12700K+Z690 or 5900X+B550 priced at $575?
12700K+Z690 or 5900X+B550 priced at $575?
Currently, the Ryzen 9 5900X is available for $429. Pairing it with a quality B550 board brings the total to about $575. Meanwhile, the i7 12700K drops to $385, but you’ll need a Z690 board for overclocking, which costs around $190—bringing the overall cost to roughly $575. Given the price match, choosing between them depends on your priorities: performance or budget. If top-tier performance matters most, the Ryzen 9 5900X might edge out; otherwise, the i7 offers solid value.
The i7 12700K offers fresh features for experimentation. Ryzen performance isn’t the strongest in this comparison.
The 12600k still outperforms the 5900x, but opt for a 12600 or 12700kf with a b660 or z690 motherboard at that cost. It might be better to invest in a top-tier b660 board.
12700(F) plus B660 offers a good deal with minimal loss. OC tends to be poor on Alder Lake; success rates hover near 5% with roughly double performance. I’d only think about the 12700K(F) if it’s close to $320, as seen before. For gaming and storage performance, Intel edges out, while both options are similar for multitasking. If efficiency matters, the 5900X shines more when power is constrained.
For intense job requirements tied to the 5900 + B550 program set. Since some suites lack sufficient E-cores until Windows+Intel improvements or updates happen, you're faced with a decision: high-performance power plan forcing background tasks to use P-cores only, or the standard plan using exclusive E-cores. In both cases, you miss out on optimal performance versus true AMD cores. Gaming is about cost and needs; the GIGABYTE B550M DS3H for $109 can handle a 5900x, and possibly even a 5950x as noted by Steve in his recent video. The Intel option around $110 struggles to reach 12.7GHz with the same setup as its AMD counterpart. Whether a ~$110 LGA 1700 board can hit 12.7GHz remains uncertain, and more info will come with the next HardwareUnboxed video featuring the cheapest MSI boards. Or it might be confirmed that the Asus Prime H610M-A D4 can reach 12.7GHz as well. Around $140-150 offers little advantage, though the MSI PRO B660-A remains a strong contender.