AMD Ryzen 9 7950X vs Intel Core i9-12900k: Which is better? Pending the arrival of the Intel Core i9 13th-Gen, in this post, we’ll be comparing the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X vs Intel Core i9-12900k, after which when the 13th Gen CPU arrives, we’ll make a separate comparison post for it.
Just so you know, at the launch of the Ryzen 7000 series CPU, AMD claims the Ryzen 9 7950X is up to 41% better than the Intel Core i9-12900k. But how accurate is that? Let’s find out.
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AMD Ryzen 9 7950X vs Intel Core i9-12900k
Price and Availability
The AMD Ryzen 9 7950X was announced on August 29th, 2022. And it is priced at $699. While the Intel Core i9-12900k on the other hand was launched in October 2021 for $639. Both CPUs are priced alike but the Intel Core i9 12th Gen is expected to drop in price because of the forthcoming 13th Gen. So technically, the Intel Core i9-12900k is cheaper.
In terms of their availability, AMD during the announcement on Aug. 29th, says all new Zen 4 Ryzen 7000 series will start selling from September 27th, 2022. You can use the box at the bottom of this post to purchase either of these two CPUs.
| AMD Ryzen 9 7950X | Price |
| Buy on Amazon US | $743.90 |
| Buy on Amazon EUR | €869.99 |
| Buy on Amazon UK | £769.99 |
| Buy Intel Core i9 12th-Gen | Price |
| Buy on Amazon US | $639.79 |
| Buy on Amazon UK | £582.61 |
See Also: AMD Ryzen 9 7900X vs Ryzen 9 5900X: Which is Better?
Socket Compatibility
Since both CPUs are from different manufacturers, their sockets/motherboards are likewise different. The AMD Ryzen 9 7950X uses the AM5 motherboard. While the Intel Core i9-12900k makes use of the LGA-1700 motherboard.
See Also: AMD Ryzen 9 7950X vs Ryzen 9 7900X: Which’s Better?
Performance
This is the most interesting part of the comparison. The AMD Ryzen 9 7950X is better than the Intel Core i9-12900k. Which is by no means surprising. They both have similar core counts, however, the Ryzen 9 7950X has a higher thread count than the Intel Core i9-12900k.
In particular, the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X has 16 cores and 32 threads (4.5 GHz- base and 5.7 GHz boost clock frequency). When compared, the Intel Core i9-12900k possesses 16 cores and 24 threads. Also, the Core i9 has a lower core frequency (3.2/5.2 GHz).
| Specs | Ryzen 9 7950X | Intel Core i9-12900k |
| Cores | 16 | 16 |
| Threads | 32 | 24 |
| Base Clock | 4.5GHz | 3.2GHz |
| Boost Clock | 5.7GHz | 5.2GHz |
| L3 Cache | 80MP | 44MB |
| iGPU | AMD Radeon 2 | UHD graphics |
| CPU Socket | AM5 | LGA-1700 |
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Putting the figures above into a performance test, the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X beats the Core i9-12900k. On Geekbench, the Ryzen 9 7950X scored 2275 points in a single-core test and 24396 points in a multi-core test, while the Intel Core i9 12th-Gen had 2184 points in a single-core and 16779 multi-core.
Thus, in comparison, the new AMD Ryzen 9 7950X is 5% faster in single-core and 32% faster in multicore than the Intel Core i9-12900k. On Cinebench R23, the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X is 41% better than the Intel Core i9-12900k (multi-core).
Additionally, even though both CPUs have integrated graphics, the Ryzen 9 7950X with AMD Radeon 2 GPU has a higher clock speed than the Intel Core i9-12900k.
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AMD Ryzen 9 7950X vs Intel Core i9-12900k: Verdict
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X vs Intel Core i9-12900k comparison shows the latest flagship from AMD is better. For gamers who are looking for high-end desktop CPUs, the Ryzen 9 7950X aces the Intel Core i9 12th-Gen.
