New Intel Record: Core i9 Just Smashed Through the 9.2 GHz Barrier

Extreme overclocking enthusiasts have once again raised the bar for maximum frequency on ordinary computer chips. An overclocker going by the name Wytiwx managed to get an Intel Core i9-14900KF running at 9206.34 MHz. The result has been officially logged in the HWBot benchmark database.

The new achievement beats the same overclocker’s previous record, when the Intel Core i9-14900KF was pushed to 9,130.33 MHz. To get this result, he used an ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Apex motherboard, a single 16GB DDR5 memory module, and an ASUS ROG Thor 1600W power supply. The CPU cooling is the most unusual part of this build. The enthusiast used a so-called “pot” filled with liquid helium. Basically, it’s an extreme version of liquid nitrogen cooling that can whisk away even more heat. Before running the tests, Wytiwx disabled all the efficiency cores on the Core i9-14900KF, leaving the chip running on just seven performance cores and seven threads. The voltage on the chip at that point was 1.348 V.

The Core i9-14900KF first came out back in 2023 and architecturally it’s still the same Raptor Lake with 24 cores (8 big, 16 small) and 32 threads. The stock max frequency on this model hits 6 GHz. The fact that three years later someone managed to push the bar to 9.2 GHz says two things: first, the engineering headroom on Intel’s 10nm process turned out to be pretty solid, and second, modern motherboards with beefed‑up power delivery and fine voltage tuning can still squeeze every last drop of performance out of these chips.

It’s worth noting that in HWBot’s overall rankings, you still see AMD FX‑8370 chips popping up with frequencies around 8.7 GHz, but that’s ancient architecture with completely different thermal characteristics. Modern AMD processors are currently sitting in seventh place on that leaderboard.

The HWBot database already has all the detailed overclocking parameters available, including memory timings and voltage settings. It looks like the 9.3 GHz barrier is the next target, but hitting that will probably require even more exotic cooling or a fresh engineering sample chip.

What do you think – is it worth chasing megahertz at any cost, or has real‑world performance under normal loads long since become more important than the numbers on a CPU‑Z screenshot? Drop your thoughts in the comments.