Key Takeaways
- The AM5 platform longevity isn’t something the average gamer cares about.
- Intel offers better value in both the budget and mid-range segments.
- AMD’s greater power efficiency isn’t a huge deal when choosing a gaming CPU.
When it comes to building a gaming PC, you have two choices for the processor — Intel and AMD. Brand preference aside, which camp you go with depends on which processor lineup is currently faring better on various parameters such as price-to-performance, features, overall platform cost, platform longevity, power efficiency, and more.
The Intel vs AMD debate is a dynamic one as Team Blue and Team Red vie for the best gaming CPU throne with every new generation. But, as things stand, for the everyday gamer looking for a gaming PC powerful enough for modern games and built to last for years, Intel seems to be the clear winner in 2024. Before you start sharpening your pitchforks, hear me out.
4 AMD’s stability issues are still worse than Intel’s
AM5 still hasn’t gotten used to faster RAM
When AM5 first launched, the string of stability issues really put a damper on the excitement surrounding the platform. Perhaps the biggest challenge users faced was getting to run DDR5 RAM rated higher than 6000MT/s with their Ryzen 7000 CPUs. Something to do with the Infinity Fabric of the Ryzen chips seems to limit the RAM “sweet spot” to the 6000MT/s CL30 specification. But many users are reporting stability issues with even this configuration.
Anyone not willing to grapple with RAM replacements or tweaking BIOS settings should simply pick Intel for their gaming build.
In contrast, Intel’s Raptor Lake CPUs have always supported generally faster RAM kits compared to the Zen 4 CPUs. Even if you consider the game crashing issues on some Intel chips that recently came to light, they’re limited to the high-end 13900K and 14900K SKUs, which are easily outside the consideration set of the average gamer.
What this boils down to is that anyone not willing to grapple with RAM replacements or tweaking BIOS settings for manual memory overclocking should simply pick Intel for their gaming build.
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3 AMD’s power efficiency isn’t a huge factor
Every gaming PC has a decent cooler
It’s a fact that AMD’s superior 5nm process node combined with the Zen 4 architecture makes the Ryzen 7000 CPUs way more power-efficient than any of the Raptor Lake chips. But what’s also a fact is that this doesn’t matter much when choosing CPUs. If you’re spending around $800-$1000 on a gaming PC, you can spare $50 for a budget CPU cooler. There’s no dearth of excellent air coolers capable of taming even the Core i9-14900K. You don’t even need a fancy AIO liquid cooler.
Higher power bills or temperatures during overclocking aren’t sensible arguments for the average gamer.
Well, if you have the necessary cooling hardware to keep your CPU temps in check, the higher power consumption of Intel CPUs becomes a non-issue. Higher power bills or temperatures during overclocking aren’t sensible arguments either, as the former won’t influence your buying decision enough and the latter isn’t something you’d be interested in, being a no-nonsense gamer.
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2 Intel provides more bang for the buck
Budget and mid-range have Intel written all over them
Price-to-performance is probably high on the minds of most PC gamers looking to maximize value for money. While AMD might have excellent processors in the form of the Ryzen 5 7600X, Ryzen 7 7700X, or even powerful APUs like the Ryzen 5 8600G, Intel has AMD beat if we strictly focus on the budget and mid-range segments.
The Core i5-13600KF can be seen retailing frequently for under $250, at which point it becomes a more tempting choice compared to the slightly cheaper Ryzen 5 7600X (~$225). This is because these two chips deliver similar gaming performance, with the 13600K often beating the Ryzen counterpart in many titles. Moreover, thanks to Intel’s efficiency cores, the 13600K fares better at multitasking and productivity workloads, if you later decide to dabble into video editing, 3D rendering, and more.
Choosing Intel places you in a better position in terms of the value you get from your processor. And even if you add budget SKUs to the mix, the Core i3-13100 is, by far, the best gaming chip in the $100-$120 segment. Even the fairly affordable and similarly performing Ryzen 5 5600X costs around $30 more than the i3-13100.
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1 AMD’s platform longevity isn’t a must-have
The average gamer isn’t chasing easy CPU upgrades
Now, AMD has really delivered on its promise of long-lasting sockets, both with the older AM4 and the expected trajectory of the current-gen AM5 platform. But is it really that big a factor when choosing processors for gaming, especially for most of us who never get around to swapping CPUs in our rigs? Consider this — a gamer building a budget gaming PC (or even a mid-range one) would expect it to last for 3 to 4 years without any hardware upgrades. After all, those of us frequently swapping out components are still in the minority.
Most users expect to get a decent gaming rig and forget about what’s inside it till the time the system really becomes obsolete.
Most users expect to get a decent gaming rig and forget about what’s inside it till the time the system really becomes obsolete. Why, then, should platform longevity be such a huge pull of the AMD platform? Don’t get me wrong, it’s a huge plus for those after seamless processor upgrades, but that’s not something everyone cares about. This is why Intel’s Raptor Lake CPUs are great for mainstream gaming PCs despite them being the last generation to support the existing LGA 1700 socket.
Performance, price, and value-for-money are far more important factors in the mind of the average gamer, compared to how long their motherboard socket will last.
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How long will AMD support its AM5 platform?
Will the AM5 platform have similar longevity as AM4?
It’s weird how popular sentiment driven by marketing deluge, enthusiast opinions, and YouTube videos tends to overshadow what really matters — individual needs. Whether you’d be better off with an AMD or Intel CPU, an AMD or Nvidia GPU, or any other product is something you should decide for yourself after consuming every aspect of the discussion. Sure, AMD might turn out to be the better choice for many users, but, by and large, the average gamer stands to gain a faster, better value, and safer gaming rig by picking Intel over AMD in the current market.
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