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Earlier this year, AMD significantly improved its processor game and offered Intel a tough competition by launching the second-generation Ryzen processors and its flagship product, the Ryzen 7 2700X. Now, Intel is restoring its Coffee Lake Core family of processors, which is taking gaming performance to new heights and increasing performance per dollar to the lowest.
We've made a comparison to help you choose the processor and platform that's right for you.
Characteristics
Intel dominated the high-performance processor market for many years, while AMD struggled to keep pace with its various FX components. But all this changed in 2017 when AMD launched Zen microarchitecture and its high-number of core Ryzen desktop processors. When AMD abandoned Ryzen's 5 to 12-core 8-core and 7-core Ryzen processors on the market, it put pressure on Intel to make radical changes to its next generation of Core processors.
With the introduction of the heart of the 8th generation, Intel began to increase the number of its traditional processors for the first time in nearly ten years. And with the chips of the 9th generation, the company has taken off again. Intel's new chips are manufactured with the company's 14nm ++ node, allowing the manufacturer to draw more cores (and higher Turbo clocks) in the same format.
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Intel Core i9-9900K | AMD Ryzen 7 2700X | Intel Core i7-9700K | AMD Ryzen 7 2700 | Intel Core i5-9600K | AMD Ryzen 5 2600X | AMD Ryzen 5 2600 |
| MSRP | $ 488 | $ 329 | $ 374 | $ 299 | $ 263 | $ 229 | $ 199 |
| Cores / Wires | 8/16 | 8/16 | 8/16 | 8/16 | 6/6 | 8/16 | 6/12 |
| TDP | 95W | 105W | 95W | 65W | 95W | 95W | 65W |
| Basic frequency (GHz) | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.4 |
| Precision boost frequency (GHz) | 1 kernel 5.0 2 kernels 5.0 4 nuclei 4.8 8 cores 4.7 |
4.3 | 1 core 4.9 2 nuclei 4.8 4 cores 4.7 8 cores 4.6 |
4.1 | 1 core 4.6 2 cores 4.5 4 cores 4.4 6 Core 4.3 |
4.2 | 3.9 |
| Cache (L3) | 16MB | 16MB | 12MB | 16MB | 9MB | 16MB | 16MB |
| Unlocked multiplier | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Cooler | No | Wraith Prism 105 W (LED) | No | Wraith Spire (LED) 95W | No | Spire Wraith 95W | Wraith Stealth 65W |
The Core i7-8700K was the first mainstream Intel processor to feature 6 cores. And now, you can get a six-core i5-9600K with comparable performance for a much lower budget than the previous generation.
The Core i7-9700K also offers more cores than its counterpart of the previous generation, but Intel has abandoned the hyperthreading of all the features of the Core i7. You lose four logical threads compared to the outgoing chip, but you gain two physical cores to make up the difference.
Intel has also introduced a new high-level category for its core platform, called Core i9, which is above the Core i7 family. The flagship Core i9-9900K product fits in the price gap between mainstream platforms and workstations, and features the largest number of cores and threads ever proposed by Intel on a mainstream platform. The i9-9900K corresponds to the eight cores of the Core i7, but it inherits Intel Hyperthreading technology to allow 16 addressable threads.
The Ryzen 7 2700X and Ryzen 7 2700 from AMD include eight physical cores, while the Ryzen 5 2600X and Ryzen 5 2600 have a 6-core configuration. All AMD Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 7 processors support the company's simultaneous multi-threading technology, which, like Hyperthreading, doubles the number of threads each core can process.
AMD's Ryzen processors had a definite advantage in terms of the number of processors when they came on the market, and when the 2000 Ryzen chips were dropped, AMD still offered the best option for workloads. highly multithreaded. But Intel has never lost its IPC advantage, and now 9th-generation Core processors are turning Ryzen 7 into processors, giving the new Intel processors a decisive performance edge.
The 9th generation Intel processors also provide critical security fixes for the Variant 3 (Meltdown) and L1TF (Foreshadow) vulnerabilities that were discovered earlier this year. Intel's new processors are the first of their kind with built-in silicon fixes that mitigate these security vulnerabilities.
Winner: Intel, by a hair. AMD had the advantage of offering more cores than Intel, while Intel held the IPC crown. Now, AMD no longer has the basic advantage, which puts Intel back in the lead.
Overclocking potential
The adage: when it comes to overclocking modern processors "You get what you pay for" definitely applies. AMD and Intel are overclocking, but they take a very different approach to the practice of extracting more performance from your processor.
AMD's full line Ryzen offers unlocked multipliers, which is great for enthusiasts who like to enjoy all the performance of their equipment but can not afford the highest-end hardware. AMD does not even need a high-end motherboard to overclock a Ryzen processor. You can adjust the clock speed of a Ryzen processor with any B or X series motherboard.
Intel considers overclocking as an elite practice reserved for people with significant resources. The company locks the multiplier on most of its processors and unlocks only the K variants, which sell for a higher price. Intel also limits the overclocking features to the latest Z series chipset, which means you have to pay extra for your motherboard allowing overclock, in addition to the extra cost for the unlocked CPU. But as we noted, you get what you pay for.
AMD's second-generation Ryzen processors typically exceed 4.2GHz, which is an approximate figure for how often these chips are stocked. Intel processors are generally closer to 5 GHz before colliding with their wall.
The Intel platform also offers a higher memory transfer rate, which translates into a higher memory overclocking potential. Ironically, AMD's Zen microarchitecture would benefit more from higher data transfer rates than Intel's Core processors, but the Intel platform can handle faster memory.
Winner: Intel. If you're looking for a processor that maximizes extra performance, Intel is the big winner. AMD processors do not gain much in performance through overclocking and you can not push them much higher than the original clock speed. Intel chips usually have an additional margin of more than one GHz if you have a powerful cooling system.
Cooling solutions
Intel's stock coolers are not very good and the company knows it. It does not even offer a stock cooler for its unlocked processors. You must provide your own cooling solution before you can even use a class K chip.
Intel's decision to use Heat Welding Interface (TIM) material means that refreshed Coffee Lake chips operate at lower temperatures than previous generation processors, but do not underestimate your cooling requirements . The powerful Core i9-9900K requires a chiller rated at least 130W for factory operating conditions. If you want to overclock, expect a liquid cooling solution with a large radiator.
Intel's other processors are not as demanding as the Core i9, but the growing number of 9th-generation cores is generating more heat than the previous-generation processors.
The Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 7 processors from AMD include the Wraith Spire and Wraith Prism chillers, which offer 95W and 105W cooling performance respectively. Gen-2 Wraith coolers also feature RGB lighting that can be synchronized with the lighting system on your motherboard. Thus, they are not even moved by a deceived office building.
Winner: AMD by a landslide. Intel does not even include a cooler with its leading processors.
Motherboard options
AMD and Intel have different philosophies when it comes to motherboard support. This affects the overall cost of your build and the upgrade path that will be available.
Intel likes to change its socket specifications every generation or both. Although this does not change the physical layout of the socket, Intel often prohibits support for new CPU generation in older cards. Indeed, this means that when you want to upgrade your processor, you will probably also need a new motherboard.
AMD does a better job of welcoming people who want to upgrade their system, component by component. The company is committed to supporting the AM4 socket in its original form until 2020, which means that even the first-generation AM4 motherboards will support future Ryzen processors for at least a year.
As we mentioned in the section on overclocking, AMD allows its customers to use any AM4 motherboard series B or X to push their processors to the limits. Intel limits overclocking to high-end Z-series motherboards, which keeps high-performance chips in the hands of enthusiasts willing to pay for more expensive motherboards.
Winner: Intel AMD is restrictive with overclocking support and the company is updating its platform too often to be able to rely on upgrade support in the future.
Game performance
If you're looking for better gaming performance, the Intel i9-9900K is currently the best choice. At Tom's Hardware, we have never tested a faster game processor. It's simply the fastest processor on the market for gamers. However, its price of $ 500 and up is a major barrier that prevents most people from buying.
The Intel Core i7-9700K and Core i5-9600K processors also offer impressive gaming performance, especially in games that take advantage of the increasing number of threads and addressable cores. The Core i5-9600K with its physical cores surpassed the previous generation Core i7-8700K in several games of our tests, including Hitman, Far Cry 5 and the Civilization VI AI test.
The AMZ Ryzen platform is a fantastic option for PC enthusiasts who do a lot of things with their computer and are looking for value. But the Ryzen range does not account for Intel's best offerings for gamers. In our tests, Intel's 9th generation offer has consistently exceeded our Ryzen 7 2700X. But keep in mind that the Intel game advantage is more important at lower resolutions like 1080p. Once you have exceeded this threshold, the charts tend to create more bottlenecks and evening performances. And once in 4K, the performance is almost equal between chips AMD and Intel comparable.
AMD probably does not even have the benefit of streaming. The Ryzen 7 1800X withstood the Core i7-8700K during our streaming tests at the beginning of the year. The Ryzen 7 2700X is expected to deliver decent performance due to its higher CPI performance. However, Intel's new Core i9 is expected to offer a significant improvement in streaming performance. We have not tested this theory yet, but the reference tests confirm this hypothesis.
Winner: Intel processors dominate the game performance charts. If the game is what you do with your computer and you do not play 4K, Intel offers the top platform.
Productivity Performance
High-core processors are best used for productivity and content creation purposes. They work very well for games, but most games do not exploit the full potential of an 8-core, 16-thread processor. Applications with multithreaded workloads work well with this type of hardware.
Adobe applications are slightly threaded, the Intel Core i9-9900K is the flagship product of most Creative Cloud suites, especially with a solid overclocking of 5 GHz. The AMD Ryzen 7 2700X is just behind Illustrator and GIMP. Therefore, if you are an artist or a digital photographer, the AMD platform may be more profitable.
The same is true for encoding and compression workloads. Intel's leading Core processor outperforms AMD's best Ryzen 7 chip, but the performance differential is negligible compared to the price differential. The Ryzen 7 2700X offers performance comparable to that of the Core i7-9700K 7-zip and handbrake. It also revolves around the i7 in Cinebench R15 and Blender.
Winner: To attach. Intel holds the crown of productivity performance, but AMD's best offer is not far behind and costs much less. If you do not shop for the Intel processor, the choice is not so clear. AMD processors excel on some workloads and Intel on other tasks. So you have to buy the chip that best manages the work you want to do.
Proposition of value
In May, when we last examined the AMD and Intel issue, the AMD 2700X was the winner. It offered great performance for today's games and excellent performance in productivity applications, at a price that Intel simply was not competing with. But the new 9th generation Intel processors make everything change.
Intel Core i9-9900K processors ($ 499 / £ 432.59) are not going to win any valuable pricing in the near future, but Intel's Core i5-9600K ($ 263 / £ 229.99) is an excellent purchase for players. The new Core i5 can consistently outpace the workload of AMD's 7,200X Ryzen 7 games, for a significantly lower price. If you do not want the best rendering, encoding, compression, and other workstation performance, the i5-9600K is great value for money.
Ryzen 7 2700X remains a daunting option for heavily threaded workloads, such as rendering and encoding. Intel's i7-9700K processor ($ 374 / £ 336.04) is faster for tasks and single-threaded games, but it will cost you $ 50 to $ 60 more for additional performance offered by the i7 – and you will need to bring your own cooler. If you work primarily with the Adobe Creative Cloud suite or other photo editing software, the Core i7-9700K would be a good buy because it surpasses the Ryzen 7 2700X by a significant margin in these tasks.
The AMD Ryzen 5 2600X ($ 229) looks good on paper with 6 cores and 12 wires, a boost rate of 4.2 GHz and a price tag of $ 229. But given the performance delta between the Ryzen 5 2600X and the Core i5-9600k, it's no longer an excellent choice.
Winner: To attach. Intel offers the best value for money, but AMD still offers the best value for multimedia production. The best processor for you will depend on your primary use for your PC.
To the point
If you're looking for the best home processor that money can buy and the price does not affect you, then the Intel Core i9-9900K is the obvious answer. Today, there is no other processor on the consumer market that offers the same level of performance as the new Intel i9. But you have to pay a lot to have the privilege of having the fastest processor on the market. The new i9 and i7 processors are not only expensive, but the support components, such as the motherboards and coolers you will need if you want to overclock.
For the rest of us, mortals, who are limited by limited budgets, it really depends on what you want to do with your PC. AMD and Intel both offer attractive processor options for consumers. If you want gaming performance above all, opt for an Intel Core processor. If you want a mix of play and productivity, Ryzen 7 2700X is a good all-around option.
There is also something important to say about the prices, as we wrote in early November 2018. The new Intel processors are all selling at prices higher than theirs. Suggested prices, while AMD Ryzens are often offered at a lower price. It is difficult to say with certainty if this trend will continue. 9th generation Core chips are still very new and price margins on new premium components are common. Thus, Intel prices could go down to more reasonable levels in the coming weeks. Or, problems reported with 14 nm shortages could persist or worsen, resulting in high and sustainable prices.
If Intel's new processors keep their current high prices and if AMD continues to offer its processors at prices lower than their introductory prices – and especially if this division increases instead of decreasing – it could tip the balance. AMD favor – especially for those who place more importance on building budgets rather than absolute performance regardless of cost.
| Round | Intel Coffee Lake Refresh | AMD Ryzen 2 |
| Characteristics | ✗ | |
| Overclocking | ✗ | |
| Stock coolers | ✗ | |
| Motherboards | ✗ | |
| Game performance | ✗ | |
| Productivity Performance | ✗ | ✗ |
| Value | ✗ | ✗ |
| Total | 5 | 4 |
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