AMD and Intel have been at a proverbial war for as long as one can remember and even though at one point, Intel was leading the market as AMD’s been having difficulties keeping up but ever since the Ryzen series became a thing, AMD slowly saw itself taking the market. We have now reached a point where AMD CPUs are giving Intel a tough battle and in many cases, are even beating them hand to hand without any issues that might come in the way.
The AMD Ryzen vs Intel debate is at its peak at the moment and while this is definitely a good thing because healthy competition is always something that we want, it is also creating problems for a lot of newcomers who are just looking to get their hands on a good CPU so they can get started.
The purpose of this article is to compare both AMD Ryzen and Intel and find out the clear winner here. Why? Well, it is simple, if you do have a clear winner at hand, you will be able to make a much better decision.
AMD Ryzen vs intel: The Pricing
Pricing is among the most important factors for anyone who is about to buy a new CPU or any other component, for that matter. Over the past couple of years, AMD has been leading it as they provided really value-oriented offerings with the likes of Ryzen 5 3600X and the Ryzen 5 5600X being among the best value CPUs that one could buy. AMD does deliver a number of advantages like overclocking on most models, software that will help you overclock, and well, faster chips in general. Users also benefit from a wide gamut of compatibility, allowing them to run modern CPUs on older motherboards without really spending additional money on the motherboard.
Intel, on the other hand, started charging a premium for their CPUs simply because there was no competition in the market, to begin with. However, after the Alder Lake-S models, Intel has finally decided that they are going to start adding more cores, threads, as well as features into their mainstream processors but without the gen-on-gen pricing that normally happens.
This resulted in both companies coming very, very close in terms of the pricing. However, the one area where AMD is a clear winner is the HEDT section where AMD is still leading with their Threadripper processors. We will have to wait and see what happens when Intel comes out with their Cascade Lake-X CPUs.
When you are comparing both AMD and Intel in terms of pricing, the picture starts becoming a lot clearer; at the moment, though, the reason why I would pick this as a tie is that both companies have CPUs that are similar to each other in terms of pricing as well as features. However, you must remember that this is more than likely to change as we get to see newer generations. The reason why I am picking Intel as a winner is because Alder Lake-S brings support for DDR5 RAM and everything else, and the pricing so far has been great, too.
Winner: Intel.
AMD Ryzen vs Intel: Gaming
Gaming for me is something that is the most important aspect of choosing a component. As someone who has been gaming for over 24 years, having a CPU that leads in gaming performance is important. Although I do understand that gaming is also largely dependent on the GPU you are using, at the end of the day, the CPU does make some difference, if not much.
In the AMD Ryzen vs Intel battle, AMD manages to lose to Intel in all the price aspects, this means that regardless of the CPU that you are buying from either of the brand, Intel. It is worth noting that regardless of the Windows you are running, the blue team is certainly ahead in terms of the performance in games.
For instance, the Core i9 12900K is currently the fastest chip for gaming but if you are not willing to spend some serious money, you can go for the Core i7 12700K for damn near identical performance in game. For mainstream gamers, however, you can always spend money on the Core i5 12600K, which, despite the low price point, still manages to beat whatever AMD throws at it.
However, it is important to know that the performance difference between both companies is never that big to warrant buying one over the other. As long as you are pairing the chip you have with a good GPU, you are good to go.
Since we are talking about gaming, we have to mention the onboard graphics as well, and it should not come as a surprise but beating AMD here is next to impossible. But most people in the market are not going to spend a good chunk on a CPU just so they can stay with integrated GPU performance.
The winner here is Intel, it easily manages to take the crown from AMD, but it is also worth noting that AMD is also going to be releasing the Ryzen 6000 series and that could easily take the crown back or at least match Intel in terms of gaming performance.
Winner: Intel
AMD Ryzen vs Intel: Productivity
Productivity and content creation are two of the things that a lot of people take part in. Sure, I cannot say the same about myself but a lot of people make a decision solely on the productivity factor and if they are not getting enough from a CPU, they tend to stay away from it.
But what exactly is productivity, you may ask? Well, this involves everything such as editing audio, video, word processing, animations, and other tasks that do require some horsepower in order to deliver a proper experience or the experience is normally missing.
In the past, AMD was winning thanks to having a lot of cores and threads, but things have changed drastically ever since that. In non-gaming tasks, the Alder Lake chips are making great strides against AMD and offering not only superior performance but better price to performance ratio. However, when you are looking at the Ryzen 9 5950X, you are looking at an absolute win but that win comes at a significant price increase to a point that any comparison with Intel seems unfair.
On the other hand, Intel’s Alder Lake chips lead the back and continue to do so in a solid fashion, giving AMD a hard time. The winner here is the Blue team once again. With Alder Lake, Intel really managed to knock the competition out of the box and managed to deliver extreme performance and a great value for money at the same time.
Winner: Intel
AMD Ryzen vs Intel: Specs and Features
When you are looking at the specs and features from both sides, both AMD and Intel have something for everyone. This means that even if you are on a really low budget, AMD and Intel have got you covered. You are getting the following chips from AMD in various price points.
- AMD Ryzen 3.
- AMD Ryzen 5.
- AMD Ryzen 7.
- AMD Ryzen 9.
- AMD Threadripper.
From Intel, you are getting the following processors.
- Intel Core i3.
- Intel Core i5.
- Intel Core i7.
- Intel Core i9.
- Intel Cascade Lake-X.
Needless to say, both companies have five tiers of CPUs available in the market, ranging from entry-level offerings to the highest end, HEDT offerings.
We are going to break down how the comparison works between all these five tiers, so let’s get started.
- HEDT: The HEDT space is easily handled by AMD as it offers up to 64 cores and 128 threads whereas Intel offers 18-core on the Core i9 10980XE. This is a massive difference between both CPUs. However, the AMD offering also enjoys more cores, cache, PCIe 4.0, and more, making AMD a clear winner here.
- High End: Things start to change on the higher end where we are comparing the Core i7 and i9 with the Ryzen 7 and Ryzen 9 processors. Intel has a lot of advantages here since you are getting DDR5 as well as PCIe 5.0 support where AMD is maxing out at the older generation. However, if you are looking at the best performance workhorse, then it is hard to beat the Core i7 12700K as it manages to deliver top notch performance in every task,
- Budget: Last but not the least, we are looking at the budget offerings from both companies; the Core i3 and Core i5 from Intel and the Ryzen 3 and Ryzen 5 from AMD. This also happens to be the place where AMD and Intel make most of their revenue. In the past, the Ryzen 5 5600X was the king of this section, but the Core i5 12600K managed to take that position and decided to lead with the class-leading performance, something that AMD will have to catch up.
Needless to say, Intel is the clear winner here. Why? Intel has started to offer better options at lower prices, more performance, and modern platforms with latest technologies, as well. On the other hand, the AM4 platform is six years old and is in dire need of a new upgrade that would hopefully change things.
Winner: Intel.
AMD Ryzen vs Intel: Power Consumption and Thermals
Having a good power consumption and thermals to back that up is very important. Sure, many consumers do not really care about how much power their CPU is drawing or how hot it is running. In reality, this makes a lot of sense and needs to be taken care of because otherwise, you might not be able to have the experience that you want.
Intel is notorious for consuming more power, however, the Alder Lake chips are known for being power efficient. However, as a whole, they still consume more power than the Ryzen 5000 series. AMD’s implementation results in lower consumption of power and better price-per-watt. Not just that, when you are talking about cooling an AMD CPU, you are looking at a comparatively easier time when cooling your AMD CPU.
The winner here is AMD, to be honest. Sure, Intel has done a great, great job with their Alder Lake as opposed to their older chips but the battle is still out there and Intel is going to need some while before it perfects the thermals and power consumption.
Winner: AMD.
AMD Ryzen vs Intel: Overclocking
We are all aware of the fact that overclocking has come a long, long way ever since it first started. Gone are the days when overclocking was just something that would be suitable for enthusiasts. Thanks to all the modernity nowadays, if you are looking to overclock your CPU, the process behind that is as easy as it can get since you only have to go through a few hoops to get everything started.
Now, when you are comparing both companies in terms of how potent and strong they are when it comes to overclocking, there is very little debate that one can have. Intel is a clear winner here because they offer more overclocking headroom, which means that you can get more performance with Intel chips, allowing you to have a better control over your CPU.
However, the one thing that you should know about Intel is that if you are looking to overclock these chips, you are more than likely have to pay a premium to get the K or KF chips, and on top of that, you will also have to pay for a more expensive Z series motherboard. The B and H series motherboards do not support overclocking. Intel also provides a better room for manual overclocking, should you want to go for that.
On the other hand, AMD provides a wider gamut or freedom of overclocking but is marred by its lack of manual turning and considering how it is not as easy as it is on Intel, in many cases, users can end up losing performance as well, therefore, overclocking an AMD processor is not always beneficial.
The winner here is Intel and the reason behind that is simple; for the longest time, Intel has made the overall process of overclocking super easy and simple, to a point that a lot of the times, people do not even have to worry about what they are getting into.
Winner: Intel.
AMD Ryzen vs Intel: Deciding the Winner
After looking at all the comparisons between the AMD Ryzen and Intel, things are a lot clearer than one might think. 2022 is a wonderful year for anyone who is looking to upgrade their computer or build a new gaming PC from scratch. Simply put, there is a lot to unpack here and a lot to invest in if you know what you are looking for.
However, at the same time, people who are new to the market often get confused as to what they should go for. The aim of this guide was to ensure that everyone who is looking to get their hands on a new CPU has access to enough knowledge that would allow them to buy the right CPU without any issues.
Below are some of the wins for both Intel and AMD that should help you decide.
- Pricing: Intel
- Gaming: Intel
- Productivity: Intel
- Specs and Features: Intel
- Power Consumption and Thermals: AMD
- Overclocking: Intel
As you can see, Intel easily managed to cop out a lot of wins as compared to AMD. However, what I would advise you is that you should always look for upcoming Ryzen 6000 chips for the simplest reason that it took Intel a lot of years to finally match up to AMD and there is a high chance that the Ryzen 6000 series could defeat Intel, or at least deliver the same level of performance.
Conclusion
If you had compared AMD Ryzen vs Intel a few years back, it is safe to say that AMD would have won by a mile. AMD was having a great time with their modern processors and Intel’s average attempt at 10th and 11th generation processors was a disappointment, to say the least.
However, with the Alder Lake CPUs, Intel went back to the drawing board and managed to create some of the most compelling CPUs that one could buy, delivering amazing performance and pricing, as well as overall value and feature set.At the moment, Intel’s 12th generation is the only CPU generation you should be looking into buying, especially if you are looking for an uncompromising experience across the board.
Frequently Asked Questions
I have been gaming for almost 24 years with extensive knowledge of all platforms and the gaming industry, in general. With interests in literature, art, gaming, and PC hardware.