The Intel Core 9 273PQE, part of the Bartlett Lake-S family, is back in the spotlight. Essentially, it’s a Raptor Lake processor but sheds its hybrid design of performance and efficient cores. This processor features solely 12 high-performance cores (P-Cores) clocked at 5.90 GHz with a TDP of 125W. By ditching the hybrid design, this CPU reintroduces Hyper-Threading technology, allowing each physical core to handle two logical cores and threads. This results in a 12-core, 24-thread CPU. It’s worth noting that Hyper-Threading was previously removed from hybrid processors due to performance degradation.
In this context, the German YouTube channel Zed Up (via Videocardz) pitted the Intel Core 9 273PQE against an Intel Core i9-14900K. This comparison became possible last month when a modder successfully got this CPU working on a conventional gaming motherboard equipped with an Intel Z790 chipset. This makes it interesting to observe how a 12 P-Core Intel Core 9 273PQE performs against Intel’s top gaming CPU, the Core i9-14900K, which boasts 8 P-Cores alongside 16 E-Cores.
Intel Core 9 273PQE Achieves Up to 10% Faster Gaming Performance Than the Core i9-14900K
Here lies the fascinating aspect for this CPU, originally designed for edge computing. Zed Up’s findings indicate that the Intel Core 9 273PQE can be up to 10% faster than the Core i9-14900K in several CPU-bound gaming scenarios. While not an outright victory across all titles, it highlights that in games scaling well with large cores, smaller cores (E-Cores) are not as beneficial. A configuration of 12 P-Cores offers a performance edge over Intel’s current hybrid design direction.
For instance, in games like Horizon Zero Dawn at 720p, the Core 9 273PQE reached 310 FPS compared to the 14900K’s 294 FPS. In Outcast at 4K, it achieved 60 FPS versus 55 FPS. Similarly, in Shadow of the Tomb Raider at 720p, the performance was 273 FPS compared to 250 FPS. The same source states that both processors were tested with power limits of 125W base and 253W peak, operating at temperatures around 60 ºC with air cooling. This resulted in performance differences ranging from 5.4% to 9.1%. However, no improvement was observed in Rainbow Six Siege (720p), and it performed 1.5% slower in Counter-Strike 2 with the 253Q.
The technical takeaway is clear: the Core 9 273PQE’s victory isn’t due to a new architecture but rather its provision of more high-performance cores. Bartlett Lake-S remains conceptually close to Raptor Lake but eliminates the hybrid component, consolidating all core counts into P-Cores. For games where latency, task allocation, and per-core performance are more critical than raw thread count, this configuration can be cleaner than the 14900K’s. However, in benchmarks or applications that leverage all available cores, the Intel Core i9-14900K is significantly superior, offering 22% less multi-core performance.
However, at the price point, this CPU is not a worthwhile investment
The performance comparison between the Intel Core 9 273PQE and the Core i9-14900K offers insight into what might have happened if Intel had not shifted to hybrid architecture processors. If you were considering purchasing this CPU, it’s genuinely not worth it, primarily due to its high price tag, as it’s intended for enterprise use, which comes at a premium.
These performance tests involved the Intel Core 9 273PQE, which was purchased from a German retailer for 725 euros. The motherboard used was an industrial model (Intel W680 chipset), which is also more expensive, specifically an ASRock IMB-X1714 costing around 340 euros. This ATX motherboard was chosen because it natively supports Bartlett Lake-S processors, as well as Intel Core 14th, 13th, and 12th generation processors.
The outcome is bittersweet; Intel could have released a CPU like this targeted at gamers. However, given the current market conditions, they opted to create a chip focused on the embedded, edge, and industrial markets, where stability, platform validation, prolonged support, ECC memory, and predictable behavior are prioritized.
