ASUS and Overclocker Elmor Collaborate to Break Record with Liquid Helium Cooling
After the launch of the Raptor Lake processors saw a new record for desktop processor frequency following an eight year lull, ASUS and its resident overclocker Elmor have collaborated with some helpers to set yet another record.
A Core i9-13900K reached 9,015.4 MHz, beating the previous record of 8812.85 MHz set in October. The ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Apex motherboard and two 16 GB G.Skill Trident Z5 memory modules were used in the attempt.
However, it was the cooling method that ultimately allowed for the achievement of the 9 GHz mark. Rather than using liquid nitrogen, as was done in the previous attempt, the team opted for liquid helium.
While liquid nitrogen can reach temperatures as low as -196°C, liquid helium can reach as low as -269°C. This extreme cooling is necessary for the processor to reach such high frequencies.
Using liquid helium is more challenging than using liquid nitrogen, as it must be introduced directly into the pot via a long lance and immediately vaporizes.
Additionally, the cost of liquid helium is significantly higher than that of liquid nitrogen. In the video, the team can be seen introducing the last bit of helium into the cooler and steadily decreasing the temperature. The attempt was started at -250°C, with the processor briefly running at 9,015.4 MHz and a voltage of 1.84 V.
In addition to setting a new record frequency, the team also set two new world records for the PiFast benchmark (6.85 s) and SuperPi 32M (3.02,778 s). However, the 9 GHz frequency was only stable enough for a CPU-Z screenshot validation. This marks the first time a processor has reached 9 GHz, leaving room for the next milestone – could it be 10 GHz? It’s doubtful we’ll see that anytime soon.