Clue me in "Core i9-12900KF", Why are so many Pre Builts "KF" and not just K or KS?

[RaputerXpert]

Clue me in “Core i9-12900KF”, Why are so many Pre Built “KF” and not just K or KS?

 

Is there something special or CHEAP about the suffix KF on Intel's 12th GEN?

 

As an example only, On Best Buy 99% were this KF offering?

Thanks all.

[Middcore]

The F suffix means no integrated graphics.

 

Anybody making a system with an i9 is also putting a top-flight GPU in it, so integrated graphics are of no use 99.99% of the time. 

 

Comparing the price of the KF to the K and KS on PCpartpicker should tell you the rest of the story. 

[WhitetailAni]

The F means it has no integrated graphics.

KF means it has an unlocked multiplier and no integrated graphics. On builds with a dGPU this doesn't really matter and saves cost.

[TheBean]

KS is the ultra binned version of the 12900k. its almost completely not worth it unless you're trying to get world records and need the best silicon. 

[RaputerXpert]

22 hours ago, Middcore said:

The F suffix means no integrated graphics.

 

Anybody making a system with an i9 is also putting a top-flight GPU in it, so integrated graphics are of no use 99.99% of the time. 

 

Comparing the price of the KF to the K and KS on PCpartpicker should tell you the rest of the story. 

Let me see if I have this correct yet. If someone chooses an F or KF then you'd likely be buying a very high-end video card like 3080 ti or 3090, correct?

BUT buying a KS suffix would allow you to buy a cheaper video card, if you think cheaper is 3050 to 3060, right?

 

Or have I just missed the point completely?

And I read the 2 other comments as of this reply being posted.

 

As always, thanks to all for being polite and detailed in helping me understand the constant NEWNESS of hardware.

 

Brain excretion→ I don't see how it's even possible for a YouTube channel to keep track without a minimum of 20 employees, which to me would mean one employee doing one thing 12 hours a day:Finding sponsors.

[Middcore]

1 minute ago, RaputerXpert said:

BUT buying a KS suffix would allow you to buy a cheaper video card, if you think cheaper is 3050 to 3060, right?

No. Where did you get that impression? CPU and GPU don't do the same thing. Buying a better part in one category doesn't let you get away with buying a worse one in the other.

 

[RaputerXpert]

1 hour ago, Middcore said:

No. Where did you get that impression? CPU and GPU don't do the same thing. Buying a better part in one category doesn't let you get away with buying a worse one in the other.

 

But buying a 12900F wouldn't save you money to buy a better GPU whereas buying 12900KS would leave you with less money to buy that same GPU?

That is, if a person had a fixed budget..?

[Middcore]

Just now, RaputerXpert said:

But buying a 12900F wouldn't save you money to buy a better GPU whereas buying 12900KS would leave you with less money to buy that same GPU?

That is, if a person had a fixed budget..?

That's not what you said, though?

 

Let's be clear: there is no point to the KS model except for people who are willing to pay the price premium to get a better overclocking chip purely for the fun of overclocking.

 

A system with a KS and an RTX 3050 or 3060 in it will perform worse for gaming than a system with a KF and a 3070 or 3080 or 3090, and even in purely CPU-bounded applications the advantage of the higher clocks on the KS will be marginal.

 

 

[RaputerXpert]

4 minutes ago, Middcore said:

A system with a KS and an RTX 3050 or 3060 in it will perform worse for gaming than a system with a KF and a 3070 or 3080 or 3090, and even in purely CPU-bounded applications the advantage of the higher clocks on the KS will be marginal.

I think I get it….maybe… The KS is great but mainly a 'check out my shiny red Lamborghini' and the KF is equal performance with the correct paired video card without the silly 'check out my Cinebench score' game. So you would buy the 12900F or 12900KF, but never buy the 12900KS unless it was close to the price of either the F or KF?

 

Am I even in the zip code yet?

[Middcore]

2 minutes ago, RaputerXpert said:

The KS is great but mainly a 'check out my shiny red Lamborghini' and the KF is equal performance with the correct paired video card without the silly 'check out my Cinebench score' game. So you would buy the 12900F or 12900KF, but never buy the 12900KS unless it was close to the price of either the F or KF?

 

Essentially.