Jacob Roach / Digital Trends
Intel ’s Core i9 - 13900 K is one of thebest processorsyou can buy . The 24 - core behemoth can rip through productiveness workloads with ease , and it ’s easily one of thefastest gaming CPUsmoney can purchase . Even with so much power under the hood , it ’s not the right choice for everyone .
sovereign power do at a supreme price , and for theCore i9 - 13900 K , that come in the form of heat and king draw poker . In addition , arecent wave of instabilityhas strike Intel ’s high-pitched - end CPUs like the Core i9 - 13900 K , making alternatives a bit more attractive .
Jacob Roach / Digital Trends
Although you should keep the Core i9 - 13900 K on your short list , there are several other CPUs to keep in mind when upgrade your play microcomputer . Here are some of our favorites .
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
TheRyzen 7 7800X3Dcan’t entertain a wax light to the Core i9 - 13900 K when it come to productiveness workloads , but AMD ’s cow dung shoots ahead with its gaming process . The humble eight Zen 4 centre are quick enough for high - end gaming , but it ’s AMD ’s impressive3D V - Cachetech that stands out . In some titles , such asFar Cry 6,it offers massively improved functioning .
This is the CPU you should buy if you ’re mostly concerned with gaming . The superfluous cache does n’t apply in all , or even most , games , but you ’ll appreciate the boost in performance when it come up . Behind the cache , you ’re still make a great gambling CPU that can go toe - to - toe with the Core i9 - 13900K. On average , we obtain that the Core i9 - 13900 K is around 10 % slower than the Ryzen 7 7800X3D at 1080p , in fact .
On top of that , the Ryzen 7 7800X3D is cheaper . You ’ll ascertain the Core i9 - 13900 K for around $ 500 at the metre of authorship , while AMD ’s chip is available for around $ 400 — and sometimes even less . Add on the down in the mouth power demand , a generally cooler package , and the AM5 chopine , and the Ryzen 7 7800X3D looks like a great deal for gamers .
That only holds up if you mainly stake on your PC , however . As mentioned , the Core i9 - 13900 K is an absolute monster at productivity labor , and the Ryzen 7 7800X3D sometimes only get through half the summit Intel can with its flagship CPU . This is a CPU for gamers above all else .
Intel Core i9-12900K
Although theCore i9 - 12900Kand Core i9 - 13900 K share the same socket and chipset support , the thirteenth - gen part is much faster . Based on our examination , the Core i9 - 13900 K provide a single - pith advantage of about 13 % and a multi - core reward of tight to 47 % . That ’s a skillful argument for the Core i9 - 13900 K , but the 12th - gen CPU still has its office .
Because of the eld of the Core i9 - 12900 K , you may get it for a dirt - tawdry price . At the time of writing , it ’s usable for under $ 300 , and that ’s the terms you ’ll broadly speaking line up it at . Retailers will often bundle the CPU with a motherboard for a down in the mouth price to reset the shelf as well , so it ’s not rare to witness the former flagship and a high - end motherboard for around $ 450 .
Although the Core i9 - 13900 K understandably has a tip in performance , the interruption is n’t always large . For example , in Photoshop , the Core i9 - 12900 K is 20 % behind the thirteenth - gen CPU , but that gap shrinks to only 10 % in Premiere Pro . In game , the deviation is usually only a few frames , which is a performance gap that disappears as you climb to gamey resolve .
The Core i9 - 12900 K is still a great CPU in 2024 , even if it ’s not quite as fast as the newer Intel options . The beneficial news program is that it ’s very cheap , and it ’s managed to surround the the constancy issues of Intel ’s late CPUs . On top of that , it expend the same socket as Intel ’s 13th - gen and fourteenth - gen character , so you ’re lay up for an rise to a CPU like the Core i9 - 14900 K in the futurity .
Intel Core i7-13700K
It might seem obvious that the Core i7 - 13700 K is an alternative to the Core i9 - 13900 M as a less muscular , cheaper sibling , but that undersells just how knock-down Intel ’s i7 really is . The 16 - core C.P.U. comes with eight carrying out ( P ) gist and eight efficient ( E ) heart . Meanwhile , the Core i9 - 13900 K comes with eight P - cores and 16 E - magnetic core . What really matters is that both CPUs come with eight phosphorus - cores .
There are some apps that can take vantage of the monumental center array available on the i9 CPU , but many apps track down just ok with the Core i7 - 13700K. In Premiere Pro and After Effects , for example , the Core i7 - 13700 K posts identical effect to the more expensive i9 option . And in secret plan , the two CPUs are essentially indistinguishable .
You ’re baffle most of the performance with the Core i7 - 13700 K , just for much less . The CPU comes in around $ 340 , saving you close to $ 150 liken to the Core i9 - 13900K. If you choose for the Core i7 - 13700KF — the same CPU , minus integrated graphics — the price gap grow to $ 200 .
If you ’re looking to foot up a CPU now , the Core i7 - 13700 K does n’t seem to be affected by the recent instability on Intel ’s higher - end choice , either . The Core i7 range does n’t get a portion of erotic love because of its awkward placement , but the Core i7 - 13700 K make a hard line for picking up one of Intel ’s CPUs in this socio-economic class .
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
AMD ’s counterpunch to the Core i9 - 13900 K is theRyzen 9 7950X. The 16 - core CPU is an absolute behemoth in just about any app , trading go down on with the Core i9 - 13900 K depending on which workload you look at . In Geekbench 5 , we base that the two CPUs were evenly matched in multi - core performance , despite the Core i9 - 13900 K ’s naked as a jaybird core vantage .
That understand into genuine apps , too . In Handbrake , the Ryzen 9 7950X completed a transcode in the same time as the Core i9 - 13900 K , and in Premiere Pro , it was within less than 1 % of Intel ’s CPU . Gaming is where the Ryzen 9 7950X really shine , however . Although the Ryzen 7 7800X3D is still a salutary choice if gaming is your principal focus , the Ryzen 9 7950X bring off to outpace Intel ’s CPU inRed Dead Redemption 2 , Far Cry 6,andCyberpunk 2077 .
The major downside of the Ryzen 9 7950X is the damage . At $ 550 , it ’s still more expensive than the Core i9 - 13900 K by around $ 50 to $ 70 , and with for the most part similar performance . However , it ’s also based on AMD ’s AM5 platform . Intel is done with the LGA 1700 socket , so if you pick up the CPU now , you ’ll ask to move to a new platform when it ’s time to upgrade . AMD articulate it will bear on supporting AM5 through 2025 and beyond , jell you up for a future climb from the Ryzen 9 7950X.
