During the preceding few years of searching for thebest C.P.U. , AMD has usually come out on top . Aggressive pricing , a consistent Congress of Racial Equality strategy , and confidence of future rising slope has been enough to explain away the few performance vantage Intel has had . So , I ’m sure you could think my surprise when theIntel inwardness i5 - 14600Khandily come out on top against AMD ’s newerRyzen 5 9600X.

It get along out ahead in quite a large way , too . Although the Ryzen 5 9600X and Core i5 - 14600 K are both splendid CPUs under $ 300 , it looks like Team Blue is taking the win this time .

Specs

The Core i5 - 14600 K and Ryzen 5 9600X may face like wildly different central processor , but they ’re more standardised than their specs suggest . That comes down to Intel ’s intercrossed architecture . Like the last few generations , the Core i5 - 14600 K mixes functioning ( P ) cores and efficient ( vitamin E ) cores together on the same chip . The E - substance are n’t very powerful , but they can step in to serve when the P - burden are struggling . Still , the master driver of carrying into action on the Core i5 - 14600 K are the six P - Congress of Racial Equality .

That ’s why the Core i5 - 14600 K and Ryzen 5 9600X are so standardised . It ’s true that the Core i5 - 14600 K has entree to far more thread , but these are basically both six - core CPUs , at least when it arrive to the big calculation might . For tasks that only stress one or a few core , you should expect the Ryzen 5 9600X to add up out ahead due to its newer Zen 5 computer architecture .

However , most New apps do n’t only apply one or a few thread . As I ’ll get into with my benchmarks below , most advanced apps appreciate the supererogatory threads available to them with the Core i5 - 14600 K , and that even widen to games .

Outside of center numeration , the other interesting note is great power . There ’s no head that the Ryzen 5 9600X is more effective than the Core i5 - 14600K. In terms of execution , the Ryzen 5 9600X will consume less office during similar undertaking . How big of a difference that makes really depends on your rig and how much electricity costs in your country . By the numbers , it seems like the Core i5 - 14600 K is sucking down some harebrained amount of power , but at least in the U.S. , it does n’t make a huge difference of opinion in practice . That ’s especially truthful in games , where the Core i5 - 14600 K will never trust to run up to 125 Isaac Watts .

Pricing

Unlike theRyzen 9 9950X and Core i9 - 14900 K , these two CPU are very secretive in price . You ’ll spend $ 300 on the Core i5 - 14600 K , while the Ryzen 5 9600X will run you $ 280 . By the high - grade numbers , AMD wins on cost , even if you ’re only hold open $ 20 . There ’s a bit more to the story here , though .

The Ryzen 5 9600X is your only pick for this social class of processor in AMD ’s latest generation right now . Intel has more varieties of the Core i5 - 14600 K available . For example , the Core i5 - 14600KF , which cuts incorporated graphics , is uncommitted for $ 290 . The Core i5 - 14600 K is much older than AMD ’s Ryzen 5 9600X , so you’re able to find secondhand options too . The going price is around $ 250 , but I ’ve seen some units go for as little as $ 200 .

We ’ll finally see the Ryzen 5 9600X reach that point . AMD will mark down the CPU when sale come around , and secondhand listings will go up . For the next few months , though , you have more options with the Core i5 - 14600 K to mark a deal . The Ryzen 5 9600X is technically tatty , but I ’m willing to call pricing a crosstie , at least for now .

Productivity performance

When it comes to productiveness prowess , Intel contain a passably significant edge with the Core i5 - 14600K. That ’s principally due to the CPU ’s hybrid computer architecture , which allows Intel to offer 20 threads on the Core i5 - 14600 K compared to 12 on the Ryzen 5 9600X. you’re able to see how that dynamic work out in Cinebench R23 above . The Ryzen 5 9600X hold a substantial individual - core leading , but it gets absolutely annihilate when it comes to multi - core carrying out .

On mellow end CPUs , Intel ’s hybrid approach is n’t always the correct one . For this comparison , however , it make a big difference . Handbrake is a neat model of that . picture transcoding is a task that will take any CPU power available , and the higher yarn tally on the Core i5 - 14600 K fill out the transcode much faster as a resultant .

It ’s not just these two benchmarks , either . In Blender , which is a rendering app similar to Cinebench , the Core i5 - 14600 K comes out between 25 % and 30 % faster than the Ryzen 5 9600X.

Shockingly , the same was true in 7 - Zip . Historically , AMD has dominated in a concretion bench mark like 7 - Zip , but Intel is coming out around 30 % ahead with the Core i5 - 14600 K here . liken these two CPUs directly , this was the result that shocked me the most considering how often AMD ends up at the top of 7 - Zip charts .

The only clear lead for the Ryzen 5 9600X is in Y - Cruncher , where both CPUs work out 500 million digits of Pi . AMD is certainly ahead when it comes to individual - core performance . In multi - core performance , however , the two CPUs are basically in lockstep .

The biggest problem for the Ryzen 5 9600X is that it ’s a six - core CPU . Those may be six powerful cores , but the fact that the Core i5 - 14600 K offers more cores , even if they ’re much weaker , mean that it ’s able to deliver more in productiveness apps .

Gaming performance

The Core i5 - 14600 K and Ryzen 5 9600X are shockingly competitive when it comes to games . Overall , the Core i5 - 14600 K come up out slightly onwards due to games likeHitman 3,where it prove a large track . However , you could plunk up either of these mainframe and have a dandy gambling experience . They mostly trade gust in games , and in the case of titles likeF1 2022andGears Tactics , the divergence in carrying into action wo n’t really show up in practice .

The interesting bit when it come to gaming is Intel ’s hybrid computer architecture . Due to using two dissimilar type of cores , tasks do n’t always get placed on the most performant thread . These site are few and far between , and we ’ve visualize them addressed in games likeCyberpunk 2077.It ’s not something you should run up against a lot , if at all . If you ’re going with the Core i5 - 14600 K , though , it ’s still something you should be aware of .

On the other destruction , the carrying out of the Ryzen 5 9600X is still very much in query . The results above are what you could carry to see out of the boxwood today , butAMD has said there are a smattering of factorswithin Windows that could bear upon performance . It ’s potential the Ryzen 5 9600X will be faster in game in the futurity , but for now , the two CPUs are very competitory .

Not what I expected

I did n’t expect the Core i5 - 14600 K to total out ahead . The Ryzen 5 9600X is a New C.P.U. , and AMD has hold a somewhat ordered lead over Intel the retiring few generations , peculiarly when it issue forth to game . That ’s not the shell here . The Core i5 - 14600 K is faster when it come to productivity apps , and it holds a slight , but compelling jumper cable when it comes to gaming .

I ’m comfortable urge it , too . There ’s been no shortage of insurance coverage onIntel ’s instability woe , but those issue have n’t applied to the Core i5 - 14600K. At the very least , you may applyIntel ’s microcode updateand relief easy under its new five - year warranty , which should be enough to cover any potential issue on the Core i5 - 14600K.