AMD is the second biggest company in the world that manufactures desktop and server-grade processors for different computer markets. AMD started its business by developing second-source Intel processors and became Intel’s rival in 1991. Despite AMD being the second company that manufactured high-speed processors, it did not manage to topple Intel’s dominance in the CPU market. Intel continued to dominate the CPU market until AMD announced their new line of CPUs under the title of Ryzen in December, under the guidance of Lisa Su. After the launch of new Zen-based processors, AMD stood back on its feet and started to compete with Intel for the best mid to high-end CPUs. Before, it was only Intel CPUs that people could purchase when they decide to build a system for gaming or for professional work. Now, the options have been doubled. Intel dominated the medium/high-end CPU market, while AMD was only good for entry-level or medium budgets. But that changed with the release of the Ryzen series, and the tables have been turned ever since. Whether you are looking for the best gaming CPU for your gaming rig or the best workstations and server-level CPU, there are only two choices to choose from – AMD and Intel. Competition is all great and stuff, but there is one issue. Which company is the best for my setup? It is a question several people will ask now that the options for upgrading or building a new PC from scratch have increased. With the help of this article, you will find the answer, hopefully.
Ryzen Vs Intel: Everything You Need To Know!
Whether you are going to upgrade from a previous build or looking to build a new system from scratch, you have two options to choose from; Intel or AMD, both of which have released their new lineup of CPUs recently. The Ryzen processors have dethroned Intel from its throne, and now AMD has been dominated the market. Theoretically, Intel processors sound better for gaming due to better single-core performance, and Ryzen being the better option for other tasks like video editing, rendering, content creation, and more. But that is not all to the discussion. There are several other factors to keep in mind when you are planning to purchase a new CPU. Though it is not as simple as that, and with this intent, I have provided this AMD Ryzen vs Intel guide that will help you decide whether to commit to Intel or AMD. Without any further ado, let us get to the article.
AMD Ryzen — In A nutshell
If you are going to purchase a new CPU or any part of your PC, it is important to do the homework beforehand. It will narrow down your options and will make the purchase worth it. AMD’s Ryzen is a new line of processors released for laptops, desktops, mobiles, and workstations. The processor is from the x86-64 microprocessor family from AMD. It is based on the Zen microarchitecture, launched with the first generation of Ryzen CPUs in 2017 based on the Zen 14nm architecture. The second generation of Ryzen CPUs is based on the Zen+ 12nm process (enhanced version of AMD’s 14nm node). The third generation of Ryzen CPUs was the first desktop processor series in the world based on Zen 2 and featured the TSMC’s 7nm architecture. It introduced the chipset-based architecture to the world. The fourth generation of Zen, called Zen 3, is based on the enhanced TMSC’s 7nm process node. The main Ryzen lineup consists of five different categories of CPUs; Ryzen 3, Ryzen 5, Ryzen 7, Ryzen 9 and Threadripper. The majority of the Ryzen lineup uses the Socket AM4 pin grid array platform, unlike the Intel Core series. Ryzen 9 was introduced with the third generation of Ryzen CPUs based on the 7nm Zen 2 architecture. It features up to 16 cores and 32 threads (highest variant). The basic version of AMD Zen-based chips does not feature graphics, unlike Intel Core CPUs. A separate series of Ryzen CPUs have been launched, titled the AMD APU (Accelerated Processing Unit). Ryzen 5000 is the fourth generation of Ryzen CPUs and based on the highly anticipated Zen 3 architecture, which features more matured 7nm microarchitecture. With every newer generation of processors, AMD seems to increase the performance, IPC (Instructions per Clock/Cycle) count twice or even more than the previous generations. Not only that, but AMD also crushes the competition by a mile against team blue. Intel, on the contrary, is struggling with the 14nm microarchitecture. AMD is lax with their Ryzen series allowing their users to upgrade up to two to three new generations of Ryzen CPU without having to change their motherboards. The motherboards supporting the Ryzen processors are built with the AM4 socket and features multiple chipsets, including X570, B550, A520, X470, B450, and more. AMD has a broad catalog of different processors for people on a tight budget, as well as for people who want the best performance out of their system. Due to affordable prices, AMD managed to lose the tight market grip from Intel’s hands and after a long time. Intel decreased the costs of their processors, allowing the consumers to choose the best from the best without having to spend a fortune. Whether you are on a budget or a high-end gaming machine, AMD has got people’s backs.
Intel Core — In A nutshell
Intel has been a manufacturer and supplier of processors to popular IT, computer, and multinational technology companies like Dell, Acer, Lenovo, and HP. It is not an exaggeration to say Intel is the true innovator behind microprocessors with some credit due to AMD. Intel is the popular choice for consumers ever since their first commercial processors, and after releasing their Core series, the company became the first choice for gamers, content creators, professional workers, and more. Intel was initially known for its aggressive and anti-competitive practices against AMD and Microsoft altogether. Intel enjoyed success with every series of microprocessors like Pentium, Celeron, Atom, and Xeon, etc, but found mainstream success with their Core processor series. The series features CPUs for consumers, workstations, and enthusiasts from entry-level budget to high-end budget. Intel’s Core lineup comprises Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, and Core i9. The Core series was born after the rebranding of the Pentium M processors. The Core brand is a reference to the company’s 32 bit, dual-core processors. If you are new to PC building or you are not a tech guy who does not have enough information about the Core series, they do not refer to the number of cores in each of the respective CPUs. Core i3 does not have three cores, Core i7 does not have seven cores, and so on. This odd naming convention is a casual way to distinguish each processor by their processing prowess. Core i9 is the most powerful lineup of processors built for enthusiasts and people who are looking for the best bang for the buck performance out of consumer-level processors. Core i7 processors are the most common choice for people on high budgets and are the second most powerful processor lineup in the Core processor series. Following the trend, the Core i5 series is the penultimate CPU series in terms of processing power, while the Core i3 series is for the entry-level to medium-budget systems. Intel has recently released their 11th generation of Core processors built on their latest Tiger Lake (Willow Cove) Core microarchitecture, using the company’s 10nm process node. The 12th generation of the series is planned to launch in the second half of 2021. If they are going for Intel build, after every two generations of CPUs, they will have to upgrade to a new motherboard. The reason behind this issue is Intel used to change its Core architecture every two generations, and now the trend is shifted to a single generation. Meaning, the users will have to get a new motherboard if they are planning to get a new Intel CPU. Meaning if you are currently using the 10th gen of Core processors and wish to upgrade to the 11th gen, you will have to purchase a new motherboard. Note: If you are fresh to PC building, check out the section down below to be able to differentiate models and generations of CPUs by AMD and Intel. AMD: AMD Ryzen series is relatively easier to understand and remember. The Ryzen cheat sheet for mainstream desktop CPUs is given down below: Models of Ryzen CPUs are given down below. For reference, the X means the numbers 3, 5, 7, and 9. Ryzen 3 is for entry-level, Ryzen 5 is for mainstream, Ryzen 7 is for high-end builds, and Ryzen 9/Threadripper series is for enthusiasts.
Ryzen X 1200 – 1950X – First generation of Ryzen processors, based on 14nm process node. Ryzen X 1200 AF, Ryzen X 2300 – 2700X – Second generation of Ryzen processors, based on the 12nm process node. Ryzen X 3100 – 3950X – Third generation of Ryzen processors, based on the 7nm process node. Ryzen X 5600 – 5950X – Fourth generation of Ryzen processors, based on the matured 7nm process node.
Intel: I will be focusing solely on the Core i CPU series by Intel, below is the cheat sheet for the mainstream desktop CPUs, consider the following CPU down below: Intel iX – 10600K
X Refers to the numbers 3, 5, 7, and 9 just like AMD CPUs, i3 are entry-level, i5 are mid-ranged, i7 is for high-end, and i9 is for enthusiasts. The first two numbers after the hyphen refer to the current generation of Core i processors. The processor above is the CPU from the 10th gen Core i CPU series. For example, Intel Core i7 – 10700K is the 10th gen Core i7 CPU for high-end systems. Any generation older than 10000, there will be only four digits. The first digit refers to the generation. K refers to the CPUs ability to overclock. Intel processors’ ending with a K means they are factory unlocked and can be overclocked with ease. Non-K CPUs, on the other hand, cannot be overclocked.
Intel Core Vs. AMD Ryzen: Gaming Performance
Now that we are done with the introductions, it is time to discuss the real juicy stuff, which almost everyone is here for. Let us discuss the gaming performance of these two microprocessor manufacturers. AMD takes the lead in some factors while Intel takes the win on other factors, and the gap between their performance difference is reduced a lot, with the release of the Ryzen 5000 desktop CPU series. We will discuss those factors later in the article, most people care about gaming when it comes to getting a new CPU for their computers, and it makes perfect sense to check the gaming performance of a CPU, that the consumer spends a lot of their hard-earned money on. Ryzen is a fantastic CPU series, whether it an entry-level or high-end. Gaming is mostly about single-core performance, and most games will perform extraordinary if the single-core performance is stupendous. Intel processors are by far the best CPUs when it comes to single-core performance achieving over 5 GHz of clock speeds than the competition. That means it is the best CPU for gaming, right? Yes, but also no at the same time. The reason being that single-core performance is not the only thing to consider. It is true, to some extent, that the better the single-core clock speeds are, the better performance you will get out of your CPU, in this case, Intel is better until AMD announced their 5000 lineups. The small margin between the performance lead by Intel has been abolished by the latest Ryzen desktop processors, where AMD is the clear winner, despite having a few hundred MHz slower than the competition. Games generally prefer a better, faster single-core performance than slower but multiple more cores. AMD is still yet to cross the 5.0 GHz mark and technically speaking, AMD has yet to beat Intel in raw gaming performance. Thought the difference between performances is very minimal. In most games benchmarked, Intel is in the lead, and AMD is right behind with a few FPS differences. This is the result of Intel 11th gen processors against AMD’s Ryzen 5000 series CPUs. In the comparison between the 10th gen Core and Ryzen 5000, AMD wins the competition with a convincing margin in benchmarks and price-to-performance metic. One thing that I would like to add is that an overclocked Core i9-10900K processor still goes toe to toe with the 5000 series with almost equal performance in benchmarks. With games and benchmarks running at 1440p, the benchmarks were mostly in favor of the Ryzen 5000 series. The Ryzen 9 5950X is the fastest high-end/enthusiastic-level desktop chip available in the market, and 5000 being the better choice in every perspective. However, the little gaming gap to a super close contest. The 11th gen of Core i CPUs was a disappointment to several content creators, enthusiasts, and gamers alike, with the Core i9-11900K being the only CPU capable of giving decent competition to the Ryzen 9 5900X. Core i7 series is just the second-rate choice for a high-end budget system, but the i5 CPUs are surprisingly pretty decent for affordable gaming builds. Anything below the Core i7 series is a win-win for consumers. The majority of the people will be more interested in the overclocking department. Due to factors like price to performance ratio and better other factors overall, the 5000 series a better purchase. To sum up, in the gaming section, if you a hardcore, avid, enthusiastic gamer that wants the best possible CPU for their rig, you cannot get anything better than the 5950X. Now, if you are looking for a budget-oriented build, the Core i5-11400 or the i5-11600K, offer excellent performance with an affordable price tag.
AMD Ryzen Vs. Intel Core: Benchmark Analysis:
Gaming is one of the crucial factors that make users look for an upgrade. If you are not looking to upgrade your system for gaming but other purposes like content creations, video editing, game development, and much more, how can you decide between Ryzen vs Intel? For this purpose, benchmarks exist, and they are your best friend and will help you decide on getting the best CPU for your needs. People can lie and deceive, but numbers and charts do not. Ryzen was developed by AMD to not only compete with Intel in gaming, but it also decided to demolish the competition in every aspect, even the factors where Intel is most confident. AMD has done just that ever since the first Ryzen generation was released in 2017, and Intel falls behind AMD in graphs and benchmarks. With different tests performed by popular YouTube content creators and hardware experts, AMD has a clear victory over Intel with a double-digit performance difference. The story is the same with the 11th gen Core i CPUs. The new Core series lagged behind the competition compared to the Ryzen 5000 series. One odd thing that you should know if you are out looking to get a new processor is that it does not matter if the CPU is manufactured by team red or team blue. Their performance differs, depending on the quality of a motherboard, Ryzen did not have a huge performance difference, but in Intel’s case, the story is totally different. High-quality and premium motherboards will allow the CPUs to perform at their best in any benchmark like the Cinebench R23 benchmark. The strange situation observed is similar in a compression test performed with file archiver software like WinZip or 7-zip and WinRAR. The results were similar with decompression, but the gap widens between Ryzen and Core processors, even with budget or high-end motherboards. To test out the rendering capabilities of these CPUs, a render test was run in Blender. The gap between two CPUs widens exceptionally on a budget-oriented motherboard, and surprisingly, Core CPUs managed to close the gap on a high-end motherboard. Though in both cases, AMD was the winner as it fully rendered the scene in less time than Intel’s Core CPUs. The gap between Core and Ryzen CPUs seems to increase drastically if the Blender benchmark is performed with budget motherboards. The Ryzen CPUs were able to render the scene in around 800 seconds with a high-end motherboard, while the Core CPUs managed to render the scene in around <850 seconds. The story is different with a more budget-oriented motherboard. Ryzen CPUs were managed to complete the task in 800 seconds, but Intel Core CPUs struggled to complete the task in around <1100 seconds. In Photoshop, the results observed were similar. Ryzen is a bit faster than Intel Core CPUs. Again, Photoshop is not an application that can fully utilize each CPU core at its maximum frequency at extended periods. The performance gap between both CPUs was greatly reduced to a few digits difference instead of a double-digit percentage difference in previous tests. This situation is almost similar to other benchmarks like the Adobe Premiere Pro 4K benchmark or the DaVinci Resolve Studio 4K performance. The benchmark charts remained the same as I have mentioned previously. The high-end motherboards drastically improves the performance of Intel Core processors. If you are looking to purchase a CPU and are stuck between Intel and AMD, other than gaming, benchmarks will allow you to judge which CPU you should opt-in for. Honestly speaking, even after the release of 11th gen core processors, AMD still managed to outperform the competition impressively and convincingly. If you are looking for a CPU upgrade for content creation or video editing or even rendering, AMD is the way to go.
Intel Core Vs. AMD Ryzen: Multi-Threaded Performance
Multi-threading is a feature introduced years ago for processors. It allowed the processors to run multiple applications concurrently without having to run a single program at a time, which was the case for processors a few years back in history. Multi-threading allowed processors to run multiple programs in parallel and dividing the processing power of the CPU to each program or process in a fixed period, which is a fraction of a section. This allowed all of the running applications to utilize the CPU processing power instead of one application sucking up all of the performance by itself. This dividing of CPU processing power among multiple applications happens so quickly that it tricks the human eye and brain into thinking the CPU is managing all of the launched applications in the background. Getting back to the original debate of the Core vs Ryzen battle, the performance of these two CPUs is divided into two factors: single-threaded and multi-threaded performance. Intel persuasively beats AMD. The story is not the same as the multi-threaded performance, which we will discuss in this section. If you are a person who likes to run tons of applications like me in the background while working, multi-threaded performance is the most important factor that will help you decide which company’s processor will suit your tastes and can keep up with the workload. Ryzen CPUs have more cores and threads than their competition. The maximum number of CPU cores and CPU threads in a CPU is none other than the Ryzen Threadripper CPU, featuring up to 64 cores and 128 threads. Intel is easily the second choice and cannot compete with Ryzen CPUs, let alone any Threadripper processor. There is not much to discuss about the AMD vs Intel battle in terms of only multi-threaded performance. Then again, we do not have proper software that can test all cores of a CPU with their maximum frequencies. Generally speaking, even if Intel offers more cores and threads for their CPUs to the competition’s CPUs, they are not nearly as efficient as Zen-based processors. One of the reasons behind this is the TDP (Thermal Design Power). Ryzen chips run at a miraculous several watt TDP than Intel, making them the better and more efficient CPUs. For the high to mid-range CPU battle between the Core i7-10700K and Ryzen 5 5600X, which is a fair comparison between these two CPUs, it turns out the Core i7 is the better option but is slight costs more than the 5600X. I have observed several benchmarks, the i7-10700K performed slightly better, but in gaming, the 5600X performed equally and better in some games. In short, AMD is the clear winner for the multi-threaded battle between AMD and Intel. AMD is built for multi-tasking/multi-threaded performance.
AMD Ryzen vs. Intel Core: Multimedia Editing
Content creation is becoming one of the popular sources of entertainment, whether it is on Twitch, on YouTube, or any other platform. A popularity surge is observed in content creation after pandemic and lockdown. People are becoming interested in content creation. Content creation can have multiple forms. It can be streaming, it can be creating videos for your YouTube channel, and it could be for freelancing. If you are looking for a CPU that can handle multimedia editing as smoothly as butter, you will not have a hard time choosing between AMD and Intel. Editing and rendering of multimedia highly depend on the number of cores and the clock speeds of each CPU core. If the processors have multiple cores with decent clock speeds, naturally, that will be the better CPU for your computer. But that is not all too multimedia editing. There are other factors are also included that can affect the performance of the CPU, like motherboards, which I have discussed in detail in the benchmark analysis section. Assuming if you are on a budget and cannot purchase the high-end motherboards, using the Ryzen 5000 series processor in such a case will not have a big performance difference, but for Intel, the difference is quite obvious. Whether it is a high-end desktop computer or a workstation, or a mid-budget PC, AMD has stepped up their game, and with every generation, there is a big performance difference and higher gains compared to the previous generations. The ample amount of cores, cache, threads with an impressive lower TDP in AMD CPUs keep improving and maturing. If you are looking for the best desktop CPU available in the market, the Ryzen 9 5950X is by far. The best and the better chip in the performance-per-buck category, making AMD the winner. Though Intel is not as bad as you might think, it is still a decent choice but if you want to pay more for less performance, be my guest. One thing that still makes Intel a worthy purchase is their BIOS and driver’s stability, which I will be discussing in detail in the article down below. For multimedia editors, losing or file corruption is one of the biggest nightmares of a content creator. It is not an exaggeration to say AMD struggled with performance issues in the past and often crashes to the boot screen if a user decides to play with the overclocks. The situation has improved a lot in most recent months, and if you are going to use your CPU and RAMs with the base clock speeds, you will not find any issues like crashes, hangs, and lag whatsoever. The story is quite interesting when it comes to the mid to high-end CPUs like the Core i5 and i7 CPUs. These Intel processors are underrated and offer brilliant performance against their rival AMD Ryzen 5 and 7 models. Making Intel Rocket-lake chips an attractive option. Whether you are a professional looking for the best system setup for image editing or rendering, or whether you are a content creator who is out looking for the best performance out of these chips, AMD is the better choice in every aspect. To summarize the whole section without minute details, the winner of the AMD vs Intel battle in terms of content creation/multimedia editing, AMD is the winner. There is one big con if you are opt-in for an AMD CPU for your hardware that is the lack of a dedicated GPU. Most AMD Ryzen CPUs lack a dedicated GPU inside their chips, unlike Intel, which comes with their Intel HD Graphics chips, making the CPU a combination of CPU and dedicated GPU chip. Note: Due to global chip shortage and crypto mining trend increasing like wildfire, getting your hands on a GPU with a sane price tag is pretty hard. If you want to save yourself from that hassle, then consider choosing the Intel CPU for multimedia editing purposes.
Intel Core Vs. AMD Ryzen: Overclocking & Clock Speeds
If there is one thing that Intel is proud of their CPUs, despite being obliterated in the desktop CPU battle against AMD, is their CPUs ability to overclock. Higher clock speeds and the freedom users get to overclock their CPUs without having to worry about the instability that can lead to crashes, can cause lag and other irritating issues. AMD does support overclocking on their Ryzen lineup, and unlike Intel, the consumers can play with overclocking with any Ryzen CPU model from the first generation to the latest, but does it make AMD the better choice for overclocking? Let us find out. The Intel Core i series are mostly locked, and if your Core CPU model does not end with a K, it means the processor cannot be overclocked. These locked CPUs (non-K) are relatively cheaper than their K counterparts, and unless you are going to use the processor with base clocks, you do not have to spend extra money for the K version of the CPU. Fortunately, all of the Ryzen CPUs are factory unlocked and are ready to overclock right from the box. The core series have high clock speeds, some of them even reach up to 5 GHz, and when overclocked with proper CPU cooling, they can reach up to 5.2 – 5.3 GHz of clock speeds. Ryzen, on the other hand, is fully overclockable. They can reach and cross the 5 GHz or more boundaries, but due to the CPUs being fresh than Intel’s Core series, many users have faced stability issues when their Ryzen CPUs are overclocked. However, the Ryzen chips perform as intended with their base clocks and turbo boost clock speeds which are as high as even 4.8 GHz. Due to the auto-overclocking utility by AMD, you will be able to get the extra performance out of your CPU without fearing crashes, stability issues. In the past, AMD is known for overclocking their CPUs, and compared to Intel, there is more room to overclock, but the question arises, does the Ryzen supported motherboard even supports overclocking? If yes, you might push the limits a bit further to squeeze out ‘free performance’ from the chip without spending a dime. AMD does lag behind the overclocking feature, which will only improve if the support from third-party partners like memory, motherboard manufacturers increases their support for Ryzen CPUs. For now, Intel is the superior choice for overclocking performance, though, unlike AMD that offers tons of exciting software like the Precision Boost Overdrive, which allows the PC to overclock the CPU automatically, such programs are not released by Intel. This does not mean overclocking Core CPUs is a tedious procedure. There are many ways to overclock Core CPUs, including BIOS overclocking, overclocking with Intel Extreme Tuning Utility, or with Intel Performance Maximize software. Gaming improves as the clock speed of single-core increases. The Core CPUs will generate the best graphs and charts for overclocked CPU performance in video games. Higher clock speeds also mean you will be able to do CPU-intensive tasks earlier. A 5.3 GHz overclocked CPU will outperform a 4.8 GHz CPU in almost any task, but overclocking is not everything we have seen earlier. Despite having high clock speeds, AMD still manages to take the lead in the competition. Looking at the gaming charts and benchmarks, Intel does come out on top, but AMD does not go without a fight and is just a few digits shy from Intel’s highest-performing desktop chip, the Core i9 – 11900K. Other 11th gen Core processors have a hard time cannot catch up with the Ryzen 5000 series but manage to outperform the Ryzen 3000 series. The Core i5 – 11600K is an exception. The summary of this section is if you are an avid gamer, or a streamer, or a content creator who would love to have that extra performance by overclocking your CPU without having to worry about anything. The Core i9-11900K is the best choice for such a purpose and is the chip for enthusiasts and high-end systems, and if you are looking for a high-end jack-of-all-trades system, the Core i7-11700K is not a bad choice either. You still might want to look at the benchmarks between turbo-boosted Ryzen CPUs and Intel Core processors running at overclocked speeds to check if you should go for Intel Core processors.
AMD Ryzen Vs. Intel Core: Power Consumption & GPU Rendering
Unless the electricity bills are the least of your concerns, power consumption is a factor that will highly influence the decision that you will reach after spending time researching and doing your research about a CPU that will be the perfect fit for your computer. Intel has yet to release a CPU with the 7nm process node that AMD has already adapted for two generations of Ryzen CPU and will be even moving to the 5nm process node in their anticipated next generation of Ryzen CPUs. Intel has recently adapted the 10nm process node for most of their 11th gen series, but the desktop variants are still using the 14nm process node. In terms of raw power, team blue is somehow barely managing to keep up with the competition. You might think, how come they are still stuck on the 14 nm process node, and yet they are still able to get such high clock speeds and barely keeping up with the competition? Well, there is a catch. The high clock speeds and performance does not come without any cost. If you are a tech enthusiast or have decent knowledge about computer hardware, you might have guessed what I am hinting at. In case you have not, I am talking about the TDPs. Intel’s impressive performance boost every new generation of the Core series comes with a beefy TDP. AMD, on the contrary, is still managing to maintain the low TDP without having to make a sacrifice on the performance. This means every generation of Ryzen CPUs is getting more efficient with power management and still managing to outperform not only the predecessors but also the competition at the same TDP, which is nothing but praiseworthy. Higher TDP means more power-hungry the CPU will be and require either a gigantic air cooler or a correctly installed liquid cooler to keep the heat in check. Intel is still sticking with the 14nm process node, which might leave many team blue’s fans disappointed. However, they are managing to improve the architecture every year, so there is little progress. To keep up with the renascent AMD, Intel turned the power tap of their CPUs to the maximum. AMD is managing to keep the majority of their desktop processors under two-digit TDP except for the Ryzen 9 5900X, 5950X, and the Ryzen 7 5800X processors. Which is still lower than the competition’s majority of the processors, which consume over triple-digit watts of power. A similar case is for the previous generations of Ryzen CPUs. The enthusiastic, high-end desktop processors consume 105W of TDP at max. The rest of the chips stay around 65W TDP. Overclocking the CPU means you provide extra power to the CPU, which increases the chip’s ability to process things at a much higher rate. It affects the performance positively, but it increases the TDP of the chip, which means more heat and more heat means your CPU coolers will generate more noise. AMD is taking full advantage of the TSMC’s 7nm process node. Since Ryzen 3000 and 5000 chips are based on the 7nm process node, it will allow the user to perform CPU-intensive tasks, play video games at maximum graphic settings, or render 4K resolution videos, without generating much heat. It does the job with a better and more performance-per-watt efficiency. Every Intel processor chip has a dedicated GPU installed along with the main processor, which allows people to work without having to install an external graphics card from Nvidia or AMD. Several people do not game on their rigs. They only use their system for work. In such cases, Ryzen processors are worthless if the user has little to no interest in getting a dedicated GPU. But, there is good news, AMD does have CPUs with discrete GPUs, called the APUs. Sure, you can play a few games with low graphic settings with a bearable framerate, but if you are looking to play high-end AAA games, you would want an external GPU for your rig. These discrete GPUs are not built for gaming. The dedicated GPU is to help the processor work without relying on the external graphics card. You can do your professional work with a single Intel Core chip and let the GPU slot idle. The same is the case with the AMD APU series. Only a handful of Ryzen chips have the discrete GPU in the 5000, 3000, and older generations of processors, while most of the chips require a dedicated GPU.
Intel Core Vs. AMD Ryzen: The Architecture
Before Lisa Su took the role as the company’s CEO, AMD experimented and built their CPUs around different microarchitectures. AMD’s first x86 processor was the K5 and went on to release CPUs based on different architectures like the Athlon, Duron, and Sempron for the consumers. Later the company worked on the Athlon 64 Opteron and Phenom architectures, which were the iteration of their KX (K7, K8, etc.) microarchitecture. The company then started to work on server-grade CPUs and released its first dual-core processor in 2005. In 2011, AMD announced their new architecture and named their cores Bulldozer cores. The company made its debut with the high-end FX series to compete directly with Intel after being in the company’s shadows for several years. Though the series were successful, Intel was still the better option in every aspect until Ryzen was introduced in 2016. Intel was formed by three people and started as a semiconductor memory manufacturer. After some years, the Intel business grew exponentially. The company cemented itself as one of the best semiconductor-based devices. The company later expanded its expertise by developing the first commercially available microprocessor, which is none other than the Intel 4004. This processor changed the landscape of personal computers and revolutionized the industry. Intel went on to produce better and twice as powerful processors from time to time. In 2005 the company decided to put more focus into its Core architecture which received critical acclaim. Specifically, the Core i series was the most successful series of microprocessors built by Intel out of other Core processors. Getting back to the topic, Core and Ryzen are the opposites of each other when it comes to their architecture. The first Core processor was released almost a decade ago, and Intel has been maturing its architecture every year. Zen is relatively fresh and has been out for almost four years. Intel uses the monolithic design for their CPUs, and AMD uses chiplets design for their Ryzen processors. These two designs are a way to arrange the core CPU’s components. These components include cores, cache, and input/output resources. The monolithic design has its own set of advantages and disadvantages, while chiplet design also has its advantages or disadvantages. The monolithic approach offers way more advantages but has some flaws. The monolithic design refers to the architecture where all of the physical stuff including, the cache, cores, I/O processing units, and more, lies on a single chip. This approach works fine for processors with low core counts because it is nearly impossible for silicon-based chips to achieve 100 percent yields. However, with Intel’s approach to their processor’s design, the chip managed to perform over seventy percent of solid yields, which is a win for the company, but as the number of cores increases, the cost to manufacture a monolithic designed CPU increases several folds. One of the biggest advantages of using the monolithic approach is reduced latency and high processing speeds. Since all of the physical stuff lies on the same die, the time is reduced when one CPU communicated with the other. But, this approach is hard to develop and creates waste, which can affect the prices of the processors. AMD, on the contrary, uses the chiplet based design, which the company likes to refer to as “MCM (Multi-Chip Module).” This approach refers to different discrete CPUs in a single die are joined together with the help of Infinity Fabric. Think of this approach as you are building a school art project, and you have different objects (discrete CPUs). Then you stuck (Infinity Fabric) all of these objects together on a single platform (Ryzen CPU). I hope this would help in a better understanding of AMD’s approach to building microprocessors. A single Ryzen die has multiple CCX units (CPU complex or core complex). One CCX unit contains four CPU cores and the caches connected to the CPU (L1, L2, L3). Two of these CCX units are stuck to the CCD (Core Chiplet Die). Increase in the number of CCDs, and you will get the Threadripper and EPYC processors. This is the summary of the fundamental building architecture behind the Zen-based Ryzen, EPYC, and Threadripper CPUs. The biggest advantage that AMD enjoys over the monolithic approach is that cost scales with core counts, which decreases wastage. However, as the cores are physically on a single die and exist separately, it induces lag which can cause high latency. This is one of the noticeable issues which were prominent in the first generation of Ryzen CPUs. AMD rectified the problem with their new Ryzen 3000 and 5000 series. Which design is the better? You might ask, it is without a doubt the chiplet design. AMD is already using this approach, and Intel is working on their version of chiplet design for their future processors, which they refer to as “Tiles,” Intel claims that their “Tiles” design approach is better than AMD’s chiplet design. While AMD keeps moving forward with an impressive iteration of Zen architecture every year or two. Not only the efficiency of the processors have improved. but it also bought maturity to the overall architecture, which means better stability, more support from motherboard and memory manufacturers. This allows AMD to push frequent BIOS updates to Ryzen owners, to address the issues experienced by old generation Ryzen owners, like improved security, improved stability while overclocking, better RAM support for memory overclocking. Unlike Intel, AMD does not seem to slow down their progress and keep plowing forward. Recently the company introduced their ambitious 3D V-Stack version of their Zen 3 processors coming soon. That brings up a massive 192MB of L3 cache in a single processor. Intel, on the contrary, is still struggling to adapt the 10nm process node for their desktop CPUs. Nonetheless, the intense battle between these companies is a big win for the desktop CPU consumers that had only Intel to choose from in the past.
AMD Ryzen Vs. Intel Core: The Security
We are living in a world rapidly adapting to highly advanced technologies and a digital era where the majority of the world’s work will shift on the internet. It might be exciting news for people who love tech, and it is a part of their lives. To strive in the highly advanced era, security becomes a concerning factor as it, not the technology which is advancing. Criminals and their attacks are also advancing every day. It is necessary not a concern for software developing companies, but anything related to the computer field should be concerned. Processor manufacturers are no different. Security experts have targeted the modern chips and their performance-boosting abilities. These researches expose the vulnerabilities of these highly advanced microprocessors. These vulnerabilities are targeted by criminals that threaten the privacy and crucial data of users that have installed the chip which has such vulnerabilities. Unfortunately, most of the time, this allows criminals on the internet to gain access to your system and steal/compromise your critical data. Sadly, there is no way for your anti-virus to detect this hardware-level vulnerability. The need to address these issues induces heaps of patches via BIOS updates and other means of filling these holes. This sudden need for these fixes frequently takes a toll on the chip’s performance. There are more than 200 publically known vulnerabilities in their CPUs, while AMD only has around ten. This is quite surprising considering how long Intel has been in the CPU game compared to AMD, which released its Ryzen lineup in 2017. The reasons behind this massive number of vulnerabilities are unclear. Intel’s main focus is to sell as many chips as in the market without working much on the security of their chips. It might be a possibility. It is also possible that the company might not have deemed the issues important and does not want to compromise on their CPUs performance and speeds to the ever-rising AMD in the market share. AMD has addressed the vulnerabilities in their processor and had released silicon-based fixes to its Ryzen 5000 processors, which increased the security of these chips multiple folds. Intel also released fixes to these exposed vulnerabilities for their chips. Users have reported a decrease in performance after getting these security updates for their CPUs. This has hurt the few generation older Core processors owner mainly 3-4 gens older. Now, if you are concerned with the security of your system and do not want a hacker from some country to compromise on your privacy or crucial data, selecting the Core CPU is perfectly fine. I doubt anyone would want to compromise on their privacy. For such a case, AMD processors are far more superior and secure compared to their rivals. The security will only increase in the future release of Ryzen CPUs and considering how improved every generation is. You have a better shot at preserving your security and data with AMD CPU installed in your rig than an Intel CPU.
Intel Core Vs. AMD Ryzen: Pricing And Value
Pricing is another important factor for a majority of the people who are looking to purchase a new CPU for upgrading purposes or for people who are building a new system from scratch. Unless you are an enthusiast willing to go an extra mile just to have the maximum possible desktop performance out of their systems. If you are an enthusiast, who can spend a lot of money on processors, still do not skip this section. There are important things that you should know unless you have a pretty good idea about the CPU that you have in your mind. As you might purchase an expensive processor, which might not be ideal for the nature of work that you originally planned to purchase the CPU for. It is hard to deny that AMD is hard to beat when it comes to the pricing of their products, whether they are microprocessors or graphics card units. The first three generations of Ryzen processors had a big price difference from Intel. The CPUs are affordable and featured a way better price-to-performance ratio than Intel CPUs. The 5000 series got a hike in their prices, and for the first time, the CPUs were expensive than the Intel Core CPUs, and surprisingly, people did not have any complaints. Ryzen has already proved its worth in the past. Intel processors are fast and offer amazing video game performances, but they are expensive, and the company has a bad reputation of charging big lumps of money when the competition was uncontested. But after the Ryzen series release, Intel reduced the prices of their processors to become an attractive option to the buyers and competing with AMD at the same time. It is nothing but a win for the consumers and prosumers. Users get to use several advantages like the Precision Boost Overdrive, which is the auto-overclock utility, and not to mention that most chips can be overclocked, which comes as perks when they choose Ryzen CPUs for their systems. Other benefits of getting the Ryzen processor include utilizing the AM4 socket to its full potential. Not only these processors are PCI-e gen 4 ready, but they also include backwards compatibility. So, if you already own an AM4 socket motherboard, you need to change the CPU, and that’s it. You have upgraded. Such is not the case with Core processors. If you wish to upgrade to a newer generation of Core CPUs, you will have to change your motherboard, which can add more cost for upgrading, making AMD the better choice for building a new computer or upgrading to a newly released Ryzen series. Intel launched its Comet Lake processors (10th gen Core CPUs) last year, with more cores, threads, and features to its mainstream lineup, while retaining the price, unlike in the past. These 10th gen Core processors offer a much better price-to-performance metric. AMD also decided to follow the suit and reduced the purchase price of their CPUs to keep Intel at bay. As of now and possibly in the future, AMD is and will be a better option to choose from in the price-to-performance metric. Unless Intel decides to rebuild its Core series architecture from scratch and offer better performance with lower costs than AMD processors. This is the only way for Intel to gain back its spot as the best desktop CPU manufacturer. There are some advantages if a user decides to go for Intel CPU build, the advantage is the better overclocking support. Other benefits include better stability, memory, motherboard support, and Ryzen processors do not have this luxury, as of now, except for the few APUs, but the story might be different in the future. Overall, due to the sheer number of advantages, team red is better, especially when it comes to price-per-core metrics, than team blue. Intel CPUs only make sense if you want discrete GPU with your CPU, which is not a “must-have” feature if you are interested in gaming. AMD offers a plethora of exciting features with a better efficient solution, and with the release of the Ryzen 5000 CPU series, it also offers similar, if not better single-core performance than Intel
AMD Ryzen Vs. Intel Core: Drivers And Software
You might wonder why people still purchase Intel CPUs? Even their CPUs are inferior to AMD CPUs in almost every aspect, except for high clock speeds and overclocking capabilities. The answer is simple, due to better drivers and software support for their CPUs and discrete GPUs on Intel platforms, unlike AMD. That has to start from the ground. Intel’s reputation in this section is strong and unlike AMD. The first generation of Ryzen CPUs was an ambitious launch. However, It does not hide the fact that the user of the newly released CPUs faced multiple software and driver-related issues. It was due to a lack of support from motherboard and memory manufacturers. The reason was, many AMD partners did not think that Ryzen CPUs would sell like hotcakes. This poor support and lack of updates have hurt users. Users with Ryzen CPUs faced not only gaming-related issues, but the systems would often hang, lag, and cause other irritating issues when the users would try to slightly increase the base clock speeds of their CPUs or memories. The lack of BIOS updates would not harness the true performance of the chips and would go on to cause issues to the users due to a simple lack of support. The story is now different, AMD has improved their BIOS game massively, and the BIOS updates are now frequent, which fixed most of the instability issues. As mentioned earlier in the article, if the chip and memories are used with the base clocks and users do not play with the overclocking, the system would work as intended. The users will not experience any problems whatsoever. Team blue has established its reputation for software support for its chips, unlike AMD. It has allowed users to freely play with the overclocking utility without facing any issues that they might have on AMD platforms. Due to highly stable chips, Intel managed to earn its top spot in different processor markets. Intel is planning to put its steps into the dedicated graphics market by bringing its dedicated GPU series, the Xe Graphics cards, to the market soon. Team blue graphics drivers have often updated, with day zero updates for the games, though they are not built for high-end video games. The company has still ramped up the graphics driver support as the date for their dedicated GPU launch closes. AMD graphics support has similar problems, like its CPU driver support, reported by users across the internet. Users have reported random crashes, performance loss, lag, stutter, and other irritating issues caused by AMD’s graphics drivers. That being said, AMD has been working hard to improve its CPU and GPU drivers with frequent driver and BIOS updates. It will not be long when AMD chips will have the same or better stability than team blue’s and will open the doors of overclocking freedom to people who are waiting to tweak their CPUs’ overclocking settings. The situation has improved on Ryzen 5000 desktop processors and will be even better with the upcoming Zen-4 based processors. Right now, Inter is the better choice if stability and driver support are one of your biggest factors to decide between AMD and Intel. AMD’s future is very bright, and it will not be long that the dream of several AMD users related to stability becomes a concrete reality.
Intel Core Vs. AMD Ryzen: Laptop Processors
The desktop side of the Intel vs. AMD battle is one-sided and is dominated by AMD within four years of launching Ryzen. The laptop side of the story is quite odd and different. Generally speaking, AMD is doing an excellent job with its CPUs and the increase in performance and efficiency for desktops. And Intel is having a hard time competing with AMD, as the desktop processor development has not progressed that much in recent years. But their mobile processors have been improved astonishingly. If we only discuss the laptop side of the team blue vs. team red debate. Intel has dominated the laptop market and is continuously improving its CPU and discrete GPU performance every generation. Intel has recently launched their 11th generation of graphics which are now capable of running eSports titles with a stable 60FPS frame rate without the need of a dedicated GPU to run the games, which is nothing but impressive. AMD’s initial Ryzen based laptops were impressive in performance compared to the Core CPUs. There are some big differences when it comes to comparing mobile processors. The laptop casing causes the heat to spread more quickly in the enclosed casing, as there is not much room for the heat to dissipate. Higher performance will mean more heat, which increases the chances of damaging the hardware if the system is run for longer durations of time, and if the thermal design is not decent, higher performance will only prove counterproductive. Intel processors are quite as fast as AMD processors, but the thermal design on laptops with the Intel platform is superior and better. Such is the case for the first and second generation of Ryzen mobile CPUs but the situation has been improved with the latest Ryzen 5000 mobile CPUs. The reason why Intel has a huge lead over AMD despite performing poorly in the desktop department is because of Intel’s firm hold in the laptop department. Sure, people would love the high performance, but what good a laptop is if it can be used for shorter periods and have to be underclocked so that they become usable. The first generation of Ryzen mobile CPUs has four Zen CPU cores and Radeon Vega-based GPU. The second generation, codename Dali was released in 2019, which consisted of four CPU cores and different models of Vega GPUs. In 2020, AMD launched the third generation of mobile processors with a different approach to the generic naming convention, the Ryzen 4000 series. These CPUs are based on the 7nm Renoir microarchitecture. The fourth and latest generation of mobile processors was launched in 2021. The processors featured up to 8 cores and 16 threads on their fastest chip. Like Intel, some models of the 5000 mobile series can be overclocked. The models ending with HX are unlocked. The rest of them are locked. AMD improved the known issues with the first two generations of mobile Ryzen CPUs like poor heat dissipation, poor thermal designs, and noise. The 5000 mobile series tops the benchmarks and offers a desktop level of performance with the fastest chips in the lineup. Some processors even beat the popular and the most powerful Intel’s mobile Core processor in raw performance. If you are thinking about a laptop with a Ryzen CPU, any machine having a CPU from the 4000 or 5000 series will offer an excellent cost-to-core ratio and outperforms the Ryzen 4000 mobile chips, which were well received by the public and hardware experts. There is nothing special to talk about Intel when it comes to laptops. Intel is a trusted partner of popular laptop manufacturers like Lenovo, HP, and Dell and has been manufacturing mobile CPUs for over a decade. Some of Intel’s revenue is generated by supplying its CPUs to these companies. Though the 11th gen Core CPUs are not as impressive as their predecessor when paired with a decent discrete. But they are still a viable choice. When paired with a capable GPU like the Nvidia RTX series will last you for years, and you will not have to worry about high temps due to the poor thermal design. The 10th gen of Core mobile CPUs is impressive in every aspect, whether it is productive work, video games, or battery performance. The laptops powered by these chips are astounding, offering up to seven to eight hours of battery life. Some laptop computers like the ASUS TUF Dash F15 laptop offer up to 10 hours of battery life and can last up to eight hours of battery life at different workloads, powered by Intel’s 11th gen mobile processors. The battery life of AMD-powered laptops is equally impressive, if not better, due to the lower TDPs of these processors. If you are looking to get the best laptop with a decent battery and gaming performance, surprisingly, both Intel and AMD offer attractive machines to choose from. It is a tough choice to choose from now that AMD has improved the thermal designs of their laptops with the release of 5000 series mobile Ryzen processors. It is tough to decide who the winner of the Intel vs. AMD debate is. One this is for sure, the future of AMD in the laptop section is very bright, and it may also snatch the title of best mobile CPUs as well if team red continues to improve their BIOS software and driver support. Not to mention better and more efficient thermal designs in laptops. These improved features coupled with lower TDPs of Ryzen processors will make a great pair for laptop computers. Right now, both the 10th and 11th gen powered Core laptops and fourth-gen powered Ryzen laptops are perfect for any type of work. Whether it is professional-grade work, video editing, or gaming, you have a choice to choose from either AMD or Intel-powered laptops. List of recent processors (AMD) AMD has made the dream of many people “to own a powerful system without spending a fortune” into a reality. Their chips are highly affordable, and from low to mid-budget and high to enthusiastic level, there are many choices to choose from. AMD has proved that their Ryzen processors have what it takes to become the first choice of consumers and prosumers alike, with the release of the Ryzen 3000 and 5000 series. AMD’s progress is so rapid, it has made Intel look like the underdogs. Due to several available options, choosing the right CPU for your system can be tricky and cumbersome. To ease the search of many users, I have categorized these CPUs into two different sections; Processors for enthusiastic to high budget systems and processors for high to medium budget systems. BEST Enthusiastic/High budget AMD CPUs Below are the best, fastest, and the most costly AMD CPUs to install in a state-of-the-art enthusiastic level system, ready for any type of tasks:
Ryzen 9 5900X Ryzen 9 5950X Ryzen 9 3950X Ryzen 9 3900X Ryzen Threadripper 3990X Ryzen Threadripper 3970X
These processors are state-of-the-art processors ever built by AMD, with the Threadripper being the overkill choice in the list. The 5900X is by far the fastest chips in the market and decimates the gaming charts by a convincing margin compared with Intel CPUs. The 5000 series CPUs in the list will easily last up to four to five years of gaming performance at 1440p and higher resolutions. You can get the best possible performance of these chips in gaming when paired with high-budget motherboards. BEST high to medium budget AMD processors Now, this section contains the list of high to medium-budget CPUs, which is relevant to the majority of the people that are willing to purchase a new CPU. Below are my picks for AMD processors for high to medium budget systems:
Ryzen 7 5800X Ryzen 5 5600X Ryzen 7 3800XT Ryzen 9 3900XT Ryzen 7 3800X Ryzen 7 3700X Ryzen 5 3600X Ryzen 5 3600
This list of processors is the best if you are on a budget and you have a limited amount to spend. You do not have to spend a fortune to be able to afford a decent gaming or professional work rig. Even a moderate amount of money can get of a beast of a CPU like the 5800X, which in my honest opinion, is the best processor in the market, including both AMD and Intel desktop CPUs altogether. List of recent processors (Intel) Intel processors are generally expensive in most countries, and the company was notorious for charging a hefty price for their CPUs lineup, whether you are looking for a medium-budget system or an enthusiastic level machine. The Core i9 series of their CPUs are their fastest and their best products for desktop computers. The costs of these processors were over four digits until Ryzen was released and dragged back Intel in the race of the best processor manufacturer in the world. Let us take a look at the list of what Intel has to offer for high-end to medium-budget systems. BEST Intel Core processors for enthusiastic to high budget systems The best Intel desktop Core processors for enthusiastic to high budget builds:
Core i9 – 11900K Core i9 – 10900K Core i9 – 10980XE Core i9 – 9900KS Core i9 – 9900K Xeon W – 3175X
At the time of writing, these are Intel’s best CPUs available for enthusiastic level system builds. Bear that in mind these are not in any order. If you are looking for a Core CPU for your rig, these are the best processors which Intel has to offer. Make sure to do your homework and have a look at multiple benchmarks, graphs, and charts that will narrow the number of options and will help you decide which processor will suit your needs, whether you are looking to upgrade your system for gaming or whether you are looking to upgrade your system for content creation, video editing, and other graphics or CPU intensive tasks. BEST Intel Core processors for high to medium budget systems After reading this article, you might get the notion that Intel is not a decent choice to go for. This is true to some extent, but it does not add the team blue processors to the “no-to-buy” list. They are behind AMD, sure, but the processors are still a decent choice, nonetheless. Most people will spend a moderate amount of money on their CPUs. Intel has some underrated CPUs which you will not regret purchasing, like the Core i5 – 11600K. Below is the list of Intel best processors that you can buy from the market:
Core i5 – 11600K Core i7 – 10700K Core i5 – 10600k Core i7 – 9700K Core i7 – 8700K Core i5 – 9600K
The list is not as impressive as the Ryzen medium-high to medium-budget CPUs. However, if you are looking to get the best team blue processor for a decent rig without having to spend a hefty amount of money, these are the CPU you want to choose from.
Intel Vs. Ryzen: Which Offers The Best? What Should You Buy In 2023?
It is time to wrap up the article, and it is time to decide which company offers the best solution for your problems and work nature. Whether you are looking for the best CPU performance in CPU-intensive tasks like image/video rendering, image/video editing, content creation, streaming, or playing video games with as low latency as possible and highest possible graphic settings while watching Twitch on your browser in the background. Whichever your case is, AMD will come on the top in every aspect, making it the superior choice for most computer tasks. Why Ryzen? Sure Intel is better when it comes to overclocking, which theoretically will increase performance across almost everything like video games, benchmarks, you name it. But it is not the cast most of the time. Times and time, it has been proven by AMD that despite having the advantage of high clock speeds by Intel, team red’s processors are now miles ahead of what team blue has to offer. Intel is better when it comes to games, as a majority of the games take advantage of higher single-core performance. For enthusiasts and professionals, Intel is also the better choice for high-end systems purely due to its superior overclocking capabilities and the stability the platform offers. But one thing to keep in mind when you are deciding to look for a new AMD processor, unless you have a dedicated GPU installed in your rig, you will not be able to see anything on your screen as the most basic Ryzen CPU lack a dedicated GPU. Intel also has better memory and motherboard support than AMD due to the maturity of the company’s architecture and process node, which is not getting older, and unless Intel shifts to a new process node i.e., 10nm, they might be in serious trouble. That being said, Ryzen 3000 and 5000 series have seen a lot of improvement with frequent BIOS updates and better memory and motherboard support. The next series of AMD will be exciting as the series will feature a new AM5 socket. The new processors will be the first in the computer market to support the upcoming successor to the DDR4 memory, the DDR5 SDRAM. DDR5 ram will have better power management and compared to its predecessor. It will reduce power consumption while doubling the bandwidth, which is nothing but a miracle of computer engineering, props to the engineers, and the new era of computing makes me excited. Cheers to the upcoming era of computing. AMD has yet to reveal any new details of their upcoming processors, and we might get details on the processors soon. Intel is also planning to launch its 12th generation of Core processors in the second half of 2021. These processors will use Intel’s 10nm enhanced SuperFin process. Intel claims that Alder Lake CPUs will have the best performance-per-watt ratio out in the company’s entire history of manufacturing processors. In the end, when it comes to gaming performance without spending a handful of money on CPUs, AMD CPUs are the best. You will get excellent gaming performance with a cheaper processor than Intel’s. On top of that, Ryzen is also bundled with a cool and efficient CPU cooler than what Intel has to offer. Making Ryzen a better cost-effective choice for gaming. Feel free to do your research and have a look at different benchmarks and gaming performance for yourself, and honestly, I suggest checking the benchmarks and results. You will get the idea of which CPU will be the best for your system. If you are planning to purchase a high-end CPU for professional work, content creation and want to overclock to get the best possible performance, Intel is the obvious choice in this regard, other than that, there are not many convincing factors to not go for AMD processors. As of now, the never-ending debate is shifting towards the AMD side after being the second choice of consumers for nearly a decade. Both of these processors are amazing for performing daily life tasks like opening Photoshop with Google Chrome running the background or playing a graphic intensive video game while watching your favorite streamer on Twitch. These processors will get the job done, but there are some specific tasks which, if either one of them does better, will decide the winner for Intel vs AMD discussion. If you are a professional grade worker whose work requires a powerful CPU for your rig, the suggestion will change. Similarly, if you are on a tight budget but still want to play games, the choices will again alter. If the work requires multiple cores, threads, and the CPU’s ability to crunch massive amounts of data, AMD is the obvious choice to choose from. AMD has proved that its CPUs are the best for extreme workloads while offering the most attractive price and performance metrics. Now, if you are only interested in gaming, AMD is still better. With the release of the Ryzen 5000 desktop processors series, it snatched the little lead that Intel had in terms of single-core performance. From the entry-level CPU, the Ryzen 5 5600X, to the most powerful desktop microprocessor in the world, the Ryzen 9 5950X, the lineup is just impressive. The new series offers twice as much performance while maintaining its mind-boggling TDPs. Intel has also launched their anticipated 11th generation of Core processors and hopes to launch the 12th generation of Core in the latter half of 2021. The 11th generation of Core CPUs had a weak reception upon release. But the good news is, both of the companies have some decent and attractive processors that offer mind-blowing performance with an affordable price tag on most products, from which you can select. Both of the companies are active more than ever, and the debate between these two companies is not ending anytime soon. For now, it favors AMD more than Intel, but who knows what will happen in the future. Will Intel be able to become the best CPU manufacturer once again? Only time will tell.
#1 – Is Ryzen better than Intel?
It depends on which generation of Ryzen processors we are talking about. The first two generations offered decent performance against Intel CPUs but struggled with stability and overclocking issues. The third and fourth generations of Ryzen CPUs were impressive launches. Most of the problems that users faced in the old generation are fixed. In the performance section, AMD has surpassed Intel from the very first generation of Ryzen in almost every factor. Intel still performs better in games than AMD, but the lead is now shrunk to almost similar performance with the Ryzen 5000 processors released. The situation will only improve in the future, and by the pace of AMD’s progress, AMD might surpass in metrics like overclocking, faster clock speeds, and better single-core processors, the future is exciting for consumers.
#2 – Is Ryzen 5 better than i7?
Ryzen 5 CPUs offer better value for money than Intel’s flagship Core i7 series. The i7 processors are for higher budget builds, while Ryzen 5 CPUs target the medium budget systems. The older generation of Ryzen 5 was barely managed to keep up with the i7 series. However, with the latest Ryzen 5 5000 processor release, this proved this to be wrong as it offered performance that is better even the i9-10900K in certain benchmarks. In gaming, i7 is still better than Ryzen 5.
#3 – Are Ryzen laptops better than Intel?
If we are only talking about the Ryzen 4000 and 5000 mobile CPUs, then yes, not only the laptops are twice as efficient as previous gens, the high temperature and poor thermal design have also been fixed. These Ryzen 5000 powered laptops even feature desktop-level performance. The third-gen mobile CPUs easily outperform the ambitious 11th gen Core processors by Intel, which enjoyed an impressive launch.
#4 – Is Ryzen 7 better than i7?
Now we have the Ryzen 7 5000 series available for purchase. These CPUs make the competition against Intel Core i7 CPUs one-sided. Even in gaming, the processors manage to go toe-to-toe against Intel’s best mobile chip, i.e., the Core i9 – 11900H CPU, though the latter still perform better. The Ryzen 7 3000 series also managed to outperform the Core i7 and was just a few digits shy from Core i9 in benchmarks.
#5 – Is Ryzen or Intel better for gaming?
Intel always had a lead in gaming, as the games perform better if the single-core has high clock speeds, which Intel is proud to have. AMD has yet to touch or cross the 5.0 GHz landmark, but with the Ryzen 5000 series release, it has managed to shrink the lead, which Intel had in gaming until now. So yeah, Ryzen is better for gaming as it has a better performance-per-cost ratio than Intel Core processors.
#6 – Is Ryzen 7 4800H better than i7?
Ryzen 7 4800H was launched to compete directly with Core i7 mobile series, and to no one’s surprise, Ryzen 7 4800H crushed the competition. This time AMD answered with better temps while maintaining lower TDP and double the performance than the previous generation of Ryzen mobile CPU. The processor is faster than the i7 and had two cores and four threads more than i7.
#7 – Is Ryzen 4000 better than Intel?
Yes, the Ryzen 4000 mobile series not only featured better efficiency than the previous generation of Ryzen CPUs, but they also ran quieter and cooler. They also cost less than their Intel counterparts which makes them a better option than similar Intel mobile processors. Even if Intel’s performance, stability, and temperatures may be better than Ryzen 4000 series, AMD still wins the competition.
#8 – Is Ryzen or Intel better for streaming?
Streaming is a CPU-intensive task, and CPUs that support multi-core, high clock speeds, and more thread will be the better choice. AMD checks all of these boxes, making it the better choice if you are a content creator or simply wish to stream. However, some streamers prefer Intel CPUs as they offer faster clock speeds and have better single-core performance and less latency than Ryzen CPUs. The latency situation is improved with the Ryzen 5000 series desktop processors.
#9 – Is more cores better for gaming?
No, not necessarily. Almost every single game that has been developed takes advantage of a single core and high clock speeds. This is the reason, despite being crushed in the competition, Intel still manages to snatch the top position on gaming benchmarks. Though, due to their higher costs, Ryzen offers a better performance-to-cost ratio.
#10 – Are Ryzen 5000 processors better than Intel?
Ryzen 5000 series CPUs are the best desktop processors available in the market that you can get your hands on. They have the same lower TDPs than their predecessors while almost doubling the performance, have double digits IPC gains, and so much more. They are worth getting for an upgrade or a new system build.
#11 – Does Ryzen 5000 have GPU?
Ryzen is notorious for not having a discrete GPU in the single die and requires a dedicated GPU for displaying the data on monitors. Out of eight different models, only two models have built-in GPU inside them; Ryzen 7 5700G and Ryzen 5 5600G, both featuring Radeon graphics. Both of these processors have over 12 threads and feature six cores in 5600G and eight cores in 5700G.
#12 – Is Ryzen 5 better than i5?
Again, if we are talking about lower costs and better value for money, Ryzen 5 is the clear winner. But that is not the end of the discussion. With the launch of 11th gen core CPUs, most of them felt underwhelming, but the Core i5 featured jaw-dropping performance with its less cost. The case is similar to the 10th gen core i5 CPU. This makes sense, as both have an unlocked model that can top the 5.0 GHz clock speeds, which can ensure surprisingly better results. The competition is close, with Ryzen 5 appearing at the top of the competition, but Core i5 puts up a real good fight and is a viable option for a medium-budget system.
#13 – Should I upgrade to Ryzen 5600X?
Ryzen 5000 series is by far the most impressive CPU launch in the history of personal computers. These processors are based on the matured 7nm architecture that maintains the same low TDP as its predecessors and offers astonishing results across benchmarks and games. The Ryzen 5 5600X is an excellent CPU for a new system build or just for upgrading.
#14 – Is Ryzen 5600X better than 3700X?
I have looked at multiple benchmarks, and I might be wrong, but benchmarks and graphs are not. Across multiple benchmark tests, Ryzen 5600X offers better performance, efficiency while being slightly cheaper than 3700X, making 5600X the better processor in every aspect. Although, the 3700X features two cores and four more threads than 5600X.
