Intel versus AMD processor showdown

While Intel is the world’s biggest CPU manufacturer, it has had its work cut out for it, with AMD’s market share gradually increasing since the third quarter of 2016 as it out-innovated the chip giant in its newer generation of processors.

As the dominant players in the central processing unit (CPU) market, AMD and Intel compete for market share in South Africa and internationally.

According to market share data from CPUBenchmark.net, AMD has taken nearly 18% of Intel’s share since Q3 of 2016.

Intel held a market share of 82.5% in Q3 of 2016, while AMD had 17.5%. However, as of Q2 of 2022, Intel’s share had dropped to 64.7%, while AMD’s had climbed to 35.2%.

The top-of-the-range AMD 5000 series processor is the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, while Intel’s top-of-the-line CPU is its Core i9-12900KS.

NanoReview compared the two CPUs through a series of productivity and gaming-related benchmarks.

Intel’s Core i9-12900KS outperformed the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D series processor in both single-core and multi-core Cinebench R23, Passmark CPU, and Geekbench 5 tests.

The Core i9-12900KS achieved a single-core score 49% higher than AMD’s Ryzen 7 5800X3D, and a multi-core score that was 104% higher.

It should be noted that NanoReview found the Ryzen 7 5800X3D superior in terms of power efficiency.

However, the Intel Core i9-12900KS significantly outperformed AMD’s CPU in NanoReview’s single-core and multi-core performance tests. It awarded the Core i9-1900KS an overall score of 91, compared to the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D’s score of 74.

Hardware and pricing

South African hardware retailers stock both manufacturers’ latest-generation CPUs.

Although AMD’s Ryzen 7 5800X3D is bested by Intel’s top-tier CPU, there is a significant price difference between the two.

The Intel Core i9-12900KS is available for R15,099, while South Africans can buy AMD’s Ryzen 7 5800X3D for considerably less at R10,699.

AMD’s lower-tier 5000 series processors are also slightly cheaper than their Intel counterparts.

The lowest-end of AMD’s latest CPUs — the Ryzen 3 4100 — can be bought for R2,048, while its closest Intel counterpart, the Core i3-12100F, costs R2,137.

South Africans can buy the 6-core, 12-thread AMD Ryzen 5 5500 for R2,649, while Intel’s similarly-specced Core i5-12500 is available for R4,591 — 73% more.

It is important to understand the naming convention of Intel and AMD processors.

Ryzen CPUs with the “G” suffix feature integrated graphics, while Intel processors with the “F” suffix exclude integrated graphics.

Similarly, only Intel processors with the “K” suffix can be overclocked, while all AMD CPUs provide the option of overclocking.

Below are the specifications and pricing of the AMD Ryzen 5000 series and Intel Core 12th-generation processors. Pricing was sourced from Wootware, Progenix, and Evetech. Only CPUs released in 2022 were considered for the comparison.

Now read: Apple removes final Intel part from Macs

Don't miss the latest news

• Add MyBroadband as a preferred source in Google Search
• Follow MyBroadband on Google News