A Faceoff Between AMD Ryzen 9 5900X vs Intel Core i9-12900K

Today we are testing AMD's Ryzen 9 5900X against Intel Core i9-12900K, in a contest for supremacy of the flagship CPU. AMD's Ryzen 5900X processors took the top spot in desktop PCs against Intel's rival Comet Lake processors last year and surpassed our Best Gaming CPU recommendations as well as our benchmarks for CPUs hierarchy.

There's no doubt that Intel pushes the Core I9-12900 K's old 14 nm silicon to its absolute limits to take over the crown of AMD's Ryzen 9 5900X. However, AMD has been plagued by shortages of chips and it is difficult to locate this Ryzen 9 5900X in stock at a reasonable price, giving Intel an opportunity to profit from.

Features and Specifications

The Intel Core i9-x`K features 8 cores, 16 threads which is just two cores more than the previous Core i9-10900K, and four cores lower than those of Ryzen 9 5900X. The number of cores isn't the only thing to consider however, since various architectures provide different amounts of speed per. Based on our IPC tests AMD's Zen 3 cores are still just a bit more efficient over Rocket Lake in most work however, the former does have a few wins. In the end, we must consider the Rocket Lake cores and Zen 3 cores as being pretty similar, and with four additional cores it's the Ryzen 9 5900X should win in the majority of our threaded tests.

Naturally, faster clocks will yield more power from each core. The 11900K's processors can boost to 5.3 GHz, and all cores run at 4.8 GHz simultaneously. Intel has four boost technologies in the 11900K, including the revolutionary Adaptive Boost Technology (ABT). Imagine this as an auto-overclocking feature with dynamically changing settings which is available to all core boosts, however the chip is still covered by warranty. This feature is available only on Core i9 chips.

Ryzen 9 5900X vs Core i9-12900K Gaming Performance

Below, you'll find the geometric results from our games using the Core i9-12900K as well as the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X running at 1440p and 1080p and each resolution is separated into its individual chart. We're testing using the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 to minimise bottlenecks caused by GPUs as much as we can, and the variations between the subjects tested will decrease when using smaller cards or with higher resolutions. PBO signifies an overclocked Ryzen configuration.

The 12900K is the leap over the 10900K when it comes to gaming and gaming, bringing Intel into a closer relationship with AMD and reducing the gap between the top-end processors. The Core i9-12900K is much more efficient after overclocking. However, it's the 5900X Ryzen that outpaces both the stock and overclocked versions at 1080p. This gives AMD the title of bragging rights. But, the picture is different when you look at 1440p. The 12900K equipped with ABT basically ties the 5900X that has been overclocked, while the Core i9-12900K gains the lead by 2% after overclocking.

Summing

Of course, all of this is when you are able to locate either of these chips in close proximity to recommended pricing. However you will need to consider other elements too, and are likely to find the solution as well. We hope you will find this information useful in choosing from both these processors.