Intel BX8070811900F

The Core i9-11900F is a solid drop-in upgrade for LGA 1200 owners, with a 5.2GHz boost clock and single-thread performance in the 86th percentile. It requires a dedicated GPU and runs hot under load, but it's still capable for gaming. Prices vary wildly, especially in Europe where listings range from EUR 487 to EUR 1,010. Buy it only if you're upgrading an existing system, not building new.

The single-thread PassMark score of 3409 is the headline number here. That puts it in the 86th percentile of all CPUs we track, which is genuinely impressive for a chip from 2021. In practice, that means games like Counter-Strike, Valorant, and older titles that lean on one or two cores will run beautifully. The 5.2GHz boost clock does a lot of heavy lifting, and Intel's Turbo Boost Max 3.0 helps steer workloads to the best cores.

The multi-thread score of 21994 is more of a mixed bag. It's above average, but 8 cores and 16 threads is the same core count as a mid-range i7 from the same generation. If you're rendering video or compiling code, this chip will get the job done, but it won't blow you away. The 16MB of L3 cache is also on the smaller side for an i9. And the 65W TDP is a bit misleading, real-world power draw under load can spike well above that, which is why some owners report it running hot.

The obvious comparison is the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D, which is in a completely different league. The 9800X3D is a current-gen chip with 3D V-Cache and absolutely destroys the 11900F in gaming and productivity. But it also requires a new AM5 motherboard and DDR5 memory, so the total platform cost is much higher. If you're building new, the 9800X3D is the clear choice. The 11900F only makes sense as an upgrade for an existing LGA 1200 system.

Against other options in our database, the 11900F holds up okay. The MICRO CENTER 265KFPRO890WIFI bundle is a newer platform with more cores and better efficiency, but again, it's a full platform swap. The Lenovo Ryzen 5 spare part and the PC Server and Parts E5-2697 v2 are not really competitors in the traditional sense, they're either OEM parts or old server silicon. The E5-2697 v2 has more cores but much slower single-thread performance, so it's worse for gaming. The 11900F's real competition is the used market, where you can sometimes find a 10th gen i9 or a Ryzen 5000 chip for less money.

Value is where this chip gets complicated. The affordability score sits in the 24th percentile, which means it's not a bargain by any stretch. In the US, you're looking at around $251, which is fine but not exciting for a four-year-old CPU. In Canada, prices range from CAD 420 to CAD 479 across three listings, so shop around. The best deal we see is at the lower end of that range, but you'll need to check which store has it at CAD 420.

Europe is where things get wild. EUR prices span from EUR 487 all the way up to EUR 1,010 across Germany, Spain, and France. That's a EUR 523 spread, which is frankly absurd. If you're in the EU, do not pay anywhere near the top of that range. At EUR 487, it's a reasonable buy for an LGA 1200 upgrade. At EUR 1,010, you're getting robbed. For that money, you could buy a modern platform and a better CPU.

The Core i9-11900F is a weird little chip. It's an 8-core, 16-thread Rocket Lake part that Intel positioned as a flagship, but it actually has fewer cores than the 10th gen i9 it replaced. That said, it still hits a 5.2GHz boost clock and brings PCIe 4.0 to the LGA 1200 platform, which was a big deal at the time. The 'F' suffix means no integrated graphics, so you'll need a dedicated GPU, no exceptions.

Who's this for? Someone already sitting on an LGA 1200 board who wants the best gaming CPU they can drop in without swapping motherboards. If you're on a 10th gen i5 or i7 and your board supports Rocket Lake, this is a meaningful upgrade. It's also fine for a budget build if you find it cheap, since the 65W TDP keeps cooling requirements modest.

What makes it interesting is the price-to-performance story in 2025. This chip is old, but it's not slow. In our database, its single-thread score lands in the 86th percentile, which means it still hangs with much newer CPUs in games that care about one fast core. The multi-thread score is solid too, around the 77th percentile. You're not getting a productivity monster, but for gaming and everyday work, it's surprisingly capable.

If you're building a new PC from scratch, skip the 11900F. The LGA 1200 platform is a dead end, with no upgrade path beyond this generation. You'd be better off with a Ryzen 5 7600 or a Core i5-13400F, both of which offer similar or better performance on modern platforms with DDR5 support and future upgrade options.

Also skip it if you do heavy multi-threaded work like video editing, 3D rendering, or compiling large codebases. The 8-core, 16-thread design is fine for gaming, but it falls behind newer chips with 12 or 16 cores. If productivity is your priority, look at a Ryzen 7 7700X or a Core i7-13700K instead. And if you don't have a dedicated GPU and don't want to buy one, this chip is a non-starter, the 'F' suffix means no integrated graphics, period.

If you're already on an LGA 1200 board and you want a meaningful gaming upgrade without rebuilding your whole PC, the 11900F is a solid pick. The single-thread performance is genuinely good, and the 5.2GHz boost clock keeps it relevant for modern games. Just make sure you have a dedicated GPU, because this chip won't output video on its own.

For anyone building a new system, skip it. The platform is dead, the core count is low by modern standards, and the price isn't low enough to justify buying into LGA 1200 in 2025. Put your money toward a Ryzen 7000 or 9000 series chip, or even a newer Intel part. The 11900F is a great upgrade chip, but a terrible foundation for a new build.