Who is Winning in the CPU Space?
Who is Winning in the CPU Space?
The correct solution is that consumers are benefiting. Rivalry spurs creativity and progress they might not have achieved otherwise.
Both are performing really well, honestly. It’s hard to choose the wrong one. If I could decide now, I’d pick Intel.
I'll wait for 13th gen Intel before I move on. Not only is what I have enough, but it seems they're having some teething issues with their new architecture and the motherboards. Which is to be expected. If I were buying now, it would likely be a 5900x because its mostly got the bugs ironed out and I suspect heavy discounts. Ah, who am I kiddin'. I'd get a 12700KF because I'm a biased Intel fanboy. But objectively, both are amazing.
I rely on a stable system and having enough funds, which are key reasons I won’t participate in ADL. After that comes the next step—something you should anticipate.
Intel secured this round comfortably, outpacing even Zen3d. The e-core technology shines in boosting multicore efficiency, and now Intel matches AMD's IPC rates. Clock speeds are climbing, while Alder Lake performance is still catching up, especially with the slow DDR5. Power usage during gaming rivals AMD's offerings. Yes, benchmarks show significant power draw, but prices remain very attractive for the value provided. A 5900X offers a solid price point compared to the 12900K, sitting between them and being noticeably faster than the 5950X without a drastic performance drop. Intel managed to beat AMD's pricing by around €100 per tier, though multicore gains are slightly less. Single-core speed remains a clear edge.
The platform expenses are quite significant, yet the boards come with an excessive amount of features. It feels like you're spending a lot on unnecessary components just to get what you need. That’s not Intel’s fault—it’s the board makers who are pushing too much for resale value. If you’ve seen the Buildzoid video, even the budget-friendly Z690 DDR4 MSI-A PRO uses a six-layer PCB with 60A power stages. These boards are built to higher standards, and manufacturers are clearly aiming to maximize profits from them. Comparing them to the B550 is unfair; they focus on keeping costs low across every part. DDR5 will definitely come at a premium, as each RAM generation does.