Modder Unlocks 12 P-Core Intel Core 9 273PQE on Z790 Motherboard | New Gaming CPU Potential?

Modder 'kryptonfly' has successfully booted an Intel Core 9 273PQE from the Bartlett Lake-S family in Windows 11 using a consumer Z790 motherboard. This is a significant achievement, as this industrial-grade processor is not officially supported for consumer platforms. What makes this CPU unique is its configuration: 12 high-performance cores (P-Cores) and 24 threads, notably without the efficiency cores (E-Cores) typically found in Intel's consumer CPUs, which often feature only 8 P-Cores. This positions it as a potential top-tier gaming CPU from Intel, despite not being originally designed for that purpose.

Specifications of the Intel Core 9 273PQE and its Importance for Consumer PCs

The Intel Core 9 273PQE, a recently launched embedded processor, boasts 12 P-Cores with Hyper-Threading, clocking up to 5.90 GHz and featuring 36 MB of L3 cache. It supports up to 192 GB of DDR5-5600 or DDR4-3200 RAM and has a base TDP of 125W. The modder achieved this breakthrough by modifying the BIOS of their ASUS Z790-AYW OC WiFi motherboard, essentially tricking the system into recognizing the chip as a Raptor Lake CPU. This demonstrates the underlying compatibility of the LGA1700 platform with appropriate BIOS support. The modified BIOS simply "fools" the boot phase into accepting the chip during initialization, allowing an unsupported processor to become fully functional.

Performance Implications

Regarding performance, while the Intel Core i9-14900KS currently holds the top spot, and the Core i9-14900K surpasses the 273PQE in multi-core benchmarks (around 27% faster overall, and 35% in Cinebench 2026) due to its 8 P-Cores plus 16 E-Cores, it's crucial to note the testing conditions. The 273PQE's performance was evaluated on an industrial motherboard with DDR4-3200 RAM, whereas consumer CPUs like the 14900K leverage high-speed DDR5-7200, which significantly boosts bandwidth, especially in benchmarks like Cinebench 2026. Nevertheless, in gaming scenarios, where 12 pure P-Cores could offer substantial advantages, this CPU might deliver surprisingly strong performance.