After all these years of sticking with a label of productivity-based chipsets, AMD has recently released its Ryzen 9 5900X to compete with Intel’s Core i9-10900K. AMD’s latest Ryzen 9 5000X series claims to be the fastest and most efficient gaming processor in the world and directly challenges the authority of Intel in high-spec gaming builds.
Intel was known to deliver raw power and more computing cores with higher clock speeds (which Intel still manages to take a lead on) to provide an unbeatable gaming performance. However, Its 14nm lithography might require some rebuilding or an update to unleash the true potential of its hardware configuration.
If you are reading this review, you must be looking to deploy the world’s leading CPUs in your build to fetch excellent performance while gaming and working over processor-centric software such as Adobe Creative software. However, if you are looking at a build solely from a gaming’s POV then you will have an eye on different specifications of the processor. Whatever might be the case, in the article ahead we are going to cover the extensive details of both AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and Intel Core i9-10900K and share a review of their performance, speed, and benchmarks.
In the article, we’ll discuss:
- Pricing of both the products
- Efficiency
- Speed
- Core clock and Overclock
- Industry Standard Benchmarks
- Gaming Performance
- Productivity
- Value for Money
But before we continue with the discussion on the details, if you are willing to read other reviews of the AMD Ryzen 5000 series, you can find them here. However, if you only want to read about the best processors of both Intel and AMD, we recommend you to continue reading the article.
TL;DR
In the review, AMD has come out to be a better chipset with 2 extra-core that actually converts into additional performance. The recent update in its cache memory division technology named Zen-3 accounts for a sizeable difference in the overall performance. Hence, if you want to get your hands on this beast, you can buy it from here.
However, if you are into intel and want to go for a more reliable build then you can buy that here. To have a better experience with any of these chipsets, make sure to align your choices with your requirements.
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X vs Intel Core i9-10900K: An Introduction
Now is the time to get into a detailed comparison of these powerhouses and understand what are those key components that make them the top guns of the industry.
We will also discuss their specifications and the new age technology which is being utilized to drive the speed that they have to offer.
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
The battle between AMD and Intel has been longing for ages and when new Intel chipsets are offering a balanced performance, AMD is clearly taking a nosedive into gaming benchmarks and redefining the present PC gaming standards. `
With its new Ryzen 5000 series, AMD is claiming to have the fastest gaming processors in the world, and let us be clear, it is not a blank flaunt.
While flexing its raw power with its twelve cores, AMD Ryzen 9 5900X is hitting 3.75GHz of clock speed, out of the box. These twelve cores, when pushed to their extreme can deliver up to 4.8 GHz of boost clock.
Apart from this massively overpowering multicore performance, AMD Ryzen 9 5900X is capable of delivering an impressive single-thread speed and can tackle most of the daily tasks with ease.
AMD has also implemented new Zen-3 technology in its core functioning and increased the number of cores from four to eight in CCX which share the level-3 cache. This modification in the technology of AMD CPUs decreases the latency between processors and data and reduces the need to fetch everything from RAM.
Key Features of AMD Ryzen 9 5900X:
- The raw power of 12 dedicated cores
- Recorded overclocking speed of around 4.9GHz
- Unmatchable benchmarks in gaming with a decent fps boost from its predecessors
- 7nm architecture with the AM4 socket
Intel Core i9-10900K
Over the years Intel has become synonymous with computing for its reliability and universal appeal to its user base. Along the same lines, Intel has launched its flagship gaming processor Intel Core i9-10900K which promises a overclock speed of 4.9GHz. From single-core performance to all ten-core utilization, Intel does not seem to drop the performance anywhere.
With a base clock speed of 3.7GHz and a peak recorded overclocked speed of 5.3GHz, Intel is proudly claiming the highest clock speeds within the segment while giving a tough competition to AMD’s Ryzen 9 5900X’s 12 core performance. But the difference in competing this time is the price point at which Intel is delivering this performance. However, the power consumed by this 10-core power beast overtakes even some of the better-performing CPUs.
With a power consumption of 125W on the base clock, Intel does not stop anywhere close and goes all the way to 250W while being utilized to the full. Some benchmarks even recorded over 300W and that is insane even when comes to power consumption in high-end chipsets.
These high-power wattages create enough heat to bottleneck the performance of your entire system. But if you have a decent liquid cooling mechanism installed then overclocking Intel Core i9-10900K will be worth the technicalities.
Apart from all the mentioned features, Intel Core i9-10900K also includes:
- Ten cores with twenty threads and a boost clock of 5.3GHz make the Intel Core i9-10900K one of the most powerful processors in the segment
- When compared to the other processors, Intel Core i9-10900K offers a cheaper per core pricing
- Designed to quench the power thirst of some of the finest AAA titles in the PC gaming industry
- Good in single-thread performances and better at multi-core rendering
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X vs Intel Core i9-10900K: Which One to Choose
Now is the time to compare two of the best processors in the market that are competing to overtake the markets. With massive performances and top-notch benchmarks, we are going to compare AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and Intel Core i9-10900K on the standards of their performance, speed, benchmarks, and most importantly their price value.
We will implement industry standards and discuss the details behind their core performance. So without further ado, let’s get started to deal with the ultimate processor rivalry and decide which emerges out to be a winner.
Performance
When it comes to discussing the performance of AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and Intel Core i9-10900K, we need to start by discussing the cores of the CPUs provided by them.
On one hand, where AMD Ryzen 9 5900X comes with 12 cores and 24 threads and a turbo clock speed of around 4.8GHz, Intel Core i9-10900K comes with 10 cores and 20 threads with a turbo clock speed of around 5.3GHz.
Both the X and K variants of AMD and Intel respectively are targeted to deliver better performance from their base models and are designed to be safely overclocked out of the box. However, even after having the same base clock, we can witness better turbo clock speed from the Intel Core i9-10900K. AMD, on the other hand, takes the front seat when it comes to multitasking with 4 extra threads in its trunk.
Both the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and Intel Core i9-10900K have unlocked multipliers but AMD Ryzen 9 5900X comes out to be a better choice with an extra cache memory of 768KB, 6MB, and 64MB when compared to 640KB, 2.5MB, and 20MB of Intel Core i9-10900K.
Comparing the overclocking performance and thermals of both AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and Intel Core i9-10900K, Intel peaked its CPU temperatures just below 80 degrees C while being overclocked and utilized to its full capacity. Even though AMD was not on the cooler side too but with its 71 degrees C core CPY temperature, it performed better than the Intel Core i9-10900K.
These high temperatures from both the CPUs can be controlled using a standard liquid cooling unit, resulting in much better overclocking performances.
Another key component of any processor is its capacity to support faster RAMs for a quicker performance during gaming and multitasking. AMD Ryzen 9 5900X steers ahead of the Intel Core i9-10900K in this regard. Ryzen 9 5900X supports 3200MHz of RAM while i9-10900K only supports dual channel 2933MHz of RAM sticks.
This downgrade affects the overall performance of the Intel-built systems and reduces their maximum memory bandwidth for them. Compromising on the RAM speed does not seem feasible when DDR5-8704 RAMs have already hit the markets. However, these Intel and AMD processors only support DDR4 RAMs with dual memory channels with a maximum memory amount of 128GB.
Benchmarking
No matter what specifications a processor have in its core, if they are not translating into impressive performances, then they are of no value. Both AMD and Intel have given different names to their performance enhancement technologies, but as we have said earlier, names do not matter; performance does. AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and Intel Core i9-10900K claim to be the best in this price segment and call themselves the best gaming processors available in the world (which is not so true because of AMD Ryzen 9 5950X).
In this segment of the article, we will compare the benchmarks of both of these industry-leading processors and find out the ultimate winner when it comes to benchmarking stats.
Comparing the Cinebench R23 (Single-Core) in which only a single core of the CPU is utilized without using the hyper-threading technology. In this Cinebench test, AMD Ryzen 9 5900X performs 16% better than its Intel counterpart.
While on the other hand, Cinebench’s multicore benchmarks which include all the CPU cores and hyper-threading technology widens the gap between the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and Intel Core i9-10900K.
We can witness the same results when it comes to GeekBench 5 Single-Core and Geekbench 5 Multi-Core
In these performance benchmarks, we can clearly witness the effectiveness of AMD’s Zen-3 technology and how it is bypassing the Intel Core i9-10900K’s Come Lake flagship-level technology.
In the V-Ray benchmarks, AMD’s 5950X performs 32% faster than the i9-10900K, which checks the rendering speeds of CPUs.
Another critically reliable benchmark is from Passmark, and we can see AMD Ryzen 9 5900X going just ahead of Intel Core i9-10900K. 5900X is performing better in both single-core and multi-core testing, leaving behind no scope for the 10900K.
We can witness the same gap between the two processors while testing them on productivity applications. AMD’s 5900X leverages its two extra cores and 4 extra threads to deliver better performances.
However, the situation changes when comparing these CPUs to their gamin performances. In this segment Intel Core i9-10900K performed almost as good as AMD Ryzen 9 5900X.
These benchmarks might seem overwhelming to those who are new to analyzing the physical and performance components of the CPU, but for someone who is aware about the specifications in detail, these benchmarks can solely be the criteria for judging a CPU’s capabilities.
Price
Price is probably the most critical component when discussing any high-end hardware, as it becomes the product segment criteria.
AMD Ryzen 9 5900x and Intel Core i9-10900k come at almost the same prices; however, there could be a difference in the actual prices in the market as it swings according to the supply and demand.
However, discussing the launching price for both of these processors, AMD’s Ryzen 9 5900X entered the market with a label of $549, making it one of the costliest processors in the market. While on the other hand, Intel’s Core i9-10900K had an MRP of $488, which was definitely lower than that of the 5900K.
This $70 price difference between the processors costs around 2 cores and 4 threads to Intel’s users while also facing a lower performance than AMD’s 5900X. The actual street price and availability of these processors are subjective to the location and mode of purchase, but while discussing it on paper, we can say that both of the processors are a bit pricy when the performance of their predecessors is taken into consideration.
Another reason for the higher price of these processors is the microchip shortage on the international level, making the production and delivery of processors and graphic cards not so easy. With that kept in mind, we can say that the prices can be justified due to the present market scenarios while expected to return back to normal.
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X vs Intel Core i9-10900K: Gaming and Productivity
All of our main tasks on a desktop can be divided into two sections of performances. One is for productivity, where we can potentially utilize all the core performances of our processors while multitasking.
However, the other section which requires raw CPU power, can be categorized into gaming. Modern AAA titles require AAA performance to deliver a realistic gameplay experience to the users.
Even though we can deliberate over the fact that we are graphic cards take the central stage when gaming performance is concerned, we cannot forget about the processor base on which these GPUs perform.
In this section of the article, we are going to discuss and compare the performance of AMD Ryzen 9 5900x and Intel Core i9-10900K in real-world gaming sessions while also deliberating over the performance of these CPUs in productivity sessions.
Gaming
While coming to the gaming performance of both of these processors we can assure you that these are one of the finest chips that you can get your hands on in the market as of now.
When playing high-end games on High/Ultra presents with AMD Ryzen 9 5900X, an RTX 3080, and a 32GB RAM setup (which is also our recommended specs for unleashing the power of these CPUs), these were the average FPS we were able to achieve.
- Read Dead Redemption 2 (1080P) – 139 FPS
- Watch Dogs Legion (1080P) – 99 FPS
- Microsoft Flight Simulator (1080P) – 87 FPS
- R6S (1080P) – 515 FPS
- Battlefield 5 (1080P) – 195
On the other hand, gaming with Intel Core i9-10900K with an RTX 3090 and 32GBs of RAM and graphic preferences set on maximum, delivered the following FPS benchmarks.
- Assassin’s Creed Odyssey 4K Ultra – 61 FPS
- Battlefield 5 4K Ultra – 65 FPS
- Control 4K Ultra – 50 FPS
- Far Cry 5 4K Ultra – 110 FPS
- Red Dead Redemption (1080P) – 132 FPS
- SOTTR 4K Ultra – 90 FPS
As you can see, we tested AMD on the 1080P and Intel on 4K to give you an overall idea of how these processors are rendering some of the most demanding titles in the segment. While discussing the performance, we are yet again able to see better performance from AMD Ryzen 9 5900K due to the additional cores and its Zen-3 technology.
However, the sheer power of Intel’s Core i9-10900K to render 4K graphics was astounding for us to witness. We can assure the readers that both of these processors are future-proof for at least the next five years and can give you pleasing gaming experiences without a major difference in the long run.
Productivity
When comparing the productive sides of both AMD Ryzen 9 5900x and Intel Core i9-10900K, we are going to compare their performance on the basis of some of the most widely used and demanding software to judge their capabilities.
Starting from the top, Adobe Premiere Pro is a high-end video editing software, requiring sheer processor power. As per the Puget Systems Benchmark, AMD Ryzen 9 5900K was able to score 969 when compared to a score of 889 of Intel Core i9-10900K. AMD was able to record a clear spike of over 9% from its Inter counterpart, keeping it ahead in the productivity section as well.
When comparing the same Puget Systems Benchmarks for Adobe Photoshop, AMD Ryzen 9 5900X was able to score more than 1167 in the test. On the other hand, Intel Core i9-10900K was just behind AMD with a score of 1061. These scores also set AMD ahead with a jump of 10% from Intel and other high-end processors.
When compared to the key productivity applications, AMD again performed better, overthrowing the leverage that Intel had over it for years.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Still, have doubts? Here we’re sharing some FAQs which might help you!
Q1. Does AMD Ryzen 9 5900X come with a stock cooler?
No, AMD Ryzen 9 5900X does not come with a stock cooler anymore. As AMD has released its new Ryzen 9 series, no stock cooler has been included in the box. Over the years, AMD’s stock cooler become a signature of the brand, however, AMD has decided to discontinue it this time.
As per the reports, new AMD processors will need liquid cooling to perform at their prime and that is why stock coolers have been skipped this time.
Q2. Is Intel Core i9-10900K the best processor for content creators?
Intel Core i9-10900K is undoubtedly a powerful processor for not only content creators but also gamers. When paired up with the right GPU unit, Intel’s Core i9-10900K can perform almost all the tasks that content creators would require.
However, declaring it as the fastest in the market could be hyperbole as AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and 5950X are already leading the market.
Q3. Can I overclock AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and Intel Core i9-10900K?
Yes, both AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and Intel Core i9-10900K are designed to push their limits and get overclocked up to 4.9GHz. However, Intel has recorded the uncapped power of 5.3GHz which is more than impressive for a 10-Core CPU.
Q. 4 Which is the best processor for gaming in 2023?
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X could be the best processor for gaming in 2023 with its 12-Core and 24 threads and L3 cache of 64 MB. Being power efficient and effective cache management, AMD Ryzen 9 5900X delivers complete value for money. Thus, if you are looking forward to building a PC with amazing benchmarks then AMD Ryzen 9 5900X would be a perfect choice for you.
Q4. Does Intel Core i9-10900K have integrated graphics?
Yes, Intel Core i9-10900K has integrated graphics and comes with Intel UHD Graphics 640 IDP (Integrated Graphic Processor). This IDP will allow the users to render 4K video without any stutter. Intel UHD Graphics 640 IDP will also enable gaming with low graphical requirements making Intel Core i9-10900K a deluxe delight even without an old GPU.
Conclusion
CPUs are the heart of our builds and critical to the performance of our builds. From the cores to the threads and cache management to RAM speeds, many processors should be discussed before investing, especially in the case of these flagship processors.
Both AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and Intel Core i9-10900K can be called the top tier when put forward for gaming and productivity performances. They are not only capable of running the latest software and games to their full potential but also future-proof your build for years to come.
Being powered by the latest technologies, none of the processors would require major updates in the upcoming 3-4 years at least. Their sheer power is lasting and impactful even for top software brass.
When compared neck-to-neck, AMD’s Ryzen 9 5900X emerges to be a clear winner in almost all the benchmarks, and its two extra cores deliver value for the extra dollars that you will pay. However, Intel Core i9-10900K also provides balanced performance in the productivity segments and during your gaming sessions.
We hope that this comparative review of AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and Intel Core i9-10900K will provide you with a compilation of valuable information and assist you in making an informed decision while purchasing your next processor.