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AMD shows off the potential of new flagship Ryzen 9 9950X CPU, pitting it against Intel’s i9-14900K

AMD vs Intel rivalry continues on
Last Updated on June 4, 2024
AMD shows off the potential of new flagship Ryzen 9 9950X CPU, pitting it against Intel's i9-14900K
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Computex is well under way and we’ve already seen some massive announcements from AMD. The next big thing in the pipeline from them is the Ryzen 9000 series, which introduces their latest Zen 5 architecture. AMD has been showing off what the new models can do performance-wise, particularly drawing some comparisons between the (now flagship) Ryzen 9 9950X and Intel’s i9-14900K.

Both of these represent some of the best CPUs out there, though we still have some time to go until the 9950X is available to buy. Either way, AMD has delivered some stats to show how much their new flagship gains over the 14900K, which was released back in October of 2023.

AMD compares Ryzen 9 9950X to Intel Core i9-14900K

AMD’s press release from Computex revealed four new models, boasting an IPC increase of 16%. At the very top of the pack lies the upcoming Ryzen 9 9950X, which has been compared to the 14900K in both productivity and gaming workflows, favorably so. Placing them side by side, we can see the Ryzen CPU take a clear lead – not massively surprising though given it is newer, and the Intel 14th gen as a whole was a small step up from 13th gen.

We can actually see some massive gains in terms of productivity, an area which Intel often excels thanks to the larger amount of cores on offer. Up to a 56% performance boost in software such as Blender makes the 9950X (with 16 cores & 32 threads) looks highly proficient. So, it looks like Intel has some catching up to do and will do so once Lunar Lake and Intel 15th gen are here.

Productivity and gaming leadership benchmarks, 9950X vs 14900K
Productivity and gaming leadership benchmarks, 9950X vs 14900K, source: AMD

A sizeable improvement?

There are some serious gains over their rivals Intel if AMD’s benchmarks are anything to go by. We’ve already mentioned great gains on the productivity side of things, and Ryzen again shows prowess for gamers. This is even before we get to see Zen 5 chips using the X3D design for more cache, which will certaintly be some of the best for gaming.

Looking at the graph above, there is up to a 23% performance increase in favor for the 9950X in Horizon Zero Dawn. The smallest improvement relates to Borderlands 3, where just a 4% improvement is listed. Overall, these are some impressive figures that put AMD’s Ryzen range in the lead, giving Intel all the incentive to fight back – and they’ve already been doing so with new Lunar Lake IPC improvements now being disclosed.

At PCWer, Jack is mostly responsible for reporting on hardware deals. He also specializes in monitors, TVs, and headsets and can be found putting his findings together in a review or best-of guide.