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.

See Also: Intel Arc A580 Specs and Features: 24 Xe-cores, 8GB Memory, and 1.7 GHz 

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

See Also: AMD Ryzen 7 7700X vs Ryzen 7 5700X: Which CPU is Better? 

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.

See Also: Canadian Pricing of Intel 13th Gen Core i9, Core i7, and Core i5 Series leaked 

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.