Introduction
In this gaming performance review today, we are specifically going to compare two CPUs to go head-to-head tested in 20 games to see who the champion is now that the Intel 14th Gen CPUs from Intel have been released. The question we want to know is how the Intel Core i9-14900K and AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D compare in pure gaming performance, and which one comes out on top.
From Intel, the fastest gaming CPU that exists is the new Intel Core i9-14900K which was just launched in October of 2023. From AMD, the fastest gaming CPU is the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D with 3D V-Cache which launched in April of 2023. Therefore, we are going to put them head-to-head in 20 games and see who comes out on top in gaming performance. Can the Ryzen 7 7800X3D maintain its dominance? Or will the Intel Core i9-14900K supplant it as the fastest gaming CPU? There is no better way than to take 20 games, throw them at both CPUs, and find out where the chips fall.
CPU Specs and Differences
First, you can refer to the quick table below for quick specification differences that matter for gaming between the Intel Core i9-14900K and AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D. You can read our full reviews of both CPUs in the links above, for a full run-down on specifications and performance of each CPU separately.
The first thing to keep in mind between both CPUs is that they come in at completely different MSRPs and are geared for completely different tiers of performance, for content creation. However, for gaming, they are both geared for maximum gaming performance and are the fastest CPU from Intel and AMD respectively, geared for the enthusiast gamer, and specifically marketed for gaming performance.
The Intel Core i9-14900K is Intel’s flagship CPU and thus has the most cores and threads, and by contrast, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D is not. However, due to the 3D V-Cache on a single CCD, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D is AMD’s special offering for the best gaming performance. While the Ryzen 9 7950X3D does exist, the 3D V-Cache only lives on one CCD, and so the CPU still operates as an 8-core CPU in terms of hitting the 3D V-Cache. The Ryzen 9 7950X3D famously has issues parking cores, or running into cross-CCD communication latency hits.
Therefore, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D is the CPU that always, at all times, makes use of the 3D V-Cache and does not suffer from CCD latency hits. You can be assured that every game, every time, is utilizing the CCD with 3D V-Cache, and thus is the better CPU to test to gauge maximum gaming performance from AMD in comparison to Intel’s offering, so that is what we are looking at here today.
Naturally, both CPUs have a huge price difference and are not comparable by price, but that is not the point today. Today the point is to compare both CPUs in gaming performance and see if the 7800X3D holds up against the new 14900K, or if the 14900K shifts that conversation.
| Intel Core i9-14900K | AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Cores | 24 | 8 |
| Total Threads | 32 | 16 |
| Performance Cores | 8 | – |
| Efficiency Cores | 16 | – |
| Turbo Clock | 6GHz | 5GHz |
| P-Core Turbo | 5.6GHz | – |
| P-Core Boost 3.0 | 5.8GHz | – |
| E-Core Boost | 4.4GHz | – |
| L2 Cache | 32MB | 8MB |
| L3 Cache | 36MB | 96MB |
| TDP | 253W | 120W |
| MSRP at Launch | $589 | $449 |
Intel Core i9-14900K
The Intel Core i9-14900K was launched in October of 2023, this CPU is Intel’s flagship CPU and has the most performance and efficient cores, and the most thread support. The Intel Core i9-14900K is a refresh of the 13900K and is based on the same manufacturing process architecture and cache layout. The Intel Core i9-14900K has 8 Performance Cores and 16 Efficiency Cores for a total of 32 Threads. It can boost up to 6GHz, with a P-Core Turbo of 5.6GHz and a P-Core Boost 3.0 of 5.8GHz. The E-Core boost is 4.4GHz.
It has a total of 32MB of L2 cache across the P-Cores and E-Cores combined. It has a total combined and shared 36MB of L3 cache. The TDP is pretty high at 253W, and when maxed out power usage is very high, you can see the results in our full review. The CPU has an RCP pricing of $589.
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D was launched in April of 2023, this CPU is AMD’s best 8-core CPU for gaming using a large L3 3D V-Cache. The Ryzen 7 7800X3D is based on the Zen 4 architecture and AM5 platform and uses DDR5. The Ryzen 7 7800X3D has 8-cores and 16-threads with a Turbo Clock of up to 5GHz. Therefore, compared to the i9-14900K it does not compare for content creation workloads, the 14900K is a lot faster in that regard, but what we are looking at today is gaming performance.
The Ryzen 7 7800X3D has 8MB of L2 cache, which is quite a bit less than the 14900K, but where it makes up is the special L3 cache using 3D V-Cache. The Ryzen 7 7800X3D has 96MB of shared and combined L3 cache, offering 60MB more compared to the 14900K and this is what makes this CPU special for gaming. The boost clock is a lot lower though, a pretty big 1GHz difference, and frequency can make a big difference in gaming.
The other big difference is the TDP which is only 120W, in gaming the 7800X3D is very efficient and sips power compared to the 14900K, the difference is quite stark. In addition, the MSRP of the 7800X3D is a lot lower, and current online pricing puts it at about just $400 at the time of writing, which makes it a better deal in terms of pricing.