AMD say its new Ryzen 9 9950X would be thebest processorthe world has ever seen , but it ’s not off to a expectant start . As you may study in ourRyzen 9 9950X and Ryzen 9 9900X review , AMD ’s latest flagship cater a few cardinal advantages , but barely moves the needle in several other benchmark .

Intel ’s competingCore i9 - 14900Kis proving itself surprisingly relevant in the face of unexampled Zen 5 CPUs , especially considering its depressed price . Both of these CPUs are monsters when it come to gaming and productivity , there ’s no doubt about that . But contrary to the preceding few twelvemonth of CPUs releases , Intel actually has the upper handwriting in this battle .

Specs

Comparing the spectacles of an AMD and Intel CPU immediately is a fool ’s errand . With entirely different architectures , aspects like clock speed and cache amount do n’t intend much when they ’re directly compared to one another . Still , there are a duet of of import notes when looking at the specs of these two CPUs .

First is packaging . Intel uses a hybrid architecture that combines carrying out ( atomic number 15 ) cores with efficient ( east ) cores . AMD , on the other hand , use one core design across the integral CPU . The advantage for Intel is that it ’s able-bodied to offer a far greater telephone number of thread to applications that can take advantage of all of the cores it proffer . The Ryzen 9 9950X with its 16 sum and 32 threads still has plenty of multi - threaded grunt , but Intel offer more .

The drawback of Intel ’s approach is that not all of those screw thread are created equally . They can step in to help in some program , but it ’s really the eight P - cores that are pulling most of the weight . In improver , Intel does n’t support hyperthreading on its E - core . Because of that setup , the Core i9 - 14900 K has more heart than the Ryzen 9 9950X , but both CPUs offer the same phone number of screw thread .

Which is good really depends on what you ’re doing , but AMD ’s more traditional glide slope is generally the better choice for a desktop flagship . With the mix of effect Intel fling , it ’s very of import that the operating scheme schedules tasks on threads appropriately . Intel has done a unspoilt occupation of that with Thread Director , but there are still lotion — like some games — that do n’t docket threads correctly , guide to a performance loss .

Outside of packaging , the other significant note is major power . AMD and Intel utilize slightly different numbers for world power , but the Core i9 - 14900 K still sucks down more watt . The Ryzen 9 9950X top off out at 170 watt , while the Core i9 - 14900 K can climb up to 253W. In the chart above , which shows how many build I achieved per watt spend in the game I quiz , you could see how much less efficient the Core i9 - 14900 K is compared to the Ryzen 9 9950X.

Pricing

Both the Ryzen 9 9950X and Core i9 - 14900 K have the same list price of $ 650 , but the genuine price at retailers is much dissimilar . At the time of composition , the Ryzen 9 9950X just eject , so it ’s holding at its launching price of $ 650 . Over time , it will drop , but that could take several months . Even the last - genRyzen 9 7950Xis still selling for $ 520 .

The Core i9 - 14900 K has been on the market for near a class , and it ’s much cheaper as a result . At the clock time of publishing , it ’s available for $ 546 . In addition , the last - genCore i9 - 13900 K — which offer very standardised public presentation across the board — is $ 458 . You should expect the Core i9 - 14900 K to be about $ 100 cheaper than the Ryzen 9 9950X , at least for several month following the press release of AMD ’s latest CPU .

In plus to a lower price , Intel also has more versions of the Core i9 - 14900 K useable , most of which are trashy . For instance , the Core i9 - 14900KF shaves the integrated graphics , but bid very performance , and it ’s usable for $ 536 . likewise , the Core i9 - 14900F lacks incorporated graphics and overclocking capabilities , but you may pick it up for $ 528 .

I recommend checking up on pricing before making a purchasing decision . Over time , the Ryzen 9 9950X will drop in toll and AMD will release cheaper variant similar to what we ’ve look with the Core i9 - 14900K. For now , and at least for several months , the Core i9 - 14900 K is clear in advance when it comes to pricing .

Productivity performance

The Core i9 - 14900 K is a monster CPU , make no misapprehension . But the Ryzen 9 9950X is more of a monster . Starting with Cinebench R23 , you could see that the two micro chip are competitive when it come in to exclusive - essence carrying out , despite the Core i9 - 14900 K ’s high cost increase clock fastness . In multi - core performance , however , the Ryzen 9 9950X dominates , despite the advantage Intel has with its hybrid approach path to architecture and packaging .

AMD leads by about 10 % in multi - core performance in Cinebench , but in real applications , the gap is sometimes even larger . In 7 - Zip , for example , the Ryzen 9 9950X is about 12 % before of the Core i9 - 14900 K overall . While 7 - Zip is traditionally an program that favor AMD CPUs , the Core i9 - 14900 K close up that spread when it free last year . Now , AMD is back on top .

The most dominant exhibit for the Ryzen 9 9950X , however , was Blender . In this app , the Ryzen 9 9950X is over 20 % ahead of the Core i9 - 14900K. Blender is an interesting workload to expect at when it come to central processor , as it shows off the rendering capabilities of a chip . However , most modern rendition apps are GPU - accelerated , which offers exponentially high execution than any CPU can currently muster up .

Without a doubt , the Ryzen 9 9950X is faster than the Core i9 - 14900 K when it come to productivity applications . The gains are n’t always as stark , however . In Photoshop , for instance , you may see above that the Ryzen 9 9950X was just 8 % faster than the Core i9 - 14900K.

likewise , in Handbrake , the two CPUs are nearly identical . The Ryzen 9 9950X technically completed the transcode 3 % faster , and if you stretch that out over a longer transcoding fourth dimension , it could add up to a more meaningful difference . Still , both of these processor are very interchangeable in Handbrake .

Outside of raw performance , the Ryzen 9 9950X has the advantage of AVX-512 instruction support and a consecrate 512 - second datum path . That is a immense hike for AI covering , in particular .

Overall , the Ryzen 9 9950X is about 15 % quicker than the Core i9 - 14900 K and 18 % more expensive , which is a good balance . If productiveness is your main business concern , I recommend cull up the Ryzen 9 9950X now , and especially once it lead off dropping in Mary Leontyne Price . The Core i9 - 14900 K is by no way a weak CPU , though . It still puts up a sound fight , and depending on the lotion you ’re using , it ’s awful close to the Ryzen 9 9950X.

Gaming performance

There is n’t much to talk about when it comes to gaming performance . The chart above tell apart the full storey , with the Core i9 - 14900 K systematically win in trial run . The only victory the Ryzen 9 9950X claim was inAshes of the Singularity , and even then , the lead is negligible at best .

You do n’t grease one’s palms a flagship CPU specifically for gaming , but the performance of the Ryzen 9 9950X is disappointing . The Core i9 - 14900 K is nearly a year old , and it well runs away with gaming performance . give that Intel is already leading , it ’s gruelling to imagine AMD will be able to fight back onceArrow Lake CPUsare here .

If gaming execution is your main concern , however , neither of these CPUs are the dear choice . I still commend gamers beak up the Ryzen 7 7800X3D. It ’s thebest processor for play , full stop , and it ’s cheaper than both the Core i9 - 14900 K and Ryzen 9 9950X.

Although the Core i9 - 14900 K is forward in gambling , there ’s one area where the Ryzen 9 9950X has a lead . AMD ’s latest CPU has a 512 - piece datum way of life for AVX-512 statement , which offers a big rise in some gaming scenario . In particular , AVX-512 pedagogy are very significant for PS3 emulation .

A note on stability

Intel has seensome issue with stabilityon its 13th - gen and fourteenth - gen CPUs , particularly when it add up to high - last unlocked models like the Core i9 - 14900K. accord to Intel , improper potential drop delivery to the central processing unit can conduct to rapid degradation . Over meter , the mainframe will become less and less stable . That usually starts with a few odd secret plan crash and eventually move onto full organisation lockups and Blue Screens of Death .

After months , Intel hasreleased a microcode updatethat manifestly addresses these issues . The party say it ’s a preventive amount , and that CPUs that are n’t experiencing imbalance should n’t come down victim with the firmware update . In add-on , Intel has extend the warranty on all of its thirteenth - gen and 14th - gen CPUs from three twelvemonth to five twelvemonth , and that applies to new CPUs purchased .

Only time will enjoin if Intel ’s microcode update really solves the unstableness problem . If you ’re buying a CPU now , it ’s something to keep in mind .

A bloodbath

The Core i9 - 14900 K should n’t really be competitive with the Ryzen 9 9950X , but it is . AMD ’s in style definitely runs forth with productiveness , but it loses plenty of earth in gaming and comes in at a much eminent damage . More significantly , the Core i9 - 14900 K is well-nigh a year quondam . With AMD only providing performance advantages in some areas , it ’s hard to imagine the Ryzen 9 9950X will be able to keep up when Intel ’s Arrow Lake CPUs discharge .

At the moment , the Ryzen 9 9950X is the truehearted CPU you may buy , at least when it comes to non - gaming work load . It ’s also the most expensive at $ 650 . If you do n’t mind trading a bit of productivity performance for more play grunt , the Core i9 - 14900 K is the path to go given how much cheaper it is — just check that to keep your warranty info William Christopher Handy .