The next-gen Intel i9 13900K has allegedly been sold on the black market

Images have surfaced of the next-generation intel flagship CPU, the Intel i9 13900K up for sale on the black market in China. The CPU allegedly works on an ASUS Z690 ROG Apex motherboard. 

Months ahead of its launch, the Intel i9 13900K appears to have surfaced on the GoFish app for sale. The seller showed off the core and thread count of the CPU on the GoFish app, and has seemingly already been sold to one lucky buyer. The i9 13900K reportedly boots up and can also be overclocked. meaning that this must have been a pretty late engineering sample that somehow made its way out of the factory. Earlier engineering samples of cutting-edge tech generally don’t work on consumer hardware, and definitely are not overclockable. The rectangular Intel logo has been seen on previous early samples that we’ve seen, so it’s definitely a chip that shouldn’t be being commercially sold on an online marketplace.

This Raptor-Lake i9 13900K processor is expected to hit shelves around September, so it’s not entirely unfounded that this chip could potentially be a near-final retail unit. The listing has already sold for 2850 RMB, or $426 USD. This is around the price that you’d expect for the 19 13900K, and even better for an early sample. Samples getting out of the factory is not too uncommon, and they do occasionally pop up on auction sites. But, to have something final, selling for a decent price is almost unheard of. The non-K variant of this chip has already been put through its paces, so we’re expecting some pretty sellar performance from this particular chip.

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The 13th-gen Raptor Lake CPUs are poised to be Intel’s answer to Ryzen’s upcoming big shakeup with Zen 4, so we’re incredibly excited to see what might come out of this impending clash of the titans. New CPUs are also coming with new GPUs this year, too. So, if your PC is looking a little bit long in the tooth right now, you should be able to build a brand-new, cutting-edge system by the Fall of this year. Though, if you’re desperate for a new PC, GPU prices have already fallen through the floor.

Source: via Videocardz