Intel Core i9-12900KS' price hits the floor in limited-time Amazon Memorial Day deal

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Amazon’s Memorial Day sale is in full swing and there’s all kinds of exciting deals to take advantage of. One that stands out as a fantastic pick for gamers looking to pick up a CPU on the cheap is this Intel Core i9-12900KS deal. Since hitting Amazon’s shelves just over 2 years ago, it has never been cheaper than it is now, according to camelcamelcamel. It comes in at a cost of $319.99, marking a 19% discount on its typical Amazon price of $396.99.

Despite being a few years old, this Core i9-12900KS is still a strong contender against the best CPUs for gaming. If you have a higher budget and are thinking of upgrading to the 14th Gen iteration of this processor, check out our comparison on the Core i9-14900KS vs Core i9-12900KS for some answers.

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Intel Core i9 (12th Gen) i9-12900KS Gaming Desktop Processor

with Integrated Graphics and Hexadeca-core (16 Core) 2.50 GHz

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Deal @ Amazon

The deal above creates roughly $80 of savings. So, if you’re looking to go all out in upgrading your gaming PC then you could invest this leftover cash towards something like the best GPU for i9-12900K. Keep reading to see what this 12th Gen Intel processor has to offer.

Key features of the Intel Core i9-12900KS CPU

Technical Details	Specifications
Single P-core Max/Base Speed	5.2/3.4 GHz
Single E-core Max/Base Speed	4.0/2.5 GHz
Processor base power	150W
Intel Smart Cache	30MB
Total CPU PCIe lanes	20
Memory	DDR5
Socket	Socket LGA 1700

16-Core 24-Thread Build: For gaming, streaming, and creative tasks, the combination of 8 efficiency cores and 8 high-performance cores with 24 threads allows for lightning-fast speeds.
Thermal Velocity Boost Up to 5.5 GHz: You get increased multi-core velocity potential when extra thermal headroom is available, pushing the powerful cores even faster.
30MB Smart Cache: The i9-12900KS’s large, directly accessed onboard cache feeds data to the CPU cores rapidly to accelerate responsiveness and throughput.
150W Base Power: Higher base TDP warrants capable cooling but allows you to push 16 cores extremely hard when overclocking.
Memory Support: The i9-12900KS officially supports ultra-high frequency DDR5 RAM beyond 5600 MT/s for maximum bandwidth, feeding the core’s appetite for data.
AI Acceleration Capabilities: High core counts and AI instructions are combined with Intel Deep Learning Boost to speed up creative workflows that use machine learning.

Our take on this Memorial Day CPU deal from Amazon

When it comes to extreme multi-core muscle and gaming speeds, Intel’s i9-12900 KS shows no mercy, combining 16 blazing hybrid cores clocking over 5.5GHz out of the box with a 150W base power that’s ready to devour volts and frames alike. Make no mistake, this CPU requires beastly cooling to manage its thermal footprint. But that high power ceiling allows you to comfortably push boundaries on the demanding AAA titles.

So, whether you’re an enthusiast looking for unrivaled power or a creator who simply needs the fastest video export times, the i9-12900 KS is a solid option. Now that you can get it at its lowest-ever price in this limited-time Memorial Day deal on Amazon, we think it’s a great to invest in this powerful processor.

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