Intel Core vs AMD Ryzen, which one is better? It is the most talked-about topic since the launch of the latest AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and Ryzen 9 5950X processors.
I am here with a few subjective comparisons between AMD Ryzen & Intel Core and the various benchmark tests to check the capabilities of both processors and find out the winner.
Intel enjoys the age-old stipulation amongst the consumer due to its monopoly in being a leading microprocessor manufacturer.
But after years of hard work, AMD came up with their Ryzen series microprocessors that thrilled the market with their innovative technology. The launch of their latest Ryzen 9 5950X processors had left Intel far away in the processor’s race.
Check out a few subjective comparisons to find the better processor among the two.
Overclocking
Overclocking is a way to customize the tune of your PC. It speeds up your PC and lets you modify the voltage, power, memory settings, core, and many other things.
The clock speed of the first-gen Ryzen is 4GHz, the second-gen Ryzen is 4.3GHz, and the third-gen Ryzen is 4.7GHz. With the latest processors, it’s 4.9GHz. In AMD’s latest processors like Ryzen 9 5950X, you can toggle between the basic view and advanced view to personalize the system performance. Moreover, in a computer with an AMD Ryzen processor, you can also overclock the system memory.
The clock speed of Intel varies with the base clock being as low as 3.6GHz and the turbo clock speed being as high as 5.0GHz. Some enthusiasts use 8th and 9th gen CPUs at a maximum turbo clock speed of 4.7- 5.0GHz.
But, not all processors from Intel are unlocked for overclocking. The model with K at the end of their name is unlocked. The ones that are unlocked are priced very high as compared to the ones from the AMD Ryzen series.
CPU And Gaming Performance
The difference in CPU performance is quite negligible but when it comes to gaming, the difference can be noticed by 10-15%. Intel is known as the king of CPU gaming. But AMD Ryzen has given bleeding-edge competition to Intel.
Visibly they both are almost equal in giving exceptionally outstanding gaming performance. Some critics say that Intel leads AMD in gaming performance.
But if there is any difference in the performance of processors, it can be attributed to the game developers. Initially, there were only Intel processors in the market and they were ruling the market across the globe. So the developers optimized their games to have perfect compatibility with the Intel processor.
More or less whatever is the scenario, but this gap is reduced when it comes to the 1440p and 4K features. When you are using the mainstream build with RX 5700 XT or any other latest processor from AMD, there is quite a big difference. Intel is far behind AMD.
Related: Microsoft Xbox Series X or Series S; Which is the Best?
Technical and Customer Support
AMD and Intel both have the webpage dedicated to technical and customer support. You can request the driver’s software or any other query there. But Intel also offers you live chat and phone support.
Speculations
The Ryzen 9 3950X works on 16 cores and 32 threads. This empowers you strongly for everyday multitasking workloads.
In general, if we talk about the Ryzen 3000 series, all of them are well capable of handling heavy workload and give better speed than the Intel processors. They just not only have a larger number of cores and threads but also large cache memory storage that enables a faster multitasking PC. The Intel Core i9-99000k works on half of the cores and threads as compared to Ryzen 93950X.
The Cinebench application itself runs several rendering requirement tests, which have been intelligently chosen to push the components of your system to the very limit. Blurry reflections, sharp edges, procedural shaders, shadows, and anti-aliasing are used in the test to check and score based on how well your system handled the test.
In the R15 test, both perform almost equally. The Intel Core i7 wins only by 2 seconds. In the R20 test, the AMD Ryzen 7 4700u wins the race with great scores leaving Intel away behind. AMD Ryzen 7 4700u finished the test in about 1 minute 55 seconds and Intel in 4 minute and 46 seconds. There is a huge difference. The CPU score for AMD Ryzen 7 4700u is 2728 and Intel Core i7 is 1031.
The AMD Ryzen wins the race because 2 2-second lead in R15 is not a big deal when compared to R20 test results.
In the handbrake test, it was tried converting a 5GB 4K video file to the 1080p by Youtuber Geekyranjit. The AMD Ryzen 7 4700u took 7 minutes 35 seconds to convert and the Intel Core i7 took 16 minutes 35 seconds. AMD wins over here.
The SPECworkstation 3 benchmark measures workstation’s performance on different professional applications. According to the statistics from the official site of AMD, Ryzen 9 5950X is about 18% faster than Intel core i9.
The SOLIDWORKS Simulation helps to analyze the physical behavior of the product with a virtual (CAD) testing model. According to the statistics from the official site of AMD, Ryzen 7 5800X is about 21% faster than the Intel Core i9.
The Revit 2020 Model Creation is used for 3D modeling with accuracy and many other design-based tasks. According to the statistics from the official site of AMD, Ryzen 7 5800X is about 8% faster than the Intel core i9.
In the Davinci Resolve test, Youtuber Geekyranjit tested the 4k video on both microprocessors. This will give you a better idea of video rendering capability. The AMD Ryzen 7 4700u completed the task in 12 minutes 37 seconds while Intel did in 22 minutes and 20 seconds.
This is an interesting scenario because the laptop with an Intel Core i7 had a dedicated NVidia mix GPU while the laptop with a Ryzen microprocessor did not have any GPU.
But still, the Ryzen beats the Intel with significant differences and wins the race.
Also, the laptop with an Intel processor heated up to 43.9 degrees while AMD Ryzen remained quite cooler.
In terms of battery life, it ran off faster in Intel processors. AMD shows better battery life performance.
The Revit 2020 Export is used to convert the base model to the required information format so it can be used with other applications. The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X is about 3% faster than the Intel Core i9-10900K.
Pricing
Intel being a prominent player in the market has premium pricing strategies but AMD with its unique pricing strategies offers more cores and better performance at pocket-friendly budgets.
The Ryzen 9 3950X and the Ryzen 9 3900X are the medium-range processor from AMD. They range from $577 to $76. The recently launched Ryzen 9 5950X is the most expensive processor from AMD. On the cheaper end, AMD introduces AMD Ryzen 3 3300X and AMD Ryzen 3 3100. These cost around $99 and $20 respectively.
In contrast, on the cheaper end, Intel has Pentium Gold G5400 which costs about $65 while Intel Core i99900k costs about $550. The major drawback of Intel is that it is difficult to find every processor model in commercial stores.
AMD delivers you the best value with a pocket-friendly budget when compared to Intel’s most purchased latest processors like Coffee Lake Refresh processor which costs you around $550.
Read Also: Top 10 Laptops With Intel Core i5 Processor Under Rs 50,000
7nm and 14nm Technology
All the processors from Intel work on 14nm technology while AMD Ryzen 5000 series processors work on the 7nm technology. The AMD Ryzen 5000 is the first series of processors to use 7nm technology.
It provides AMD Ryzen 5000 series processors a 24% of generational improvements and an outstanding 2.8X lead on the competitive edge. Surprisingly, all these performance gains come with no increase in TDP or power consumption.
Zen 3 Architecture
Zen 3 is the most recent CPU microarchitecture by AMD launched on 5th November 2020. An end-to-end enhancement in design and performance helps to power better processors for gaming enthusiasts and stand out in the crowd.
They have 20 major advancements in the processors that include wide and more flexible execution resources, high load bandwidth for better execution, and streamlined front-end advancements for faster speed.
The Main Benefits of the Latest Zen 3 Microarchitecture?
AMD’s Zen 3 has faster branch predictors. Branch prediction enables the system to smoothly execute the workflow. With Zen 3, the execution process becomes more smooth and fast.
Zen 3 is capable of switching fast between the op-cache and the instructional cache. They are fast at branch mispredict recovery and have branch predictor accuracy tweaks.
AMD Ryzen has higher instruction per clock. It can generate an average of 19% performance additionally from every MHz of relative frequency.
AMD Ryzen has lower latency. It is constructed with a unified complex design with 8 cores and 32 MB of L3 cache. It helps in reducing the communication time between the core and the cache.
By unified design, I mean the Zen 3 processors have the 8 cores together on one block and 32MB L3 cache block separately, which each core can access directly. This direct access to the cache eliminates the additional time to execute a function and thus has lower latency and faster speed.
Final Thoughts
Both AMD and Intel are very good processors in their places. You can check your expectations and requirements with the processor and buy accordingly.
In terms of overclocking, Both AMD and Intel step equally with little difference. In terms of CPU and gaming performance, the new AMD processors perform very well. Intel lacks in terms of speed and multitasking while in gaming performance both give equal competition to each other.
In terms of price, both Intel and AMD revolve around equal price ranges. But the latest processor from AMD is expensive with distinct features. In terms of specs, AMD is leading the race by providing distinct and innovative features with its latest processors.
It is expected that AMD will leave Intel far behind in the coming years with growing innovative technologies.
