The ultimate CPU battle is AMD Ryzen 9 3900X vs. Intel Core i9-9900K. Both are the best deal on each side of the processor war, but which one is better? I’ll go deeper and find out which processor is really better.
For a long time, the i9-9900K was considered the best gaming PC available – it was the top choice for gamers, streamers and content creators without a tight budget. But then, in July 2019, AMD shocked the world with its high specs and competitively priced Ryzen 9 3900X.
Both processors are similarly priced and both offer the best that each processor manufacturer can give gamers in 2019. There’s a lot of competition going on here, so let’s take a look at how each of them perform in the world’s best video games.
Which CPU is best for games? Ryzen 3900X vs Intel i9-9900K
I will be collecting data from a number of sources that have tested the Ryzen 3900X and Intel i9-9900K. Starting with Techspot‘s review, we see that performance based on 1080p gaming makes the i9-9900K about 2-10% faster on average game-to-game frames. Highlights include an average of 157 fps for the 9900K, compared to the average of 140 fps for the 3900X in Apex Legends.
Fortnite hit 252 fps on the stock i9-9900K and 238 fps on the stock AMD Ryzen 9 3900X. The overclocking results were the same story as with the winning i9-9900K, although both were able to squeeze out only a few extra frames compared to their standard performance.
Another Hardware Unboxed review found that aside from the odd 1-3% performance gains of the Ryzen 3900X in CS: GO, Monster Hunter World, and Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation, the i9-9900K performs better in every other game.
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The highest score was in 4v4 mode in Starcraft II, with a performance difference of 16% in favor of the 9900K. Other games like PUBG, Fortnite, Apex Legends, Resident Evil 2, Battlefront II, and Battlefield V have made improvements over the 9900K. According to Linus Tech Tips, CS: GO with Ryzen 3900X is more efficient, but in all other games the i9-9900K ranks first.
At the end of the day, the difference in frame rates isn’t big, but enough to be mentioned. However, there is one thing that gives the i9-9900K more benefits and that is price. In the UK, Intel has slashed the 9900K to £ 490 to bring the Ryzen 3900X down to £ 529.99.
In the US, the i9-9900K is priced at $ 479 and the Ryzen 3900X retails for $ 499. That is, if you can get your hands on one of them – the shortage was very serious, which made buying a top-tier AMD chipset at retail price a little more difficult.
So if the i9-9900K beats the Ryzen 3900X in gaming performance and price, why are people still buying an AMD chip?
Reasons to buy the Ryzen 3900X over the i9-9900K
AMD came close to outperforming the i9-9900K in gaming performance, but failed. Good luck to the next generation AMD. However, the Ryzen 3900X has something important to keep in mind.
By choosing the AM4 chipset, you are protecting your build from the future. Future AMD chips will likely use AM4, but it has been confirmed that Intel’s next chipset will require a different motherboard. Good motherboards don’t come cheap, which is why a lot of people think about it.
If you are a creative person, read this. The 12-core AMD Ryzen 9 3900X comes out ahead. Puget Systems benchmarks showed the AMD 3900X outperforms all other chipsets in Photoshop, and the 3900X outperforms the 9900K in Premiere Pro performance
The i9-9900K is making a comeback, however, and beats the Ryzen chip in After Effects For other tasks, the Ryzen 3900X may be better. For example, the AMD Ryzen 3900X outperformed the i9-9900K in tasks such as extracting zip files and rendering Blender demo files thanks to 12 cores.
Plus, the 3900X supports PCI 4.0, so if you can afford a compatible motherboard, you can expect higher NVME speeds, and, well, that’s about it for now. But it’s a terrific technology that, over time, will update the entire computing world to improve bandwidth and performance.
The AMD 3900X is also more energy efficient, which is great for power savings, small builds, or quieter cooling.
So what does this mean? Ultimately, if you want to keep your system fit for tomorrow and run applications with a lot of cores, you will love the Ryzen 3900X. However, if you are looking to save some money now or want to improve your gaming performance, the i9-9900K is perhaps the best choice.
Summary
Thanks for reading my roundup of the two best gaming processors of 2019. Do you have any more questions about how the i9-9900K stacks up against the Ryzen 3900X? Feel free to contact me via social media and we can discuss.
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