Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus vs 13th Gen Core i5-13600K
Short answer: which is best?
Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus is 132.4 % stronger than 13th Gen Core i5-13600K. Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus ranks #2 of 108 measured processors at WhatFPS (15,558 CPU score in its best run — best of 2 rigs, 24 verified runs). 13th Gen Core i5-13600K ranks #74 of 108 measured processors at WhatFPS (6,694 CPU score in its best run — 1 rig, 1 verified run). Each part is shown at its best run, picked from 25 verified WhatFPS runs — measured, not estimated, not self-reported.
Measured comparison
| Metric | Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus | 13th Gen Core i5-13600K |
|---|---|---|
| CPU score, best run (the processor's own performance) | 15,558 | 6,694 |
| Best rig (GAMING — whole PC) | 10,383 | 12,713 |
| Integer (MT) | 14.6 Gop/s | 4.4 Gop/s |
| Single-thread (1T) | 0.94 Gop/s | 0.41 Gop/s |
| Draw calls/s (DX11) | 11,343,956 | 6,035,316 |
| Cores / threads | 24 / 24 | 14 / 20 |
| L3 cache | 36 MB | 24 MB |
Fragz' verdict
Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus has the higher CPU score, with a 132.4 % lead over 13th Gen Core i5-13600K. You will see much better single-thread performance at 0.94 Gop/s, which usually sets the FPS ceiling in games, while the 13th Gen Core i5-13600K only hits 0.41 Gop/s. The Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus also dominates in integer performance at 14.6 Gop/s for streaming, compiling and background load, whereas the 13th Gen Core i5-13600K reaches 4.4 Gop/s. When it comes to draw calls per second, the Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus feeds the graphics card 11,343,956 commands compared to 6,035,316 from the 13th Gen Core i5-13600K, and it also wins in Supernova with 94.6 FPS against 50.3 FPS. Keep in mind that 13th Gen Core i5-13600K has only been measured in a single rig, so that number is less certain. Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus is highest in every performance test we ran.
Generated November 14, 2026 from the 25 verified runs available then. The verdict is never silently rewritten — new numbers get a new verdict.
What the numbers mean
The headline score is the part's best measured run, and the measurements under it come from that same run. It shows what the part has been proven to do — not what an average rig gets out of it. The CPU score is the processor's own performance — that is what we rank on. GAMING is the whole rig's score in the best PC we measured the processor in, and leans heavily on the graphics card. A strong processor in a weak PC gets a low GAMING score without being worse. We show both and never mix them.
All numbers come from our benchmark suite: four hand-built 3D scenes written directly against the graphics APIs in Rust, the same load on every PC. The methodology is open at https://whatfps.com/metodik
All measurements for Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus · All measurements for 13th Gen Core i5-13600K