $47, which is the lowest per-core pricing of any Core i7 product ever released.

Actual Pricing and Availability

Without any doubts, the new unlocked 9^th Gen Core processors are better than their predecessors both in terms of specs as well as in terms of overclockability promise. Meanwhile, they also carry higher official price tags. Now, time to talk about their actual prices and availability.

One important note. Intel publishes prices as RCP (Recommended Customer Pricing). This is the price it gives for customers buying 1000 CPUs (a 'tray') as an OEM. Retail prices are often $5-15 higher depending on the configuration.

Intel Core i9-9900K

As usually, we start out availability investigation from the flagship offering, which is the Core i9-9900K officially priced at $488. The chip raises the bar for the whole platform in terms of MSRP and performance, though it remains to be seen whether adopters of Intel’s mainstream platforms will be willing to pay such a large sum of money for this CPU.

The first thing that strikes about the Core i9-9900K is its actual pricing. In the U.S., the CPU is listed for $580, which is $92 higher than its RCP is. Prices in Western Europe look gargantuan, even when taxes are excluded. As it turns out, even at prices well above those recommended by Intel, the Core i7-9900K is in stock only in select stores in Germany (note that Amazon.de only sells the i9-9900K in bundles), France, and the U.K. It looks like the chip is impossible to get in the U.S., at least not from major retailers.

Intel Core i7-9700K

Moving on to the new unlocked eight-core Core i7-9700K part that carries a $374 RCP. This chip is designed to replace the Core i7-8700K. Based on our review, the lack of Hyper-Threading, smaller per-core L3 cache, and some other factors at times make the newcomer slower than its direct predecessor is, though eight cores and higher clocks generally make it a very compelling product. For anyone on say, a Core i5-6600K, it makes a surprising upgrade.

Just like its i9-branded brother, the Core i7-9700K is overpriced right now. In the U.S., the overpricing looks more or less reasonably, but in Western Europe the situation is far worse. As far as availability is concerned, we see that there are select stores that have the CPU in stock, but it still is a rare guest on the shelves.

Intel Core i5-9600K

The Core i5-9600K CPU is a direct successor of the Core i5-8600K launched last year. The chip still features six cores, but has an improved thermal interface between the die and the heat spreader, which may enable a better overclocking potential. Officially, the chip is priced at $262, $5 higher than the predecessor is.

The six-core unlocked Core i5-9600K is readily available in multiple stores across Europe, but in the U.S. only Newegg had it in stock as of press time. As for pricing, the chip can be obtained for $280 in the USA, but in Europe its prices are sometimes absurdly high.

Some Thoughts

Intel started to roll out its 9^th Gen Core processors for desktops from three flagship unlocked offerings aimed at enthusiasts. This is an uncommon tactics for the chip giant as usually Intel introduces a bunch of new processors targeting different market segments and types of systems. For example, not all OEMs are interested in unlocked CPUs as they do not support overclocking in the vast majority of their systems. Meanwhile, two out of three new SKUs offer a unique proposition for Intel’s mainstream platform by eight general-purpose cores - that will inevitably attract DIY enthusiasts as well as PC makers. Furthermore, Intel’s 9^th Gen Core chips feature hardware mitigations for Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities, a capability that will sell. We do not know Intel’s plans concerning eight-core processors with a locked multiplier (i.e., Core i7-9700), but if they are not released shortly from now, both channel and OEM customers will have to fight for the supply of only two models to meet demand of their clients.

As of today, it is virtually impossible to buy Intel’s Core i9-9900K anywhere in the US, yet it is scarcely available in Europe at prices well above anything reasonable. In fact, given such high prices, it is likely that retailers do not get as many chips as want from Intel, so the supply is tight. In fact, considering that Amazon.com has not listed the product as “In Stock”, it is evident that the company has not even fulfilled pre-orders for these CPUs yet, another evidence that demand is outpacing supply. The situation is somewhat better with the Core i7-9700K: the chip is listed as “In Stock” by numerous leading retailers in the U.S. and Europe, but their prices are high. There are other indicators that supply of this processor is rather tight too. For example, Amazon.DE only sells both i7-9700K and i9-9900K in bundles, whereas retailers in Nordic countries do not expect either products to arrive before early November. As for the Core i5-9600K, it is readily available virtually across the world, but at pricing that seems oddly high, especially when compared to pricing of the Core i5-8600K that is only 100 MHz slower in stock.

As Intel noted multiple times earlier this year, demand for its high-end parts is very high these days and it is struggling to meet demand, which is why it had to expand its 14 nm production capacities. Intel has stated that this is not a production issue - they're still producing as many chips as they have done in the past, it is just that demand is at an all time high. All facts considered, it is evident that retailers are not geting enough Core i7-9700K and Core i9-9900K processors from the chip giant right now. 

Related Reading

• The Intel 9th Gen Review: Core i9-9900K, Core i7-9700K and Core i5-9600K Tested
• Intel Announces 9th Gen Core CPUs: Core i9-9900K (8-Core), i7-9700K, & i5-9600K
• Intel’s Push to Enthusiasts: Soldered CPUs and 6.9 GHz Overclocks
• A Sneak Peek at our Core i9-9900K Sample
• Intel Investing $1B to Meet 14nm Demand: Prioritizing High-End Core and Xeon