China-only 13th Gen “Dark SKUs” from Intel: Price Drops

In an effort to better cater to the PC gaming market in China, Intel introduced a few 13th Gen Core SKUs there in February. Both the Core i5-13490F (6P+4E but with 24 MB L3 cache) and the Core i7-13790F (8P+8E but with 33 MB L3 cache) fit into this category. Due to increased competition from AMD’s non-X Ryzen 5 7600 and Ryzen 7 7700 processors, as well as pricing modifications for its 7600X and 7700X, Intel is lowering the prices of these SKUs. Originally priced for $1,599 (or roughly $230), the i5-13490F is now available for $1,499 (or roughly $200). It is unknown whether these SKUs will be introduced outside of China. They are designed to enhance cache-sensitive gaming performance by boosting L3 cache sizes without affecting core counts or clock speeds. These chips come in unique “dark” retail boxes, as displayed below.