Intel axes 13th Gen Core i5, i7, i9 K-series CPUs, lineup to be discontinued by next month

Intel, the renowned semiconductor giant, has announced the discontinuation of its boxed overclockable Core i5, i7, and i9 Raptor Lake CPUs. This move marks a significant shift in the company's product strategy, impacting vendors and consumers alike.

Scheduled for May 24th, 2024, the discontinuation will encompass every K-series chip within the Raptor Lake lineup. After this date, vendors will no longer have the option to purchase these processors, as per Intel's product change document. The document outlines that the last product discontinuance order date and non-cancelable/non-returnable cut-off points will commence on May 24th, 2024, with final shipments ceasing on June 28th, 2024.

While the immediate impact on the supply of 13th Gen K-series CPUs remains uncertain, industry experts anticipate a gradual decline in availability. This dwindling supply is expected to coincide with price hikes as vendors seek to clear their remaining inventory of overclockable Raptor Lake CPUs. Notably, the competitive pricing of most 12th-Gen Alder Lake CPUs persists, suggesting a similar market response may unfold with the discontinued Raptor Lake CPUs until stocks are depleted.

However, a notable observation emerges concerning Intel's decision not to discontinue its Alder Lake CPU lineup, despite it being a generation older than Raptor Lake. As per Intel's Ark website, all Alder Lake chips retain a "launched" status rather than being labelled as "discontinued." Seeking clarification, enquiries have been made to Intel, and updates will be provided upon their response.

Raptor Lake made waves upon its 2022 release, boasting substantial improvements over Alder Lake. With higher clock speeds, enhanced cache, and doubled E-cores on most models, Raptor Lake significantly bolstered gaming and multi-threaded performance, surpassing AMD's Ryzen 7000 CPUs at the time.

Even with the introduction of Raptor Lake Refresh, which offered marginal performance enhancements, the pricing dynamics remained contentious. While Raptor Lake Refresh marginally improved i7 SKUs with additional E-cores, its higher pricing compared to Raptor Lake made 13th-Gen a more cost-effective choice.

The discontinuation of Raptor Lake's overclockable chips signals the end of an era. Nevertheless, the silver lining emerges with the gradual reduction in prices of 14th-gen CPUs. Additionally, the vanilla SKUs of Raptor Lake remain available for purchase, albeit temporarily, before an inevitable discontinuation. The following chips bid farewell: Core i9-13900KS, Core i9-13900K, Core i9-13900KF, Core i7-13700K, Core i7-13700KF, Core i5-13600K, Core i5-13600KF.