Skip to main content

Updated Intel processor benchmarks still beat AMD Ryzen competitor, but by less

Intel Core i9- 9900K
Intel Core i9- 9900K

After some major controversy surrounding Principled Technologies’ testing of the Intel i9-9900K and AMD Ryzen 2700X processors, the benchmarking firm has finally published updated results. This time around, the new testing shows things to be much worse than before for Intel, with the AMD Ryzen 2700X seeing better overall performance than Intel’s latest processor.

In the updated testing, paid for by Intel, Principled Technologies turned off the highly controversial Game Mode on the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X. This caused games to leverage the full power of the eight cores and sixteen threads on board the processor in its native Creator Mode. It adds up big time and showed major improvements for the AMD processor in most of the 19 games tested.

In tests using the ultra-benchmark-demanding game, Ashes of the Singularity, Intel’s original claim that its processors were 50 percent faster over AMD’s fell down to just a 17-percent advantage. Initial testing of the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X with Game Mode on scored it a total of 35.5 FPS over the Intel Core i9 9900K’s 55.8 FPS. The updated testing now ups the framerates on AMD Ryzen 7 2700X to 47.4 FPS with Creators Mode on. Across the board, the results are broadly the same, with Intel’s processors having a 12-17 percent FPS advantage over the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X in most games.

“We tested various generations of Intel and AMD processors as listed in our original report. Based on community feedback, we have done additional testing … We have now added results from our testing of the AMD Ryzen 7 2700 X in its default mode. That mode overall yielded the best gaming performance on the 2700X,” explains Bill Catchings, co-founder of Principled Technologies.

An Intel spokesperson also issued the following statement on the updated testing, echoing on the feedback from those who originally pointed out issues in the original Principled Technologies benchmarks.

“Given the feedback from the tech community, we are pleased that Principled Technologies ran additional tests. They’ve now published these results along with even more detail on the configurations used and the rationale. The results continue to show that the 9th-Gen Intel CoreTM i9-9900K is the world’s best gaming processor. We are thankful for Principled Technologies’ time and transparency throughout this process. We always appreciate feedback from the tech community and are looking forward to comprehensive third-party reviews coming out on October 19”

Intel claims the Core i9-9900K to be the “best gaming processor yet,” and the updated benchmarks still hold that to be true — albeit with a smaller advantage. The processor is still relatively expensive when compared to the competition, and more in-depth benchmarks and comparisons are likely to surface soon once more reviews hit the streets later this month.

Arif Bacchus
Arif Bacchus is a native New Yorker and a fan of all things technology. Arif works as a freelance writer at Digital Trends…
Head-to-head: Intel Core i7-12700H vs. AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS
Lenovo Slim 7 Pro X front view showing display and keyboard deck.

Two of the top laptop processors in 2022 are the Intel Core i7-12700H vs AMD Ryzen 6900HS, but with so many other factors impacting laptop performance, it's hard to compare them head to head. So, when Lenovo offered me the opportunity to run the Intel version of its excellent Slim 7 Pro X laptop, which I had previously reviewed in its AMD incarnation, I jumped at the chance to pit two very similar laptops against each other.

I say "very similar" because, unfortunately, they're not identical. Importantly, they both used the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 GPU, which means we're directly comparing the CPUs themselves. The most important difference, beyond the processors, was that the AMD version running the Ryzen 9 6900HS CPU enjoyed 32GB of 6400MHz LPDDR5 RAM. The Intel Core i7-12700H version was loaded with "just" 16GB of slower 5200MHz LPDDR5 RAM. That means that while our benchmark results are likely to be close enough to gauge the performance differences, we can't be truly scientific. And the Ryzen 9 6900HS is a lower-power version of that chip while the Core i7 is full-power.

Read more
Intel Core i9-13900K vs. Core i9-12900K: Is it worth the upgrade?
Intel Core i9-12900K in a motherboard.

Intel Raptor Lake is finally here, and although there's a handful of CPUs in this first wave of 13th-generation CPUs, it's hard not to focus on the flagship, the Intel Core i9-13900K. Equipped with a seemingly endless number of cores, capable of hitting those ultra-high clock speeds, and socket-compatible with Alder Lake, it checks most of the boxes as far as the top-shelf CPUs are concerned.

But the 13900K is mostly just a refinement of the 12900K with extra cores. Is getting a Core i9-13900K worth the splurge, or should you keep things more budget-friendly with a 12th-gen CPU? Below, we'll compare the two Intel flagships and help you choose a winner.
Pricing and availability

Read more
Can I use an Intel Arc GPU with AMD Ryzen?
The Arc A770 graphics card running in a PC.

Yes, yes you can. It might seem like an incident of mass hysteria, team red and blue playing together like that, but gamers have been running Intel CPUs with AMD GPUs for years, so the fact that the reverse works just as well isn't too surprising. However, there are some caveats. Can you use an Intel Arc GPU with AMD Ryzen: yes, but you have to use the right CPU.
Which AMD CPUs can you use with Intel Arc GPUs?

In reality, any AMD CPU should work with Intel Arc GPUs, as there isn't some lock or fundamental compatibility issue that means only certain CPUs work with the new Intel cards. That said, Intel has made a big deal of how much Arc Alchemist cards benefit from Resizable BAR, a feature that is only available on Ryzen 3000 and newer CPUs.

Read more