In September or October, Intel will release its 13th-generation Raptor Lake processors for desktops. But the market already has early-stage engineering samples of Raptor Lake-S SKUs that can be used to test and improve software.

The alleged Core i9-13900K CPU is compatible with the ASUS Z690 ROG APEX motherboard. According to the description, it boots up and can even be overclocked. It's a Raptor Lake silicon with 16 Gracemont cores and 8 Raptor Cove cores. There are no other details available. We can't confirm that this sample is indeed Raptor Lake because the seller suppressed all of the crucial information, such as the CPU SPEC code and QR codes, and we probably won't be able to because the sample has already been sold. It was priced at RMB 2,850 ($426), which is an excellent value for an early sample.

Although we haven't seen any 13th Generation Core K-Series CPUs, Expreview recently tested the non-K variant. Both samples bear the same square Intel logo, indicating that they were created this year.

First Core i9-13900K Raptor Lake Processors Already Sell on Black Market