We recommend the Threadripper 2950x for around $680 if you want a high-end upgrade for a low cost.Overall, both companies produce processors within striking distance of one another on nearly every front — price, power, and performance. In terms of cores and threads, notwithstanding the XT series, AMD offers more for less at every single price range. AMD still has some work to do as it expands its ecosystem of OEM partners and works with the community to broaden software optimizations for its chips. It also uses just 95 watts of power compared to the Ryzen 9’s 105 watts – though you are getting around half the total performance.Whether you go Intel or AMD, you can expect to spend between $200 and $350 for mid-level gaming processors and $500+ if you need a top-tier chip for high frame rates, or streaming and gaming at the same time.With Intel, on the other hand, each chip has on-die integrated Intel HD or Iris graphics, so you can play most mainstream games or stream quality video right out of the box, no matter what CPU you pick. However, higher power consumption often correlates to more heat generation, so you'll need beefier coolers to offset the heat output of greedier chips.Neither vendor offers integrated graphics units (iGPU) with their HEDT chips. Turbo-boost is also available in AMD’s next-generation CPUs, while Hyper-Threading technology is also built into AMD’s next-generation CPUs, but for trademark reasons, AMD cannot call its technology Hyper-Threading. However, due to price cuts of its own, AMD does the most damage down in the high-volume mid-range where it is far more competitive (excluding the XT series).In contrast, AMD only offers integrated graphics on its APU models, which means you'll need a discrete graphics card (GPU) for any chip that has more than four cores (or costs more than ~$150). At the top of the scale, however, both camps have amazingly capable $500 chips.With AMD, the Ryzen 9 3950X is the current king with 16 cores and 32 threads. While AMD still represents great value for money, it does have some costly options which are even more powerful than the Intel alternative in some cases.At … If you do anything alongside or when you aren’t gaming, however, Ryzen 3000 chips are a better bet. We'll also discuss the lithographies and architectures that influence the moving goalposts. That's because Intel has had to turn the power dial up further with each generation of chips to provide more performance as it fends off the resurgent AMD. Unfortunately, these types of vulnerabilities are incredibly dangerous because they are undetectable—these tactics steal data by using the processor exactly as it was designed; thus, they are undetectable by any known anti-virus program.AMD's relentless onslaught with its Zen-based processors has redefined our expectations for both the mainstream desktop and the HEDT markets, catching Intel flatfooted as it remains mired on the 14nm process and Skylake architectures. This ensures faster recall of your frequently-used files and programs. Intel's iGPUs are mostly useless for gaming but are useful for display and QuickSync purposes, while AMD's iGPUs offer the best gaming experience, hands down.
But its first and second-generation Threadripper CPUs are still worth considering.And don’t forget that syncing technology like FreeSync and G-Sync can also make a big difference in gaming appearance, with or without optimizing your processor.The Intel i9-9900K has half the number of cores and threads as the Ryzen 9 3950X, but it makes up for some of that with slightly stronger single core performance. You’ll not only get a great picture for both streaming video and playing the latest games, you’ll also get awesome frame rates as well, preventing lag and screen tearing.Intel’s Core i7-9750H six-core chip used in other gaming laptops just couldn’t keep up. AMD's modern processors tend to offer either more cores or threads and faster PCIe 4.0 connectivity at every single price point, which we'll cover below.As mentioned, you'll have to pay a premium for Intel's K-Series chips and purchase a pricey Z-Series motherboard, not to mention splurge on a capable aftermarket cooler (preferably liquid), to unlock the best of Intel's overclocking prowess.