Skip to main content

Intel’s Rocket Lake chips have been successfully overclocked to 7GHz

Intel

Intel’s flagship Core i9-11900K processor was spotted with a clock speed in excess of 7GHz, thanks to the use of aftermarket cooling solutions powered by liquid nitrogen. Intel’s 11th Gen desktop processor, otherwise known as Rocket Lake-S, was already spotted on an Asus ROG Maximus XIII Apex motherboard on benchmarking site CPU-Z Validation running at 7,048 MHz with 1.873 volts of power. The benchmark was run by overclocker Rog-Fisher, who now has the top three speed records for the Core i9-11900K. The chip’s normal clock frequency is expected to be set to 3.5GHz out of the box.

YouTube channel PC Wale was also able to overclock the processor. Though PC Wale wasn’t able to reach the 7GHz clock speed obtained by Rog-Fisher, it did get Intel’s Core i9-11900K running at 6.5GHz. The unreleased CPU was running at a slightly lower 1.678 volts of power.

Related Videos

According to Videocardz, the channel was able to achieve the speed by running a custom XOC BIOS from overclocker SafeDisk — who also works for Asus — on the Asus ROG Maximus XIII Hero motherboard. The custom BIOS unlocks the voltage to 2 volts, which allowed the faster clock frequency.

Though we now know that Intel’s Core i9-11900K Rocket Lake chipset can run at double the shipping clock speeds, it’s unclear what kind of performance uplift the faster frequency will deliver. Results from top benchmarking utilities aren’t posted at this time, so we still don’t have a comparison of performance between normal frequencies and the faster overclocked speeds.

Those interested in Intel’s Rocket Lake processors won’t have too much longer to wait. Rocket Lake is expected to become available tomorrow, March 30, and we’ll likely see more benchmarks posted at that time.

Intel announced at CES that it will also launch its 12th-generation processors later this year. The company is hard at work readying its Alder Lake platform, which will introduce a heterogeneous core architecture to desktops for the first time. The 12th Gen Alder Lake processors are expected to launch in late 2021 and, if Intel’s previous launch cadence is followed, we can expect mobile chips to debut before desktop parts arrive.

Editors' Recommendations

Intel Core i5 vs. i7: Which CPU is right for you?
An Intel Alder Lake Core i5-12600K CPU and its packaging.

Intel's Core i5 and i7 CPUs are still the most popular processors you can buy -- and for good reason. But what's the difference between them? Like most computer components, there are dozens of models at each tier to choose from, and it can get a little overwhelming.

We're here to break down all the differences between Intel's Core i5 and Core i7, both on desktop and mobile. They're closer than they were in previous years, but choosing the right processor can make a huge difference in how your PC runs.
Intel Core i5 vs i7: what’s the difference?

Read more
Intel’s upcoming laptop CPU may destroy even the best desktop chips
Intel Alder Lake mobility chip.

Benchmarks of the not-yet-released Intel Core i9-13900HX have leaked, and to call these results impressive would be an understatement.

It seems that Intel's upcoming laptop CPU may easily dethrone even some of the best desktop processors, let alone mobile chips. Even chips that are not out yet are already in danger, such as Apple's M2 Max.

Read more
Head-to-head: Intel Core i7-12700H vs. AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS
Lenovo Slim 7 Pro X front view showing display and keyboard deck.

Two of the top laptop processors in 2022 are the Intel Core i7-12700H vs AMD Ryzen 6900HS, but with so many other factors impacting laptop performance, it's hard to compare them head to head. So, when Lenovo offered me the opportunity to run the Intel version of its excellent Slim 7 Pro X laptop, which I had previously reviewed in its AMD incarnation, I jumped at the chance to pit two very similar laptops against each other.

I say "very similar" because, unfortunately, they're not identical. Importantly, they both used the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 GPU, which means we're directly comparing the CPUs themselves. The most important difference, beyond the processors, was that the AMD version running the Ryzen 9 6900HS CPU enjoyed 32GB of 6400MHz LPDDR5 RAM. The Intel Core i7-12700H version was loaded with "just" 16GB of slower 5200MHz LPDDR5 RAM. That means that while our benchmark results are likely to be close enough to gauge the performance differences, we can't be truly scientific. And the Ryzen 9 6900HS is a lower-power version of that chip while the Core i7 is full-power.

Read more