However, Intel claimed that the 11th-Gen Core i9-11900K processor is better than AMD’s Ryzen 9 5900X (12 cores, 24 threads). Until some users run various intensive tests, we won’t know which is a better processor among the two. Since the Intel i9-11900K is was announced a few days ago, reviewers and enthusiasts have not got their hands on the processor just yet. Let’s move on to benchmark tests to get a closer look at the performance difference between Ryzen 9 5950X and Intel i9-11900K. From the fabrication process to energy-efficiency and core count, AMD has the upper hand over Intel. As for now, on paper, the AMD chip looks better than the Intel counterpart. But keep in mind, to attain the max boost frequency of 5.3GHz on Intel’s processor, you need to overclock the processor using the Extreme Tuning Utility (XTU) tool.Īpart from that, AMD Ryzen 9 5950X has a TDP of 104W, thanks to the 7nm process that makes it a more power-efficient chip, unlike Intel’s i9-11900K processor, which has a TDP of 125W. While Intel i9-11900K can go up to 5.3GHz, AMD Ryzen 9 5950X can muster up to 4.9GHz maximum clock speed. In terms of maximum frequency, it seems Intel is still beating AMD. AMD also saw a 19% jump in IPC from its last-gen flagship processor. Ryzen 9 5950X was released in October 2020 with AMD’s brand new Zen 3 architecture built on the 7nm process node. Intel continues to rely on existing technologies to churn out powerful new desktop chips in 2021 instead of moving to a more efficient process node.Ĭoming to AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, it has 16 cores and 32 threads, which is double the number of cores and threads that the Intel i9-11900K has to offer. In summation, the Cypress Cove microarchitecture is not a new design built from scratch. Having said that, Intel still boasts a 19% IPC (instructions per cycle) improvement from last year’s chip. That is why Intel i9-11900K has a lower core count (8 cores, 16 threads) than last year’s Intel i9-10900K (10 cores, 20 threads) because of their design limitation. Intel calls this technique backporting, where it uses the new design but builds the chips on the older fabrication process. For the Rocket Lake-S desktop processor, the company has taken that 10nm Willow Cove microarchitecture and scaled it to 14nm dye. But it was limited to their mobile processor lineup, popularly known as 11th-Gen Tiger Lake processors. Intel did introduce a new Willow Lake architecture, designed on a 10nm process, in 2020. The Cypress Cove architecture replaces Skylake microarchitecture, which was has been in use since 2015. Intel’s new microarchitecture, Cypress Cove, might capture your interest, but it’s not as revolutionary as AMD’s Zen 3 architecture. But it did not happen, and we are still stuck with an aging 14nm process node. Consumers were hoping to see Intel finally move to a 7nm or at least 10nm fabrication process for desktop chips this year. First of all, the Intel i9-11900K chip is built on the 14nm process node, which is quite disappointing. While the specs comparison gives you a good overview of the chip, we will discuss a bit more about Intel’s new microarchitecture here. Benchmark Tests: Intel i9-11900K vs AMD Ryzen 9 5950X