Intel’s freshly launched Core i9-14900KS processor is marketed because the fastest CPU on this planet, however does that imply AMD can by no means hope to compete, even with its flagship Ryzen 9 7950X3D? Under no circumstances. Every CPU has its deserves, and each are insanely highly effective in their very own proper. At this worth level and at this efficiency stage, making the fitting alternative is hard.
Let’s zoom in and learn the way the Core i9-14900KS and the Ryzen 9 7950X3D stack up in opposition to one another, what they excel at, and which one is the higher possibility to purchase.
Pricing and availability
Intel’s Core i9-14900KS was introduced on March 14, 2024, and it hit the cabinets on that very same day. It arrived as a follow-up to Intel’s Raptor Lake refresh, making it a successor not solely to the Core i9-14900K, however primarily to the Core i9-13900KS. It solely took Intel a couple of months to exchange its earlier flagship, seeing because the Core i9-14900K launched in October 2023. A cool halo product via and thru, the KS model launched later than the remainder of the lineup as a product geared toward lovers who wouldn’t flinch on the $690 price ticket.
Very like Intel took a little bit of a breather earlier than hitting the general public with this monstrous CPU, AMD too took its time earlier than the Ryzen 9 7950X3D, It arrived available on the market later than the remainder of the lineup — however it nonetheless launched a lot ahead of everything of the Raptor Lake refresh. Whereas the Ryzen 7000 lineup launched in September 2022, the Ryzen 9 7950X3D adopted months in a while February 28, 2023, accompanied by the Ryzen 9 7900X3D. it was later adopted by the world’s best gaming CPU — the Ryzen 7 7800X3D.
Imagine it or not, AMD’s Ryzen 9 7950X3D really managed to beat the eye-watering price ticket of the Core i9-14900KS. At launch, the 3D V-Cache chip was priced at $700. Nevertheless, following a gentle collection of worth cuts, now you can rating this beastly CPU at a way more agreeable worth of $595.
Whereas each CPUs are nonetheless costly, it’s unlikely that Intel’s new providing will get any cheaper anytime quickly, so that is pretty much as good because it’s going to get for the foreseeable future.
Specs
| Intel Core i9-14900KS | Ryzen 9 7950X3D | |
| Cores/threads | 24/32 (8 P-cores, 16 E-cores) | 16/32 |
| Base clock | 3.2GHz (P-cores), 2.4GHz (E-cores) | 4.2GHz |
| Increase clock | 6.2GHz (single core) | 5.7GHz |
| Cache (L2 + L3) | 68MB | 144MB |
| TDP | 150W (253W enhance) | 120W |
| Record worth | $690 | $595 |
Should you’re acquainted with the chip structure Intel has been using for the reason that Alder Lake era, you understand that on an architectural stage, these two chips are vastly completely different. Intel’s Core i9-14900KS comes with a hybrid core structure, which signifies that it gives a mixture of efficiency (P) and effectivity (E) cores. Nevertheless, that is nothing new at this level, and once you evaluate it to its predecessors, the core rely has remained the identical as within the Core i9-13900K, 13900KS, and 14900K. In the meantime, AMD has far fewer cores at 16, however the identical thread rely.
The processors additionally differ in clock pace. Reviews of the Core i9-14900KS all agree that by way of frequency, it’s pretty much as good because it will get for a client CPU. It maxes out at 6.2GHz, however it additionally already managed to beat a world report with an excessive overlock that broke previous 9.1GHz. (This type of efficiency can by no means be recreated in a house setting.) AMD’s prime chip has a considerably greater base clock pace, however it maxes out at 5.7GHz in enhance mode.
The 2 chips additionally fluctuate drastically in terms of mixed cache measurement. The Core i9-14900KS gives 36MB of Intel Sensible Cache (L3) and 32MB of L2 cache. AMD’s 7950X3D is not possible to beat in that regard, because it comes geared up with AMD’s proprietary 3D V-Cache, stacking as much as 144MB.
And let’s not gloss over the distinction in thermal design energy (TDP) for each chips. Whereas the Ryzen 9 7950X3D sits at 120 watts and gained’t go a lot past that (3D V-Cache chips can’t be overclocked), Intel’s beastly Core i9-14900KS has a base TDP of 150 watts that goes as much as 253W in turbo mode. Nevertheless, for sure workloads, reviewers observed that it may well go even greater. It’s additionally extra power-hungry than its predecessors.
Efficiency
Because the Core i9-14900KS remains to be very new, dependable benchmarks are laborious to return by, however we’ve examined the Ryzen 9 7950X3D extensively, so we will nonetheless evaluate the outcomes and see how these two chips stack up in opposition to one another. Intel’s personal prediction is that the Core i9-14900KS might be round 15% quicker than the Core i9-13900KS, and in gaming, this typically checks out — however it’s not common.
Intel supplied us with some preliminary benchmarks of its personal, evaluating it to the Ryzen 9 7950X3D in gaming. In sure titles, AMD maintains an as much as 20% lead, whereas in over half of the benchmarked video games, the 2 CPUs are equal. The Intel chip scores a 26% win in Complete Struggle: Warhammer III and a 24% lead in Metro Exodus, although.
Based mostly on our personal benchmarks, pure gaming situations normally pan out a lot in a different way. As an example, within the comparability above, the Ryzen 9 7950X3D managed to hit 234 frames per second (fps) in Hitman 3 Dartmoor whereas the Core i9-14900K trailed behind with 224 fps. The Core i9-14900KS, being quicker, will shut the hole barely, however it shouldn’t outperform the AMD processor. That’s the facility of 3D V-Cache, which can also be why the Ryzen 7 7800X3D does such an excellent job in gaming situations and truly beats the Core i9-14900KS in some benchmarks — regardless of costing almost half the worth.
Based on benchmarks from Tom’s Hardware, the Ryzen 9 7950X3D was barely slower than its cheaper counterpart, reaching 193 fps on common in comparison with the 200 fps achieved by the 7800X3D. However, the Core i9-14900KS averaged 188 fps at 1080p when utilizing DDR5-6800 reminiscence, and solely 176 fps with out the high-end RAM. This narrative continues at 1440p. Though the body charges are decrease throughout the board, the 7800X3D wins, carefully adopted by the Ryzen 9 7950X3D, with the Core i9-14900KS falling behind.
Nevertheless, most customers gained’t be shopping for the Core i9-14900KS for its gaming capabilities. Its true energy lies in productiveness duties, and that is the place it shines, all due to the big core rely and ultra-high frequency. Intel CPUs sometimes deal with productiveness higher than AMDs’, and with such a large hole in core counts, it’s sure to take the lead. This CPU can also be mentioned to deal with single-core workloads with ease — once more, this comes all the way down to its excessive clock pace.
The truth is, a evaluation from HotHardware means that HEDT chips and the Core i9-14900KS are on a good taking part in floor, with the brand new CPU really successful the duel at instances. The Core i9-14900KS fell barely behind the Ryzen 9 7950X in Tom’s {Hardware}’s multi-threaded efficiency rating, however it was fairly far forward of the X3D chip, to not point out miles and miles forward in single-threaded workloads.
As for a way the Core i9-14900KS compares to the Core i9-14900K, it ought to come as no shock that the 2 chips are very comparable. Intel decked out the Core i9-14900KS with prolonged Utility Optimization (APO), which is good sufficient, however apart from a better energy draw and even quicker clock speeds, the Core i9-14900K and its KS sibling are almost an identical.
No contest
The endless query of AMD vs. Intel strikes again. Which of those two processors is best? There’s no easy reply to that query — all the pieces will depend on your use circumstances — and but, we nonetheless have a transparent winner.
Intel’s Core i9-14900KS is the quickest client CPU for productiveness workloads proper now, however it’s no slouch in gaming, both. It’ll breeze via nearly each title at 1080p, however most individuals gained’t be shopping for a $700 CPU to play at 1080p. At greater resolutions, the GPU takes over the heavyweight duties, which is why this processor will normally find yourself in builds which are additionally decked out with one of many best graphics cards. In pure gaming situations, you’ll by no means want all the facility this processor can present.
AMD’s Ryzen 9 7950X3D, alternatively, might fall behind in productiveness. It has a lot fewer cores and it may well’t hope to ever hit that magical 6.2GHz mark. Nevertheless, alongside its cheaper sibling, the X3D half remains to be among the many quickest processors for gaming, and it trumps the Core i9-14900KS whereas consuming far much less energy. It additionally prices $100 much less on common, which isn’t as a lot of an issue at this worth vary, however it proves which processor offers higher worth.
It’s price noting that AMD additionally wins by way of future-proofing. Should you purchase the Core i9-14900KS now, you’ll have to swap out your complete chipset for future upgrades, as Intel is shifting on to a brand new socket in Arrow Lake. AMD is dedicated to sticking to its new AM5 platform for a couple of years.
Should you want the Core i9-14900KS for productiveness duties, it’s price its weight in gold after which some. Nevertheless, in case you simply need an enthusiast-level processor that gained’t even blink it doesn’t matter what you throw at it, the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D is a greater possibility to purchase generally. It’s cheaper, extra environment friendly by way of energy consumption, nonetheless a productiveness workhorse, and the (almost) undisputed gaming king. For pure gaming situations, simply get the Ryzen 7 7800X3D.
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