There was always a long heated debate between PC gamers on which CPU is better, Intel or AMD. Before the release of Ryzen, Intel was, without any doubt, better. AMD processors were just too slow, and they had a lot of overheating problems. However, Ryzen changed everything and turned the game upside down. This now became a real battle between two giants. But which one of them has a better gaming CPU in 2022? To not confuse anyone, a gaming CPU is actually a regular CPU that can be used for anything. But some CPUs are better for the gaming experience and therefore called gaming CPUs. Let’s check which ones are currently the best ones. 

Performance

If we exclude server processors and focus only on regular PC gaming processors, currently, the best Intel processor is Intel Core i9-12900KS, and the best AMD processor is AMD Ryzen 9 5950X. So, let’s compare the best of both companies and see which one is better. 

Both processors work at a 3.4 GHz base clock and have 16 mechanical cores. As for the number of threads, Intel has 24 while Ryzen has 32. 

Despite the number of threads, Intel’s processor outperforms AMD in almost every aspect, from single-core performance, turbo boost frequency, and max memory bandwidth all the way up to power efficiency. The Intel processor is newer; it supports the DDR5 memory type and 5.0 PCI Express Version. All in all, if we compare their best processors, Intel is better but also $100 more expensive. Needless to say, it is just unfair to compare those two processors considering that AMD was released in 2020 and Intel in 2022. But if you are looking for the best of the best, you should definitely buy Intel i9-12900KS. 

Cost & Value

It is not always the smartest choice to buy the most expensive processor. Let’s face it, most of us have budgets that we have to stick to. When building a gaming PC, you should try to match the speed of your processor and graphic card to avoid any bottlenecks. So, it is not always easy to find the perfect balance while staying within a budget. 

The most popular budget processors right now are Intel i5 10600 and Ryzen 5 5600X. Both CPUs were released in 2020 and are currently in the same price range of around $200. In addition to that, both have 6 cores and 12 threads. In regular use, you will hardly notice any difference between those two. Be that as it may, the Ryzen processor outperforms Intel in every single game.

As we all know, the graphic card is the most important part of every gaming PC, and the processor does not make a lot of difference. However, processors can bottleneck the graphic card and make it slower. That’s why, for the purpose of this test, we paired both processors with the same graphic card, RTX 3080. Intel processor had around 484 EFPS in CS:GO, while the Ryzen was at 529 EFPS on high settings. Both processors bottlenecked with this graphic card, but Ryzen did a better job. If we try a less demanding game like Rocket League, you can get more than 1000 FPS on 1080p with Ryzen on Ultra quality. If you want to extend the resolution to 4K, you can still get more than 200 FPS which is astonishing. 

So, our recommendation is to go with Ryzen on this one to minimize the bottleneck and get the best performance. Ryzen still gives better value for your money.   

Final Thoughts 

Both Intel and Ryzen have made great advances in their CPU departments. The last time AMD released Ryzen, they took Intel by surprise and took charge in this battle. AMD was a clear winner in 2020. However, Intel made a quick response and retook the first position as they currently have newer and better CPUs. It will surely be interesting to see what will happen in the Fall of 2022 when the first Zen 4 AMD CPUs are set to be released. 

Come back to Daddicts for more technology news, and don’t forget to bookmark this site, so you never miss anything important in the tech world.