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AMD Ryzen 9 9950X vs Intel Core i9-12900K: Comparison

AMD Ryzen 9 9950X and Intel Core i9-12900K separate most on l3 cache: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X at 64 MB, Intel Core i9-12900K at 30 MB, 53% in favour of AMD Ryzen 9 9950X. PCIe Lanes splits them by another 17%, again favouring AMD Ryzen 9 9950X. They match on 10 other specifications, including form factor, market segment and smt enabled. In Blender Cycles (CPU) the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X scores 625 against 354 for the Intel Core i9-12900K, a lead of 43%.

AMDAMD Ryzen 9 9950X

IntelIntel Core i9-12900K

Specs

Show Only Differences

Specification	AMD Ryzen 9 9950X	Intel Core i9-12900K
Form Factor	Desktop	Desktop
Model Number	9950X	i9-12900K
Codename	Granite Ridge	Alder Lake
TDP	170 W	125 W
iGPU	AMD Radeon Graphics (2 cores)	Intel UHD Graphics 770
Market Segment	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	AM5	LGA 1700
Socket Status	Current	Mature
Process Node	4 nm	10 nm
Performance Cores	16	8
Efficiency Cores	0	8
SMT Enabled	true	true
P-Core Base Clock	4.3	3.2
P-Core Boost Clock	5.7	5.2
Unlocked Multiplier	true	true
L2 Cache	16 MB	14 MB-12%
L3 Cache	64 MB	30 MB-53%
Base Power	170 W	125 W
Max Turbo Power	230	241
Memory Type	DDR5	DDR5 or DDR4
Max Memory Speed	5600	4800
Memory Channels	2	2
Max Memory Capacity	256	128
Integrated Graphics	Yes	Yes
iGPU Model	AMD Radeon Graphics	Intel UHD Graphics 770
iGPU Compute Units	2	32
Copilot Plus Certified	false	false
PCIe Generation	PCIe 5.0	PCIe 5.0
PCIe Lanes	24	20-17%
Launch MSRP	649	589
Retail Availability	Boxed Retail	Boxed Retail
Architecture	Zen 5, Ryzen 9000 Series	Alder Lake
Cores	16	16
Threads	32	24

Benchmarks

Measured results, not specifications. Percentages are the gap to the leading product in each test.

Blender Cycles (CPU)

Blender 4.5, Blender Open Data (CC0). Median of monster + junkshop + classroom, combined samples/min.

Blender renders 3D scenes by tracing light through them, which loads every core at once. The score measures sustained multi-core throughput, so a chip that wins here can still lose at gaming, where one or two fast cores matter more. Figures come from Blender's Open Data project, which places no restriction on reuse, and we publish the median of every submission for that chip on the same Blender version.

AMD Ryzen 9 9950X625n=624Best

Intel Core i9-12900K354n=68-43%

Verdict

Intel Core i9-12900K

7.9 / 10 Expert Rating

The Intel Core i9-12900K is an unlocked overclockable chip, well suited to enthusiast gaming and productivity builds.

Specs

Benchmarks

Verdict

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