Intel launched the swan song for its LGA 1700 platform on Thursday with the Core i9-14900KS. This "Special Edition" CPU is a binned version of the 14900K, plucked from obscurity due to its ability to overclock to 6.2GHz right out of the box. Now, an overclocking team has taken Intel's newest flagship CPU past 9.1GHz and set a new world record. The team had to use liquid helium to accomplish this task, which is slightly more effective than liquid nitrogen and represents the pinnacle of cooling technology.
An Asus overclocking team led by the esteemed clock-tickler Elmor is responsible for the new CPU world record at an Asus Republic of Gamers overclocking event. Elmor and his crew were able to push the Core i9-14900KS to 9117.75 MHz on an Asus ROG Maximus Z790 Apex motherboard, which costs around $650. To achieve this clock frequency, the CPU had to be chilled to sub-zero temperatures with liquid helium, and the video shows the elaborate setup required to get it to work correctly. The chip ran at a frosty -230C for the final run at 9.117GHz.
The same team previously set the CPU overclocking record on a 13900K in 2022, which they were able to run at 9.08GHz, so this new record is just slightly better. The previous run also used liquid helium, which is pretty much the go-to setup when records must fall. The only difference between the two runs that we can spot is that the previous one had the multiplier set to 90, whereas the new chip was able to run with a multiplier of 91 on a 100MHz bus.
Video taken of the event shows the chaotic scenario that unfolded, trying to keep the chip cool during the overclocking run. Liquid helium is continuously dumped into a cooling pot sitting atop the processor while a phalanx of fans blow what appears to be smoke away from the motherboard.
What's a bit crazy about all this overclocking is the Core i9-14900KS is a 10nm CPU, so it's quite impressive that Intel and these overclockers have been able to get these kinds of clocks out of it. Also, this record might stand for a very long time since the 14900KS is the last chip of its kind to roll out of an Intel fab. The next desktop CPU for Intel will be made on a ~2nm process, which Intel calls Intel 20A. Instead of a monolithic CPU, it'll add a "compute tile" to a disaggregated chip design, so it'll be interesting to see what kind of overclocking is possible when it arrives later this year. However, given the tile-based focus of future chips, Intel might just give up on this "war" with AMD since it'll likely begin to focus more on AI performance than single-core clock speeds.
