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The Intel Core i9-14900K and the Ryzen 9 7900X are some of the fastest flagship-grade offerings from the two companies. Both chips share a similar DNA: maximum performance at a premium price. They are specifically designed for professionals and enthusiasts who want nothing but the best for their systems.
However, there are some differences between the chips too: while the 14900K is the highest-end offering from Team Blue, the 7900X slightly cuts corners. It is a 12-core CPU, unlike the flagship Ryzen 9 7950X and 7950X3D.
Besides this, they also differ in terms of performance. Let's look at what these CPUs bring to the table and decide which one is the better buy in 2024.
All the differences between Core i9-14900K vs Ryzen 9 7900X
Before delving into the performance differences between the Core i9-14900K, let's look at their on-paper specs.
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Specs comparison
The Core i9-14900K is based on the new Raptor Lake Refresh architecture, while the 7900X uses Zen 4. These two are vastly different, thus making it nearly impossible to make an apples-to-apples comparison between their specs.
Nevertheless, the 14900K features a whopping 24 cores and 32 threads; eight are high-performance 'P' cores, and the rest are efficient 'E' cores. The 7900X features 12 cores and 24 threads, which are spread into its two Core Complexes (CCXs).
The Intel chip also supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory, while the newer Ryzen 7000 chips are locked to the newer standard. However, this won't make much difference because you need the latest DDR5 memory to get the best performance anyway.
A detailed comparison between the i9-14900K and the Ryzen 9 7900X is as follows:
On paper, the 14900K has a slightly higher maximum turbo power (MTP) at 253W. However, the 7900X consistently breaks the advertised 170W while turboing to 5.7 GHz. We spotted it staying in the early 200s in our review.
Performance comparison
The 14900K and 7900X vary widely in terms of their performance. The two chips target slightly different market segments, with the 7900X being designed for those who want flagship-grade performance without spending over $500.
Below is a list of single and multi-core performance metrics of the two processors. This data is sourced from the benchmark aggregator Nanoreview. The numbers are an average of what you can expect from a wide range of 14900K and 7900X chips based on how they fared in the silicon lottery.
The 14900K is considerably faster than the 7900X in terms of single-core performance. This makes the chip more suitable for playing the latest video games. However, any processor with over 2,000 points in the Cinebench R23 single-core test is decent enough for gaming, and you won't face major issues with the Ryzen CPU. Besides this, AMD also sells the Ryzen 9 7900X3D, which is slightly faster in video games.
The difference in multi-core performance of the two processors is also considerable, with the 14900K being over 20% faster in both benchmarks mostly because of its extra core count. In multi-core-heavy workloads like video editing and game development, the 14900K will be a much better chip. Thus, if you need the extra horsepower in your setup, we recommend opting for the Intel flagship.
Also, check out a comparison between the i9-14900K and the Ryzen 9 7950X.
The Core i9-14900K sells for $575, while the 7900X is considerably cheaper at just $429. In sales and promotions, the AMD chip has dropped to as low as $355. This huge difference between seals is the answer for many. While the Ryzen chip is slightly slower, it is also much more affordable.
Given the performance it can push out, it's a recommendation for anyone who doesn't have the extra cash. But, if you have some money to burn, the 14900K is always the better option for performance.
