AMD Ryzen 9 5950X vs Intel Core i9-12900k: These two are high-end CPUs or better still, flagship CPUs. But the question is, which high-end CPU should you buy between this two in 2022? In this article, both CPUs from AMD and Intel will be going head-to-head. And it will impress you to know that both CPUs also made it to our list of best CPUs to buy in 2022.
For many years now, AMD has been dominating the desktop CPU market. But let’s see if the new Alder Lake (Intel Core i9-12900k) can switch things up.
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AMD Ryzen 9 5950X vs Intel Core i9-12900k: Price
Starting with the pricing, both CPUs are expensive because they are high-end desktop processors. The Intel Core i9-12900k has a price tag of $649. While the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X price is $684. The AMD’s flagship processor is slightly more expensive, but does it offer better value? Let’s find out more.
Performance
The Intel Core i9-12900k has an excellent workload distribution. All thanks to the new hybrid architecture that made it possible for Intel’s CPU to cleverly share different workloads between the high-performance P-cores and energy-efficient E-cores. The hybrid architecture enables smoother multitasking which made the Alder Lake chip offer overall better performance than the Ryzen 9 5950X.
When it comes to gaming, both are at par but for content creation, the Intel Core i9-12900K was able to beat Ryzen 9 5950X in almost all cases. The Core i9’s performance cores have a base clock of 3.2GHz, while the Ryzen 9’s standard sexdecuple-core configuration is a 3.4GHz base clock.
However, when boosted, the Core i9-12900K’s Performance cores can hit a boost clock speed of 5.1GHz, while the Ryzen 9 5950X also gets as high as a 4.8GHz boost clock. But an interesting thing about the Intel Core i9-12900k is that it supports Turbo Boost Max 3.0 to hit the 5.2GHz speed in certain cores for single-threaded tasks.
These two desktop CPUs are the best on the market right now. But the Core i9-12900K is the overall favorite here in this comparison. The Core i9 draws more power too.
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AMD Ryzen 9 5950X vs Intel Core i9-12900k Specifications
| Specs | Core i9 (12900k) | Ryzen 9 (5950X) |
| CPU Socket | LGA 1700 | AMD AM4 |
| Cores | 16 (8P + 4E) | 16 |
| Threads | 24 | 32 |
| Process | Intel 7 (10nm) | TSMC (7nm) |
| Base Freq | 3.20GHz (Power-core) 2.40GHz (Efficiency-core) | 3.40GHz |
| Boost Freq | 5.10GHz (Power-core) 3.90GHz (Efficiency-core) Turbo Boost Max 3.0 – 5.2GHz | 4.90GHz |
| L3 Cache | 30MB | 64MB |
| Memory | DDR4-3200 | DDR5-4800 Up to 128GB | DDR4 up to 3200MHz Up to 128GB |
| TDP | 125 | 105 |
Even though the Intel Core i9-12900k is more futuristic as it supports the latest DDR5 memory modules and the PCIe 5.0 standard, the fact still remains that you’ll have to buy a new motherboard to fit it. Which somehow is an extra cost.
On the other hand, the Ryzen 9 5950X has DDR4 memory and PCIe 4.0 standard. Thus, it is lower in price to build a PC with the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X compared to the Intel Core i9-12900k ( you’ll have to spend extra cost to buy one of the new LGA 1700 motherboards for the Intel chips).
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AMD Ryzen 9 5950X vs Intel Core i9-12900k: Verdict
The battle of the best high-end CPU to buy favors the Intel Core i9-12900K. It is the best flagship desktop CPU to buy on the market at the moment. However, while the Core i9 CPU is better, it is more power hungry too thereby running significantly hotter too. But in overall performance, the Intel Core i9-12900k is superior.
Buy Intel Core i9-12900K and AMD Ryzen 9 5950X
| Core i9-12900k | Price | Ryzen 9 5950X | Price |
| Buy on Amazon | $639.79 | Buy on Amazon | $684.99 |
| Buy on Amazon UK | £582.61 | Buy on Amazon UK | £638.99 |
