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The newly announced AMD Ryzen 9 9900X CPU is set to release on August 15, 2024. It is expected to offer high productivity and excellent gaming performance. The leaked BestBuy listing indicates that the Ryzen processor will be priced closer to Intel's 14th Gen Core i7-14700K, a higher core count CPU. Does the new AMD Ryzen 9 9900X have what it takes to beat the 14th Gen Intel chip?
That's what we plan to find in this article through an in-depth comparison between the Ryzen 9 9900X and the Intel Core i7-14700K.
Note: Some aspects of this article are subjective and solely reflect the writer's opinions.
AMD Ryzen 9 9900X vs Intel Core i7-14700K
The Ryzen 9 9900X is based on AMD's latest Zen 5 architecture, which brought 16% Instructions Per Cycle (IPC) improvements over its previous generation. This should result in performance improvements across a wide range of applications and games.
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On the other hand, the Intel Core i7-14700K used the Raptor Lake Refresh architecture, which brings higher core clocks, Application Optimization Overview (APO), better overclocking, and more.
Let's look at the specs of the two CPUs to learn what's under their hood.
Specs comparison
Here are the specs of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and Intel Core i7-14700K:
The major differences between the two CPUs lie in the core count, cache size, TDP, and manufacturing nodes. The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X has a lower core count but more cache than the Intel Core i7-14700K.
Games are usually quite sensitive to cache memory, and the Ryzen processor's higher cache will surely prove beneficial. The AMD CPU is also built on a smaller node, which improves its power efficiency.
On the other hand, the Intel Core i7-14700K has more cores, which will be better for productivity, video editing, and 3D rending applications, but it consumes more power.
Synthetic performance difference
Let's take a look at how AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and Intel Core i7-14700K perform in real-world benchmarks like Cinebench and Geekbench.
Note: More benchmarks will be added after the final launch of AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
On average, the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X is around 8.9% better in single-core benchmarks than the Intel Core i7-14700K. However, in multi-core benchmarks, the latter CPU is 5.6% faster than the former.
The higher single-core performance of the Ryzen 9 processor should lead to better gaming performance than the Intel chip. However, the Intel CPU will be better in productivity applications like Adobe Premiere Pro, Blender, and more.
We are still a few days away from the final launch of the Ryzen 9 9900X (August 15th, 2024), so a direct gaming comparison between the two processors is not possible at the moment.
Pricing comparison
An X user (@momomo_us) leaked the Ryzen 9 9900X's price at $449. According to this leak, the new AMD processor will cost 15.7% more than the Intel Core i7-14700K ($381).
This X user previously leaked the pricing of the Nvidia RTX 40 Super series of GPUs, which were accurate. However, you should still take this pricing information with a grain of salt.
Final verdict of AMD Ryzen 9 9900X vs Intel Core i7-14700K
The Ryzen 9 9900X is the better CPU out of the two. It brings 8.9% higher performance than the Intel Core i7-14700K processor but costs 15.7% more. If gaming is your top priority, go with the AMD CPU.
That said, if you plan to do game streaming or video editing, the Intel Core i7-14700K will be better since it has more cores and better multi-core scores in benchmarks.
Note: There are some user reports of instability issues on the 13th and 14th Gen Intel CPUs, and Intel is actively investigating the issue. Besides, they are extending the warranty of 13th and 14th Gen Intel CPUs by two years.
