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If you’re looking to build a powerful gaming PC that can play modern games at resolutions of up to 4K with frame rates of 60 per second, your number one consideration has to be the graphics card. But if you want to avoid bottlenecks and utilize the power of your graphics card to its maximum potential, don’t skimp on the CPU.
It’s true—while games tend to be more GPU-intensive, the CPU is still crucial for overall system performance, especially if you plan on using your PC for more than just gaming—like video or photo editing, graphic design, game-programming or other CPU-intensive tasks. You don’t spend thousands on the most expensive processors either.
Here are two excellent options from Intel and AMD. Here’s how they compare:
Intel i9-9900k
Intel’s ninth generation i9-9900k is a beast. It will set you back $485, but if you’re looking to put together a gaming PC that won’t need an upgrade for years to come, you can’t go wrong with this model. It has eight cores with a base clock speed of 3.6Ghz that can be overclocked—with the proper cooling system—to 5.0 GHz. Pair it with an excellent LGA1151 motherboard, and watch your computer sing. No other mainstream processor has faster single-core processing power. If you lean toward Intel processors or already have an Intel motherboard and want to upgrade the chip, this CPU will get the job done and then some.
Full stats: Cores: 8 | Threads: 16 | Base Clock: 3.6GHz | Turbo Clock: 5.0GHz | Overclocking: Yes, 4.9-5.0GHz typical | L3 Cache: 16MB | TDP: 95W | Socket: LGA-1151
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X
If the i9-9900k is a beast, then the AMD Ryzen 9 3900X is Godzilla. While its single-core performance falls slightly behind its Intel counterpart, the 3900X’s multicore processing power is unrivaled.
For one thing, the 3900X boasts 12 cores and 24 threads to the i9-9900k’s eight cores and 16 threads. As such, Intel’s chip will outperform AMD on older, single-threaded games, but the 3900X will score extra performance gains on newer games that take advantage of multiple cores.
The 3900X also boasts PCIe Gen 4.0 interface motherboard interface, essentially doubling the bandwidth available to graphics cards, hard drives, SSDs, Wi-Fi and Ethernet cards, resulting in a significant overall boost in PC performance.
Across multiple gaming benchmark tests, the 3900X beat the i9-9900k when it comes to multithreaded loads, sometimes by as much as 40%.
The AMD Ryzen 9 3900X is built using AMD’s latest 7nm technology, as opposed to the larger 14nm chip from Intel.
Granted, the 3900X is slightly more expensive. It clocks in at $499.99, but for $15 you get significant improvement in processor power. The one downside here is that the 3900X draws a lot of power and, consequently, runs very hot, even hotter than the i9-9900k. You’ll want to water-cool this bad boy and not spare any expense, especially if you plan on overclocking.
Full Stats: Cores: 12 | Threads: 24 | Base Clock: 3.8GHz | Turbo Clock: 4.6GHz | L3 Cache: 64MB | TDP: 105W | PCIe 3.0 lanes: 16 | Socket: AM4
VERDICT
While there’s a strong case for both CPUs, the AMD Ryzen 9 3900X is the clear winner. That’s a first for AMD in more than a decade, and a pretty big deal for the PC gaming world.
For an extra $15 you get more cores, more power and more memory—as well as a processor that’s built for modern games and software.
If you’re already upgrading a system with an Intel LGA-1151 motherboard, there’s not enough of a performance gap to switch to AMD. But if you’re starting from scratch and building your dream computer from the ground up, or upgrading both your CPU and motherboard, there’s no reason not to choose the 3900X.
