In case you’re searching for the greatest CPUs for Gaming or the greatest workstation CPU, there are solely two decisions to select from – AMD and Intel. That truth has spawned an nearly non secular following for each camps, and the ensuing AMD vs Intel flamewars make it tough to get unbiased recommendation about your best option to your subsequent processor. However in lots of instances, the reply is definitely very clear. Actually, for many customers, it is now a blowout win in Intel’s favor, as you may see in our CPU Benchmarks Hierarchy. That is a quick reversal of fortunes for the chipmaker after its decade of dominance was utterly overturned by AMD’s Ryzen 5000 chips. It additionally provides Intel a leg up as we head into the Raptor Lake and Zen 4 Ryzen 7000 period.
This text covers the endless argument of AMD vs Intel desktop CPUs (we’re not protecting laptop computer or server chips). We choose the chips on seven standards primarily based on what you propose to do together with your PC, pricing, efficiency, driver help, energy consumption, and safety, giving us a transparent view of the state of the competitors. We’ll additionally focus on the lithographies and architectures that affect the transferring goalposts. General, there is a clear winner, however which CPU model you should purchase relies upon totally on what sort of options, value, and efficiency are essential to you.
In case you’re searching for the quickest total chips available on the market, you need to look to Intel’s potent new Alder Lake sequence. Although AMD clings to the excellence of getting the one quickest gaming chip obtainable, Intel’s Alder Lake chips take the gaming crown from AMD in the entire most essential value bands. Alder Lake additionally rivals or beats AMD in all significant efficiency metrics, like single- and multi-threaded productiveness workloads. You’ll be able to see the disruptive leads to our Intel Core i9-12900K and Core i5-12600K evaluation, and we have additionally added each our Home windows 10 and 11 testing to our CPU benchmark database. We have additionally thrown in outcomes with each DDR4 and DDR5 reminiscence for good measure.
Intel’s Alder Lake has utterly redefined x86 desktop PC chips with a brand new hybrid structure that delivers superb ranges of efficiency. To not be upstaged, AMD launched its Ryzen 7 5800X3D, a brand new CPU with 3D V-Cache. This chip takes the general management spot for gaming, if solely by a slight share, courtesy of an almost-unthinkable 96MB of L3 cache bolted onto the souped-up processor.
You’ll be able to see how all of those processors stack up in our AMD vs Intel CPU Benchmarks Hierarchy, however the panorama had modified within the wake of AMD’s Ryzen 9 5950X and Ryzen 9 5900X, to not point out the Ryzen 5 5600X. At their debut, the Ryzen 5000 sequence have been the highest-performing chips available on the market and beat Intel in each metric that issues, together with gaming, utility efficiency, energy consumption, and thermals, however Intel’s profitable Alder Lake counterattack swung the tables in Staff Blue’s favor.
AMD not too long ago launched six different new Zen 3 chips to shore up its defenses in opposition to Alder Lake, however we have discovered that they do not affect the aggressive positioning a lot. AMD additionally has its Zen 4 Ryzen 7000 chips coming earlier than the tip of the yr. Which means the AMD vs Intel battle may shift in direction of the tail finish of the yr, however that is the story of the tape for the present state of the market.
AMD vs. Intel: Which CPU is Greatest?
| Intel | AMD | |
|---|---|---|
| CPU Pricing and Worth | X | X |
| Gaming Efficiency | X | |
| Content material Creation/Productiveness | ✗ | |
| Specs | ✗ | |
| Overclocking | ✗ | |
| Energy Consumption | ✗ | |
| Drivers and Software program | ✗ | |
| Course of Node | ✗ | |
| Structure | X | ✗ |
| Safety | ✗ | |
| Winner: Intel – Whole | 7 | 5 |
Listed below are the outcomes of our evaluation and testing. Within the following sections, we’ll go over the in-depth particulars of how we got here to our conclusions for every class.
AMD’s relentless onslaught with its Zen-based processors has redefined our expectations for each the mainstream desktop and the HEDT markets, initially catching Intel flatfooted because it remained mired on the 14nm course of and Skylake architectures. The previous a number of years have seen AMD CPUs go from value-focused and energy hungry chips to leading-end designs that ship extra cores, extra efficiency, and decrease energy necessities.
Intel fought again by slowly including options and cores throughout its product stack, however that additionally resulted in damaging negative effects, like extra energy consumption and warmth technology. That solely served to spotlight the corporate’s struggles on the design and fabrication facet of its operation.
The AMD vs Intel CPU dialog has modified totally, although, as Intel has now undercut AMD’s price-to-performance ratio totally with the Alder Lake chips. Moreover, Alder Lake comes with essentially the most disruptive change to Intel’s CPU total SoC design methodology, to not point out core architectures, that we have seen in a decade. Additionally they include the brand new ‘Intel 7’ course of that has confirmed to be exceptionally aggressive, notably in opposition to AMD’s superior course of node that comes from TSMC. That shifted our rankings from a 7-to-4 benefit for AMD to a 7-to-5 benefit in Intel’s favor.
Intel even moved ahead to PCIe 5.0 and DDR5 applied sciences, leaving AMD’s PCIe 4.0 and DDR4 help trying relatively dated. DDR5 does add vital value to motherboards, however Alder Lake additionally helps DDR4 reminiscence. Nevertheless, Intel nonetheless hasn’t eased its draconian segmentation insurance policies that restrict options, like overclockability, to expensive chips and motherboards.
Intel’s Alder Lake additionally holds the crown on overclockability. In case you spend the money on a Z690 motherboard, you will attain much more overclocking headroom than you will get with the Ryzen 5000 chips. You’ll be able to see our head-to-head testing in our Tips on how to Overclock Twelfth Gen Intel Alder Lake CPUs function.
AMD’s present mixture of value, efficiency, and worth, not too long ago resulted in deep value cuts to its flagship Ryzen 5000 processors. AMD is not taking the problem mendacity down, although, because it not too long ago launched its Ryzen 7 5800X3D, a brand new CPU with 3D V-Cache. This chip takes the general management spot for gaming courtesy of an unimaginable 96MB of L3 cache bolted onto the souped-up specialised processor that delivers as much as 15% extra gaming efficiency on common. Nevertheless, it nonetheless options the Zen 3 structure, so it lags Intel’s processors in additional normal desktop PC utility efficiency.
Regardless of AMD’s current refresh, Intel wins the CPU battle total proper now. An AMD processor may nonetheless be the higher selection relying in your wants, like in case you prize the bottom energy consumption or less-expensive motherboards. For now, if you’d like the most effective in gaming or utility efficiency, overclocking or software program help, or if you’d like productiveness efficiency with out shopping for a discrete GPU, Staff Blue deserves your hard-earned {dollars}.
AMD vs Intel CPU Pricing and Worth
Pricing is a very powerful consideration for nearly everybody, and AMD has usually been exhausting to beat within the worth division. The corporate gives a plethora of benefits, like full overclockability on most fashions, to not point out complimentary software program that features the progressive Precision Increase Overdrive (PBO) auto-overclocking function. At first, the corporate’s Ryzen 5000 sequence processors introduced an across-the-board $50 value hike, however the quicker chips earned their larger value tags. That calculus has modified now that Intel’s Alder Lake chips have retaken the efficiency crown and have brutally aggressive pricing, thus forcing value cuts from AMD.
You additionally profit from the broad compatibility of motherboards with the AM4 CPU socket that helps each ahead and backward compatibility, guaranteeing that not solely do you get essentially the most bang to your processor buck, but in addition your motherboard funding (there are caveats with the 5000 sequence). Nevertheless, AMD’s long-lived help for the AM4 socket now finds it trailing in connectivity choices whereas Intel’s chipsets have extra fashionable facilities. The corporate’s new AM5 socket will arrive with the Ryzen 7000 chips later this yr, however AMD says we will anticipate the AM4 socket to thrive for fairly a while.
AMD additionally permits overclocking on all however its A-Collection motherboards (see our article on overclock AMD Ryzen), which is a boon for fanatics. And, on this battle of AMD vs Intel CPUs, we have not even mentioned the precise silicon but.
| Processor Pricing by Household | AMD | Intel |
|---|---|---|
| Threadripper – Cascade Lake-X | $900- $3,750 | $800 – $1,000 ($2,999) |
| AMD Ryzen 9 – Intel Core i9 | $450 – $600 | $422 – $739 |
| AMD Ryzen 7 – Intel Core i7 | $294 -$449 | $298 – $409 |
| AMD Ryzen 5 – Intel Core i5 | $149 – $225 | $157 – $289 |
| AMD Ryzen 3 – Intel Core i3 | $95 – $120 | $97 – $154 |
The arrival of Intel’s Alder Lake-S fashions has discovered the corporate including extra cores, threads, and options to its mainstream lineup, however with out elevated gen-on-gen pricing for comparable fashions. That equated to a considerable discount in price-per-core and price-per-thread metrics, permitting it to steal the worth crown from AMD within the Core i3, i5, i7, and i9 ranges. The addition of the hybrid x86 structure, which brings a mixture of high-performance and effectivity cores, has additionally wrung out extra efficiency. In the meantime, AMD nonetheless owns the excessive finish desktop (HEDT) section totally with its Threadripper processors — however it’s noteworthy that we have not seen new HEDT chips from both chipmaker over the previous couple of years.
Intel contains bundled coolers with its non-overclocking SKUs (you need to pay extra to overclock), however they’re flimsy and ‘adequate,’ at greatest. We have even seen instances the place Intel’s inventory coolers do not present full efficiency at inventory settings. Intel did barely bulk up its bundled coolers, however the aesthetic and slight thermal enhancements aren’t sufficient to match AMD’s competent coolers, and they are not obtainable on all fashions.
Intel additionally does not throw in a cooler in any respect for its expensive overclockable Ok-series SKUs (see our article on overclock an Intel CPU). So make sure you price range in a cooler (and a beefy one at that) in case you plan on overclocking an Intel processor. In the meantime, most of AMD’s bundled coolers are appropriate for not less than average overclocking. Nonetheless, these solely got here as a typical add-in with the previous-gen Ryzen 3000 sequence, most of which have not been supplanted with new Ryzen 5000 equivalents but. Furthermore, solely three of the primary seven AMD Ryzen 5000 processors, the Ryzen 5 5600X, Ryzen 7 5700G, and Ryzen 5 5600G, include a bundled cooler.
Intel not solely expenses a premium for its overclockable Ok-Collection chips, however you will additionally have to shell out for an expensive Z-Collection motherboard for the privilege of overclocking your processor — Intel does not enable full overclocking on B- or H-series motherboards. Nevertheless, Intel has now enabled reminiscence overclocking on its B560 and H570 chipsets, an enormous win for fanatics.
Intel additionally has an extended historical past of fast socket transitions, that means the percentages of dropping a brand new chip into your present motherboard, or taking the older processor over to a more moderen board, aren’t as excessive. Intel’s Socket 1700 for Alder Lake will lengthen for not less than another technology, however plan for restricted ahead and backward compatibility on the Intel facet.
AMD’s Zen 3 chips are the tip of the road for the tried-and-true AM4 socket, so that you should not anticipate these chips to work in future AMD platforms. Nevertheless, AMD has its new CPUs with 3D V-Cache headed to manufacturing later this yr. Zen 4 processors will include a brand new AM5 socket, however AMD plans for it to have a similarly-long lifespan because the AM4 socket.
Win: Tie. Once you’re evaluating Intel vs AMD CPUs, Staff Pink nonetheless has a compelling worth story throughout the total breadth of its product stack, however Intel’s Alder Lake at present gives essentially the most bang to your buck. Nevertheless, that’s solely after we take chip pricing into consideration. Intel’s resolution to help PCIe 5.0 and DDR5 with Alder Lake has resulted in elevated motherboard pricing, so these value variations can offset one another in sure value bands. Intel nonetheless holds the general price-to-performance benefit, although, even after we think about motherboard pricing. In fact, you may also go for DDR4 motherboards to keep away from the DDR5 tax.
In case you’re searching for built-in graphics paired with a processor with greater than eight cores, Intel is at present your solely selection for chips at retail. AMD does have its ‘Cezanne’ Ryzen 5 5600G and Ryzen 7 5700G APUs with built-in graphics. Nevertheless, these chips include pared-back CPU efficiency in alternate for beefy built-in graphics, that means they will not provide practically the identical stage of efficiency in CPU-centric duties.
Not that we would advocate built-in graphics for many customers, notably in case you’re taken with gaming—try our current comparability of built-in graphics on AMD and Intel processors for extra element.
AMD vs Intel CPU Gaming Efficiency
Within the AMD vs Intel CPU battle, Intel holds the lead in all vital value bands. Beneath we now have a big selection of collective gaming efficiency measurements for the present chips within the totally different value bands. As well as, we now have two sequence of check outcomes beneath that encapsulate efficiency in each Home windows 10 and Home windows 11 as a result of Intel’s Alder Lake gives extra efficiency in Home windows 10 than 11. Regardless, the Blue Staff holds the lead in each working methods. You’ll be able to see a way more holistic view in our CPU Benchmarks Hierarchy.
Our first 4 slides encapsulate Home windows 11 gaming efficiency with the brand new Alder Lake and Ryzen 5000 processors included, whereas the Home windows 10 slides present a bigger collection of processors.
As you may see, Intel’s Alder Lake chips are quicker than AMD’s Zen 3-powered Ryzen 5000 processors in all areas however one — the Ryzen 7 5800X3D that takes the general lead in gaming. Nevertheless, you will have to concentrate on the tradeoffs with this highly-specialized chip — the 3D V-Cache does not enhance efficiency in all video games, although we discovered that it impacted practically each single sport we examined. Moreover, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D is optimized particularly for gaming, however as you will see beneath, it may possibly’t hold tempo with similarly-priced chips in productiveness functions.
That stated, whereas the Ryzen 7 5800X3D is quicker than Intel’s Core i9-12900KS, even after overclocking, most customers can be hard-pressed to note the distinction between the 2 in real-world gaming periods except they’re doing a number of different duties on the identical time, like gaming.
The Core i9-12900K and Core i9-12900KS slot in as Intel’s quickest gaming chips, value be damned, however the Core i7-12700K delivers principally the identical gaming efficiency for a lot much less money, making it the go-to selection for efficiency addicts. For mainstream avid gamers, the Core i5-12600K gives the most effective mix of value and efficiency that yow will discover available on the market, bar none. The Core i5-12400 gives stellar efficiency for its value, and the Core i3-12100 is the chip to beat within the ~$110 value class.
The Ryzen 9 5900X slots in as AMD’s second-fastest quickest gaming chip, however not by a lot. The Ryzen 5 5600X gives practically the identical stage of efficiency at a friendlier $300 value level, and AMD’s Ryzen 7 5700X represents a small step up the ladder over the 5600X.
We’ve got in-depth head-to-head comparisons for Alder Lake in opposition to Ryzen 5000 in every of the important thing value brackets within the following articles:
Nevertheless, keep in mind that the efficiency delta between Intel and AMD’s comparably-priced chips typically is not value paying an enormous premium, not less than for the overwhelming majority of fanatics. You would be hard-pressed to note the small variations in gaming efficiency on the prime of the AMD vs Intel stack, however issues are extra sophisticated within the mid-range.
You may want a fire-breathing high-end GPU and one of many greatest gaming screens with a excessive refresh charge to get essentially the most out of a small efficiency benefit, and you may have to sport on the mundane 1080p decision, too. Kicking your decision as much as 1440p and past sometimes pushes the bottleneck again to the GPU, so you will not acquire as a lot out of your CPU’s gaming prowess. Nevertheless, a bit of additional CPU gaming efficiency may repay in case you plan on updating your graphics card with a more moderen technology whereas retaining the remainder of your system intact. We anticipate most builds within the mid-range to return with lesser GPUs, which usually function an equalizer when it comes to CPU efficiency.
When it comes to built-in graphics efficiency, there is no beating AMD. The corporate’s current-gen Cezanne APUs provide the most effective efficiency obtainable from built-in graphics with the Ryzen 7 5700G and Ryzen 5 5600G. Hit these evaluations for a devoted breakdown, or head to our CPU Benchmark hierarchy for much more element.
Winner: Intel. Intel’s Alder Lake chips have wrested the gaming crown from AMD within the vital value bands. AMD has the general lead with the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, however that chip comes with a string of caveats that you need to be conscious of in case you plan on the improve — the cache does not speed up all video games and it additionally does not affect efficiency in functions. That stated, taken as an entire, each corporations have extraordinarily aggressive chips within the respective value ranges — you will typically be hard-pressed to note a distinction between them in real-world gaming.
In case you’re a gaming fanatic that prizes each single final body you may squeeze out within the broadest vary of titles, Intel’s Core i9-12900K is the reply on the high-end, and that can even repay in case you plan to improve your GPU quickly. In case you’re searching for a lower-priced chip that provides the identical gaming efficiency however exchanges some heft in productiveness functions for a lower cost tag, the Core i7-12700K is your chip. For the overwhelming majority, the Core i5-12600K gives the most effective mix of value and efficiency, making it the uncontested greatest CPU for gaming.
AMD vs Intel Productiveness and Content material Creation Efficiency
Within the non-gaming efficiency battle of AMD vs Intel CPUs, Intel’s Alder Lake chips have additionally made nice strides in opposition to AMD’s best and provide a superior price-to-performance ratio in a broad swath of workloads. That stated, AMD’s highest-end chip takes the outright win when it comes to the final word efficiency in threaded productiveness and content material creation functions in a couple of workloads. That comes courtesy of its copious slathering of cores, threads, and cache on its flagship Ryzen 9 5950X. Nevertheless, these wins come on the expense of a a lot larger value level, and it is not sufficient to justify the premium.
Alder Lake marks the debut of a combination of two forms of cores for the mainstream desktop PC. The large efficiency cores (P-cores) are greatest for latency-sensitive work, giving Intel the uncontested lead in single-threaded functions. The effectivity cores (E-cores) step in so as to add some further heft in threaded and background functions, which pays huge dividends in heavily-threaded content material creation and productiveness functions. The E-cores have confirmed to be the unsung hero for Alder Lake in creativity and productiveness workloads, permitting Intel to take the lead from AMD in a very powerful pricing bands.
Strong efficiency in single-threaded work equates to quicker efficiency in all method of workloads, notably day-to-day functions that depend on snappy responsiveness from the processor. The Alder Lake Core i9-12900K has taken the uncontested lead in single-threaded efficiency throughout the total spate of our benchmarks, however that is Intel’s costliest mainstream CPU. In case you’re on the hunt for snappy single-threaded efficiency, the opposite Alder Lake processors additionally take comparatively massive leads over competing AMD processors. Which means Intel’s Alder Lake household holds the single-threaded efficiency crown.
Winner: Intel. For professionals on the hunt for efficiency in content material creation and productiveness functions, the winner of AMD vs Intel CPUs goes to Intel on the energy of its x86 hybrid structure. This new design blends two forms of cores to create a single powerhouse processor structure that is simply as agile in single-threaded work as it’s highly effective in threaded functions.
AMD vs Intel Processor Specs and Options
AMD has its Ryzen 3, Ryzen 5, Ryzen 7, Ryzen 9, and Threadripper traces, whereas Intel breaks its choices up into the Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, Core i9, and Cascade Lake-X households. To match Intel vs AMD CPUs primarily based on specs and options, we may chart your complete product stacks, however for the sake of brevity, we’ll deal with the highest chips within the respective households. Bear in mind that each corporations have worth choices inside every tier, however we will get a normal sense of the present aggressive panorama with these (comparatively) quick lists. We’re utilizing each distributors’ advisable pricing and avenue pricing to present you a way of the present state of the market.
The excessive finish desktop (HEDT) is the land of inventive prosumers with fire-breathing multi-core monsters for almost each want. Intel has lengthy loved the uncontested lead on this section, however whereas AMD’s first-gen Threadripper lineup disrupted the established order, the Threadripper 3000 lineup destroyed it.
| Excessive Finish Desktop (HEDT) | MSRP / Retail | Cores / Threads | Base / Increase GHz | L3 Cache | TDP | PCIe | Reminiscence |
| Threadripper 3990X | $3,990 / $3,750 (opens in new tab) | 64 / 128 | 2.9 / 4.3 | 256 | 280W | 72 Usable Gen4 | Quad DDR4-3200 |
| Intel W-3175X | $2,999 / N/A | 28 / 56 | 3.1 / 4.8 | 38.5 | 255W | 48 Gen3 | Six-Channel DDR4-2666 |
| Threadripper 3970X | $1,999 / $1,899 (opens in new tab) | 32 / 64 | 3.7 / 4.5 | *128 | 280W | 72 Usable Gen4 | Quad DDR4-3200 |
| Threadripper 3960X | $1,399 / $1,399 (opens in new tab) | 24 / 48 | 3.8 / 4.5 | *128 | 280W | 72 Usable Gen4 | Quad DDR4-3200 |
| Xeon W-3265 | $3,349 / N/A | 24 / 48 | 2.7 / 4.6 | 33 | 205W | 64 Gen3 | Six-Channel DDR4-2933 |
| Core i9-10980XE | $979 / $1,099 (opens in new tab) | 18 / 36 | 3.0 / 4.8 | 24.75 | 165W | 48 Gen3 | Quad DDR4-2933 |
Right here we will see that with regards to AMD vs Intel HEDT CPUs, AMD holds the uncontested lead with 64 cores and 128 threads in its flagship Threadripper 3990X, and the 32- and 24-core Threadripper 3970X and 3960X fashions cement the overwhelming lead over Intel’s chips.
Intel splits its highest-end lineup into two lessons, with the Xeon W-3175X and W-3265 dropping into unique LGA3647 motherboards that carry eye-watering value tags to match the chips’ insane pricing. These aren’t actually enthusiast-class methods, although; consider these as extra for the skilled workstation market.
Intel’s HEDT lineup actually begins with its 18-core Cascade Lake-X Core i9-10980XE that drops into present LGA2066 motherboards. The chip is highly effective given its value level, however Threadripper’s 3.5X benefit in core counts is not possible to beat, so Intel has principally ceded the highest of the HEDT stack to AMD.
You may get extra cores, cache, and quicker PCIe 4.0 connectivity with AMD’s Threadripper lineup, however they do include larger value tags befitting such monstrous processors. Nevertheless, after we boil it right down to per-core pricing, or how a lot you pay for every CPU core, AMD does provide a compelling worth story.
| Worth Road/MSRP | Design – Arch. | E/P – Core|Thread | P-Core Base/Increase (GHz) | E-Core Base/Increase (GHz) | TDP / PBP / MTP | Reminiscence Assist | L3 Cache | |
| Core i9-12900KS | $739 | Alder Lake | >8P + 8E | 16C / 24T | 3.4 / 5.5 | 2.5 / 4.0 | 150W / 241W | DDR4/5-3200/4800 | 30MB |
| Ryzen 9 5950X | $600 ($799) | Zen 3 – Vermeer | 16P | 32T | 3.4 / 4.9 | – | 105W | DDR4-3200 | 64MB (2×32) |
| Core i9-12900K / KF | $589 (Ok) – $564 (KF) | Alder Lake | 8P+8E | 16C/24T | 3.2 / 5.2 | 2.4 / 3.9 | 125W / 241W | DDR4/5-3200/4800 | 30MB |
| Ryzen 9 5900X | $450 ($549) | Zen 3 – Vermeer | 12P | 24T | 3.7 / 4.8 | – | 105W | DDR4-3200 | 32MB (1×32) |
| Ryzen 7 5800X3D | $449 | Zen 3 – Vermeer | 8P | 16T | 3.4 / 4.5 | – | 105W | DDR4-3200 | 96MB |
| Core i7-12700K / KF | $409 (Ok) – $384 (KF) | Alder Lake | 8P+4E | 12C/20T | 3.6 / 5.0 | 2.7 / 3.8 | 125W / 190W | DDR4/5-3200/4800 | 25MB |
| Ryzen 7 5800X | $350 ($449) | Zen 3 – Vermeer | 8P | 16T | 3.8 / 4.7 | – | 105W | DDR4-3200 | 32MB |
| Ryzen 7 5700X | $299 | Zen 3 – Vermeer | 8P | 16T | 3.4 / 4.6 | – | 65W | DDR4-3200 | 32MB |
| Ryzen 7 5700G (APU) | $295 ($359) | Zen 3 – Cezanne | 8P | 16T | 3.8 / 4.6 | – | 65W | DDR4-3200 | 32MB |
Within the battle of high-end AMD vs Intel CPUs, AMD’s Ryzen 9 and Ryzen 7 households sq. off in opposition to Intel’s Core i9 and Core i7 lineup. Right here Intel holds loads of platform benefits, like help for DDR5 and PCIe 5.0, whereas AMD tops out at PCIe 4.0 and DDR4.
The Core i9-12900K holds the throne as the most effective all-around processor for gaming, single- and multi-threaded work, whereas the Ryzen 9 5950X takes a couple of scant leads in some forms of multi-threaded work. Nevertheless, that comes at an enormous tradeoff in efficiency within the different classes. Technically the 12900K falls into the identical value bracket because the Ryzen 9 5900X, however that is not a good battle — the 12900K wins arms down. You’ll be able to see these three processors go face to face in our Core i9-12900K vs Ryzen 9 5950X and Ryzen 9 5900X faceoff.
The same story performs out within the decidedly extra mainstream Ryzen 7 and Core i7 markets. Actually, these are the chips the vast majority of avid gamers can purchase if they’ve sufficient money, although the Core i5 and Ryzen 5 fashions within the subsequent class are even higher for that activity. Right here Intel’s Core i7-12700K gives practically the identical gaming efficiency because the Core i9-12900K, albeit on the expense of some threaded horsepower in productiveness functions, however at a far lower cost level.
Indubitably, the Core i7-12700K dominates its value level because it simply beats the price-comparable Ryzen 7 5800X and gives a much better mix of efficiency than the Ryzen 9 5900X. You’ll be able to see these battles in additional element within the Core i7-12700K vs Ryzen 9 5900X and Ryzen 7 5800X faceoff.
| Worth Road/MSRP | Design – Arch. | E/P – Core|Thread | P-Core Base/Increase (GHz) | E-Core Base/Increase (GHz) | TDP / PBP / MTP | Reminiscence Assist | L3 Cache | |
| Core i5-12600K / KF | $289 (Ok) – $264 (KF) | Alder Lake | 6P+4E | 10C/16T | 3.7 / 4.9 | 2.8 / 3.6 | 125W / 150W | DDR4/5-3200/4800 | 16MB |
| Ryzen 5 5600X | $225 ($299) | Zen 3 – Vermeer | 6P | 12T | 3.7 / 4.6 | – | 65W | DDR4-3200 | 32MB |
| Ryzen 5 5600G (APU) | $220 ($259 ) | Zen 3 – Cezanne | 6P | 12T | 3.9 / 4.4 | – | 65W | DDR4-3200 | 16MB |
| Ryzen 5 5600 | $199 | Zen 3 – Vermeer | 6P|12T | 3.5 / 4.4 | – | 65W | DDR4-3200 | 32MB |
| Core i5-12400 / F | $192 – $167 (F) | Alder Lake | 6P+0E | 6C/12T | 4.4 / 2.5 | – | 65W / 117W | DDR4/5-3200/4800 | 18MB |
| Ryzen 5 3600X | $250 ($240) | Zen 2 | 6P | 12T | 3.8 / 4.4 | – | 95W | DDR4-3200 | 32MB |
| Ryzen 5 3600 | $229 ($200) | Zen 2 | 6P | 12T | 3.6 / 4.2 | – | 65W | DDR4-3200 | 32MB |
| Ryzen 5 5500 | $159 | Zen 3 – Cezanne | 6P | 12T | 3.6 / 4.2 | – | 65W | DDR4-3200 | 16MB |
| Ryzen 5 4600G (APU) | $154 | Zen 2 – Renoir | 6P | 12T | 3.7 / 4.2 | – | 65W | DDR4-3200 | 8MB |
| Worth Road/MSRP | Design – Arch. | E/P – Core|Thread | P-Core Base/Increase (GHz) | TDP / PBP / MTP | Reminiscence Assist | L3 Cache | |
| Ryzen 5 5500 | $199 | Zen 3 – Cezanne | 6P | 12T | 3.6 / 4.2 | 65W | DDR4-3200 | 16MB |
| Ryzen 5 4600G (APU) | $154 | Zen 2 – Renoir | 6P | 12T | 3.7 / 4.2 | 65W | DDR4-3200 | 8MB |
| Core i3-12100 / F | $122 – $97 (F) | Alder Lake | 4P+0E | 4C/8T | 3.3 / 4.3 | 60W / 89W | DDR4/5-3200/4800 | 12MB |
| Ryzen 5 4500 | $129 | Zen 2 – Renoir | 6P | 12T | 3.6 / 4.1 | 65W | DDR4-3200 | 8MB |
| Ryzen 3 4100 | $99 | Zen 2 – Renoir | 4P | 8T | 3.8 / 4.0 | 65W | DDR4-3200 | 4MB |
In the case of AMD vs Intel mid-range and price range CPUs, the Core i5 and i3 households do battle with AMD’s Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 3 processors. This market section includes essentially the most substantial portion of AMD and Intel’s gross sales, so pricing and worth listed here are paramount. Sadly, as a result of provide points, each AMD and Intel have largely uncared for this section of the market with their newest releases as they deal with extra worthwhile higher-end chips. Which means the Ryzen 5000 and Alder Lake households have restricted choices on the low finish.
AMD’s Ryzen 5 5600X was the mainstream gaming darling for over a yr, however the Core i5-12600K has totally unseated it with class-leading efficiency in all sides, together with gaming, single- and multi-threaded functions. Actually, the Core i5-12600K is even a greater worth than the dearer Ryzen 7 5800X that resides in a better pricing tier.
AMD additionally leans on its prior-gen Zen 2 APUs, just like the Ryzen 5 4600G, to fend off Intel’s lower-end chips. In case you’re searching for a sub-$200 chip for gaming, Intel wins by an enormous margin. That stated, AMD’s APUs include potent Vega graphics items that allow low-end gaming throughout a broad spate of titles. Intel’s chips cannot maintain a candle there—you will want a discrete GPU in case you plan to do any significant gaming.
Neither vendor gives built-in graphics items (iGPU) with their HEDT chips. Nonetheless, despite the fact that Intel sells its graphics-less F-Collection chips for a reduction, it holds the benefit of getting a graphics possibility throughout the total breadth of its mainstream product stack.
In distinction, AMD solely gives built-in graphics on its APU fashions, which suggests you will want a discrete graphics card (GPU) for any retail chip that has greater than 4 cores (or prices greater than ~$150). That is a major drawback for many mainstream customers who aren’t taken with gaming and eliminates an enormous chunk of the skilled/OEM markets. Intel’s iGPUs are largely ineffective for gaming however are helpful for show and QuickSync functions, whereas AMD’s iGPUs provide the most effective gaming expertise, arms down. Nevertheless, AMD’s restricted choice cuts it out a good portion of the market.
Winner: Intel. Once you examine AMD vs Intel CPU specs, you may see that Intel gives choices with decrease pricing, extra efficiency, and a extra fashionable platform that helps each DDR5 and PCIe 5.0. In the meantime, AMD’s growing old AM4 ecosystem has soldiered on for six lengthy years now, hamstringing the corporate’s capacity to maneuver ahead to quicker interfaces.
AMD vs Intel CPU Energy Consumption and Warmth
When evaluating AMD vs Intel CPU energy and warmth, the previous’s 7nm course of node makes an enormous distinction. Energy consumption comes as a byproduct of design decisions, like lithography and structure, which we’ll focus on beneath. Nevertheless, larger energy consumption typically correlates to extra warmth technology, so you will want beefier coolers to offset the warmth output of greedier chips.
As we will see, the Alder Lake chips devour far much less energy than the Rocket Lake chips. General, Intel has decreased its energy consumption from meme-worthy to an appropriate stage. Apart from, Alder Lake is far quicker than the previous-gen chips, incomes it some forgiveness.
Intel had improved its 14nm processes to strengthen its power-to-performance ratio by greater than 70% within the 5 lengthy years it has been available on the market, however Intel’s later 14nm generations have been recognized for top energy consumption and warmth than AMD’s Ryzen 5000. That is as a result of Intel has needed to flip the ability dial up additional with every technology of chips to offer extra efficiency because it fended off the resurgent AMD.
That made Intel a infamous energy guzzler, however that has modified with Alder Lake. Paired with the x86 hybrid structure, the debut of the ‘Intel 7’ course of has introduced huge enhancements to Intel’s energy consumption and effectivity metrics.
Sure, the Intel Alder Lake chips nonetheless suck extra energy than AMD’s Ryzen 5000 sequence chips, however pairing the Intel 7 course of with the hybrid structure brings huge enhancements, notably in threaded work.
Nonetheless, in combination, AMD’s 7nm chips both devour much less energy or present significantly better power-to-performance effectivity. In consequence, you will get extra work finished per watt of power consumed, which is a win-win, and AMD’s cooling necessities aren’t practically as overbearing.
Actually, the Ryzen 5000 sequence chips are essentially the most power-efficient desktop PC chips we have ever examined, with the Ryzen 5 5600X providing the most effective effectivity.
Winner: AMD. In judging AMD vs Intel CPU efficiency per watt, It is not possible to overstate the significance of getting the densest course of node paired with an environment friendly microarchitecture, and TSMC’s 7nm and AMD’s Zen 3 are the profitable mixture. The most recent Ryzen processors devour much less energy on a performance-vs-power foundation, which equates to much less warmth technology. That eases cooling necessities.
AMD vs Intel CPU Overclocking
There is no debate while you examine Intel vs AMD CPU overclocking. Intel gives essentially the most overclocking headroom, that means you may acquire extra efficiency over the baseline velocity with Intel chips than you may with AMD’s Ryzen processors. Above you may see that in chart kind, and here is that very same knowledge in desk kind, displaying that Intel’s Alder Lake gives much more overclocking headroom than Ryzen 5000:
| Tom’s {Hardware} – %age Change | 1080p Gaming | Single-Thread | Multi-Thread |
| Core i9-12900K DDR4/ DDR5 | +9.7% / +5.2% | +1.6% / +3.2% | +3.3% / +7% |
| Ryzen 9 5950X | +5% | -2.3% | +5.7% |
| Core i7-12700K DDR4/ DDR5 | +9.8% / +7.1% | +2.3% / +2.1% | +3.9% / +6.4% |
| Ryzen 9 5900X | +3.7% | -0.6% | +2.1% |
| Core i5-12600K DDR4/ DDR5 | +15.2% / +12.9% | +4% / +4.2% | +8.8% / +11.3% |
| Ryzen 5 5600X | +6.7% | +3.8% | +2.7% |
As talked about, you will should pay a premium for Intel’s Ok-Collection chips and buy an expensive Z-Collection motherboard, to not point out splurge on a succesful aftermarket cooler (ideally liquid), to unlock the most effective of Intel’s overclocking prowess. Nevertheless, after getting the mandatory components, Intel’s chips are comparatively straightforward to push to their max, which regularly tops out at over 5 GHz on all cores with the Eleventh-Gen Rocket Lake and Twelfth-Gen Alder Lake processors.
Intel does not enable full overclocking on B- or H-series motherboards, however it has infused reminiscence overclocking into its B560 and H570 chipsets, and that works with any chip that’s appropriate with the platform, that means all Tenth-Gen Comet Lake, Eleventh-Gen Rocket Lake, and Eleventh-Gen Comet Lake Refresh processors. Nevertheless, these adjustments solely apply to 500-series fashions. That may present an enormous enhance to locked chips, just like the Core i5-11400 we not too long ago reviewed, and we anticipate these features to hold over to Intel’s forthcoming lower-end Alder Lake chips.
AMD does not have as a lot room for handbook tuning. Actually, the utmost achievable all-core overclocks typically fall a couple of hundred MHz beneath the chips’ most single-core enhance. Which means all-core overclocking can really lead to shedding efficiency in lightly-threaded functions, albeit a minor quantity.
A part of this disparity stems from AMD’s tactic of binning its chips to permit some cores to spice up a lot larger than others. In tandem with AMD’s Precision Increase and progressive thread-targeting method that pegs lightly-threaded workloads to the quickest cores, AMD exposes near-overlocked efficiency proper out of the field. That leads to much less overclocking headroom.
Nevertheless, AMD gives its Precision Increase Overdrive, a one-click auto-overclocking function that may wring some additional efficiency out of your chip primarily based on its capabilities, your motherboard’s energy supply subsystem, and your CPU cooling. AMD’s method gives the most effective efficiency potential together with your selection of elements and is usually hassle-free. In both case, you continue to will not obtain the excessive frequencies you will see with Intel processors (5.0 GHz continues to be extraordinary with an AMD chip with out liquid nitrogen cooling), however you do get a free efficiency enhance.
AMD has additionally vastly improved its reminiscence overclocking capabilities with the Ryzen 5000 sequence, which comes as a byproduct of the improved material overclocking capabilities. That enables AMD reminiscence to clock larger than earlier than whereas nonetheless retaining the low-latency attributes that enhance gaming efficiency.
Winner: Intel. In the case of AMD vs Intel CPU overclocking, Staff Blue has much more headroom and far larger attainable frequencies. Simply be ready to pay for the privilege – you will have to purchase a Ok-series processor. Intel has added reminiscence overclocking to the latest B- and H-series motherboards, which is an enchancment.
AMD’s method is friendlier to entry-level customers, rewarding them with hassle-free overclocking primarily based on their system’s capabilities, however you do not acquire as a lot efficiency.
AMD vs Intel CPU Lithography
There are a couple of main underlying applied sciences that dictate the efficiency of any chip. Essentially the most elementary rule of processors nonetheless holds true: The densest course of nodes, offered they’ve first rate energy, efficiency, and space (PPA) traits, will typically win the battle if paired with a stable microarchitecture. Once you choose AMD vs Intel CPUs primarily based on these standards, AMD has the lead in lithography.
However whether or not or not AMD really owns the method lead is a subject of debate: Not like Intel, AMD does not produce its processors. As an alternative, the corporate designs its processors after which contracts with outdoors fabs that truly produce the chips. Within the case of AMD’s current-gen Ryzen processors, the corporate makes use of a mix of GlobalFoundries 12nm course of and TSMC’s 7nm node for its chips, with the latter being a very powerful.
TSMC’s 7nm node is utilized by the likes of Apple and Huawei, amongst many others, so it advantages from industry-wide funding and collaborative engineering. In distinction, Intel itself says its course of tech will not retake the management crown till it releases its ‘Intel 20A’ node (2024 time-frame).
The advantages of TSMC’s 7nm node imply AMD can construct cheaper, quicker, and denser chips with extra efficiency cores, and all inside a comparatively low energy consumption envelope.
Intel has seen a little bit of a resurgence with its new Alder Lake lineup. Intel etches these cores on its ‘Intel 7’ course of, lastly ending the distress of the 14nm node after six lengthy years that in the end value the corporate its efficiency lead over AMD in desktop PCs. We beforehand knew this ‘Intel 7’ manufacturing tech as 10nm Enhanced SuperFin, however Intel not too long ago renamed its course of nodes to match {industry} nomenclature. Technically, that is the second technology of Intel’s 10nm course of, however it’s a primary for desktop PCs.
The brand new ‘Intel 7’ node brings the corporate into a lot nearer competitors with AMD on the method node entrance. Sure, Alder Lake nonetheless sucks extra energy than AMD’s Ryzen 5000 sequence chips, however the arrival of the Intel 7 course of does mark an enormous enchancment. General, Intel has decreased its energy consumption from meme-worthy to an appropriate stage. Alder Lake can also be a lot quicker than its predecessor, which lends itself to vastly improved energy effectivity metrics.
AMD’s solely concern is manufacturing capability: Whereas AMD has entry to 7nm manufacturing, the corporate cannot supply sufficient silicon from TSMC, not less than within the close to time period, to match the ability of Intel’s captive fabs. That leaves AMD uncovered to shortages and probably restricts market penetration, notably throughout chip shortages. In the meantime, Intel does not endure from such excessive manufacturing shortages.
Winner: AMD (TSMC). The ‘Intel 7’ course of does convey Staff Blue again into nearer competitors with AMD than it has been during the last a number of years, however AMD nonetheless holds the general energy effectivity and transistor density crown as a result of virtues of TSMC’s 7nm course of.
Intel vs AMD CPU Structure
When evaluating AMD vs Intel CPUs, we should contemplate that two design choices have a huge impact on efficiency, scalability, and performance-per-dollar: Interconnects and microarchitecture.
AMD’s Infinity Cloth permits the corporate to tie collectively a number of dies into one cohesive processor. Consider this as quite a few items of a puzzle that come collectively to kind one bigger image. The method permits the corporate to make use of many small dies as an alternative of 1 massive die, and this system improves yields and reduces value. It additionally grants a stage of scalability that Intel won’t be capable of match with its new mesh interconnect inside its HEDT chips, and it undoubtedly takes the lead over Intel’s growing old ring bus in its desktop processors.
AMD first paired that benefit with its Zen microarchitecture, designed from the bottom up for scalability, yielding an explosive 52% enhance in directions per clock (IPC) throughput over AMD’s previous-gen ‘Bulldozer’ chips. The Zen 2 microarchitecture one other 15% enchancment to IPC. Paired with the 7nm course of, AMD lunged ahead one other (as much as) 31% in per-core efficiency (a combination of frequency and IPC). Zen 3 brings one other 19% soar in IPC, giving AMD its largest single step ahead within the post-Bulldozer period.
The transfer to the Zen 2 structure introduced AMD’s processors to near-parity with Intel’s best when it comes to per-core efficiency. That is largely as a result of Intel is caught on 14nm, and its architectures are designed particularly for the nodes they’re constructed on. Which means promising new Intel microarchitectures can solely experience on smaller processes, like 10nm, leaving the corporate woefully unprepared for its extended points productizing 10nm merchandise.
Zen 3 gave AMD a large lead in per-core efficiency, an extremely essential metric that quantifies the velocity of a very powerful constructing block in a chip design. Intel’s Rocket Lake chips take large steps ahead in per-core efficiency, leaving each corporations on a comparatively even taking part in area when it comes to per-core efficiency.
Intel’s Twelfth-Gen Alder Lake chips convey the corporate’s hybrid x86 structure, which mixes a mixture of bigger high-performance cores paired with smaller high-efficiency cores, to desktop x86 PCs for the primary time. The Golden Cove structure powers Alder Lake’s ‘huge’ high-performance cores, whereas the ‘little’ Atom effectivity cores include the Gracemont structure. Intel etches the cores on its ‘Intel 7‘ course of, marking the corporate’s first actually new node for the desktop since 14nm debuted six lengthy years in the past.
Intel’s new Thread Director is the sleeper tech that allows the large efficiency features we have seen with Alder Lake. Nevertheless, as a result of Alder’s use of each quicker and slower cores which might be optimized for various voltage/frequency profiles, unlocking the utmost efficiency and effectivity requires the working system and functions to have an consciousness of the chip topology to make sure workloads (threads) land within the appropriate core primarily based on the kind of utility.
General, the Alder Lake structure has confirmed to be an enormous win for Intel, with class-leading efficiency in gaming, to not point out in each single- and multi-threaded workloads in customary functions. Nevertheless, whereas the hybrid x86 structure hails from the same ethos as the large.LITTLE designs pioneered by Arm, it does not have the identical tuning for energy effectivity. As an alternative, Intel unabashedly tunes its design for efficiency at any value, so AMD nonetheless holds the ability effectivity crown in most forms of workloads.
Winner: Tie. In judging AMD vs Intel CPU structure, it is clear that the competitors is now far nearer than it has been over the previous couple of years. AMD’s Zen 3 structure is a marvel that enables for enhanced scalability, and as a result of efficiency-minded design paired with the TSMC 7 node, it delivers superior energy consumption metrics. Then again, Intel’s Alder Lake structure can also be a marvel in its personal proper, bringing the primary pairing of small environment friendly cores with massive efficiency cores to x86 desktop PCs for the primary time. That lends it the efficiency benefit, however it nonetheless trails in energy effectivity metrics, leading to a tie on this class.
AMD vs Intel CPU Drivers and Software program
Once we have a look at AMD vs Intel CPU software program help, Staff Blue has a stronger popularity. AMD has suffered loads of points with its CPU and chipset drivers, a pure byproduct of its restricted assets in comparison with its much-larger rivals. Intel is not with out its missteps on the motive force entrance, however its popularity for stability helped earn it the highest spot within the processor market, notably with OEMs.
When it comes to its established merchandise, Intel’s graphics drivers have grow to be significantly better currently as the corporate ramps as much as convey its devoted Xe Graphics playing cards to market. Day-zero sport drivers have grow to be the norm for the chip producer.
You is perhaps somewhat extra cautious when approaching Intel’s extra unique options, although. Prior to now, the corporate has developed progressive new merchandise which were relegated to the dustbin of historical past as a result of pricing and market forces, and long-term help for these merchandise won’t all the time be clear-cut.
AMD nonetheless has its work minimize out for it. The corporate has had a number of points with BIOS releases that failed to show its chips’ full efficiency, although AMD has largely solved these points after an extended string of updates. As a facet impact of being the smaller challenger, AMD additionally faces a frightening problem in offsetting the {industry}’s incessant optimization for Intel’s architectures above all others.
Upsetting the semiconductor {industry} is difficult, notably while you’re preventing an entrenched and much-larger rival, and typically issues get damaged while you’re redefining an {industry}. In AMD’s case, these damaged issues include working methods and functions that weren’t tuned to extract the total efficiency of its fledgling first-gen Zen structure, not to mention the core-heavy designs of Zen 3.
Intel additionally continues to face challenges, although. The corporate’s Alder Lake structure is the primary hybrid x86 design and makes use of massive efficiency cores (P-cores) and small effectivity cores (E-cores) for several types of duties. Putting the proper workloads on the proper cores requires a brand new Intel Thread Director know-how, however that is solely supported in Home windows 11. Which means some applications would possibly want additional handholding to extract the most effective efficiency in Home windows 10.
Winner: Intel wins the battle of AMD vs Intel CPU drivers and software program. Over the past yr, Intel has addressed its laggardly driver updates for its built-in graphics, and the corporate has a military of software program builders at its disposal that assist guarantee its merchandise get comparatively well timed help with the newest software program. AMD has made superb progress convincing the developer ecosystem to optimize for its new Zen architectures. Nevertheless, there’s nonetheless loads of work to be finished as the corporate strikes ahead.
AMD vs Intel CPU Safety
The previous couple of years have discovered safety researchers poking and prodding on the speculative execution engine that is one of many key performance-boosting options behind all fashionable chips. The ensuing analysis has spawned an nearly endless onslaught of latest vulnerabilities that threaten the protection of your system and personal knowledge. Sadly, all these vulnerabilities are extremely harmful as a result of they’re undetectable—these techniques steal knowledge through the use of the processor precisely because it was designed; thus, they’re undetectable by any recognized anti-virus program.
The rash of fixes required to plug these holes additionally continues to develop, and lots of of them lead to decreased efficiency. That is notably painful for Intel as a result of it suffers from extra of those vulnerabilities than different distributors. The corporate has developed in-silicon mitigations with newer processors that may scale back or get rid of the efficiency overhead, however some older processors are topic to drastic reductions in efficiency.
Intel has now suffered a brand new spherical of Spectre v2-variant assaults, too, that has decreased its efficiency additional. These new Spectre Department Historical past Injection (BHI) vulnerabilities may end up in substantial efficiency losses that adjust by workload.
AMD is not proof against vulnerabilities, although. It is exhausting to establish if the initially restricted discoveries in AMD processors have been as a result of a security-first method to hardened processor design, or if researchers and attackers merely centered on Intel’s processors as a result of their commanding market share: Attackers nearly all the time deal with the broadest cross-section potential. We see the same development with malware being designed for Home windows methods, by far the predominant desktop OS, rather more steadily than MacOS, although that does look like altering.
In the middle of the analysis into the brand new class of Spectre vulnerabilities, Intel really found that AMD’s present Spectre mitigation is damaged, which has resulted in AMD utilizing a unique, slower method to addressing the difficulty.
Nevertheless, AMD has additionally had a number of different new vulnerability disclosures within the current previous, together with a Meltdown-esque variant that requires software program re-coding. Like Intel, AMD has made a couple of focused in-silicon fixes for its Ryzen 5000 processors, thus reducing its publicity to the vulnerabilities.
Winner: AMD. The AMD vs Intel CPU safety debate continues to evolve as researchers and nefarious actors alike flip extra of an eye fixed in direction of AMD’s newer architectures. As issues stand, Intel nonetheless suffers from extra recognized vulnerabilities than AMD, and the affect of the Spectre mitigations on previous-gen Intel processors results in bigger efficiency losses (at occasions equal to a couple generational features value of enchancment) than the fixes we have seen from AMD, granting Staff Pink the win.
