I tested the Core Ultra 9 285K against the Ryzen 7 7800X3D — and it’s ugly

Intel’s caller Core Ultra 9 285K is yet here, promising a boost successful capacity pinch a important simplification successful powerfulness requirements, astatine slightest according to Intel. As you tin publication successful my Core Ultra 9 285K review, Intel’s capacity claims aren’t arsenic rosy arsenic reality, particularly erstwhile stacked up against what is unequivocally nan best processor for gaming you tin buy: AMD’s Ryzen 7 7800X3D.

I threw some processors connected nan trial chair to pit them head-to-head, looking astatine capacity crossed productivity and gaming apps, arsenic good arsenic thermals and efficiency. These CPUs target different users, but location are still a batch of absorbing comparisons we tin look astatine betwixt them.

Specs

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The Core Ultra 9 285K and Ryzen 7 7800X3D are radically different CPUs, and that becomes clear erstwhile you comparison their specs directly. Although it’s mostly not a bully thought to comparison specs betwixt 2 CPUs successful nan aforesaid class, nan spread successful specs present is truthful ample that we tin make immoderate absorbing observations. The main point that’s different betwixt nan 2 CPUs is halfway count.

The Ryzen 7 7800X3D is simply a reasonably straightforward spot successful that regard. It comes pinch 8 Zen 4 cores and a full of 16 threads, and it tin boost up to 5GHz. That’s not what’s absorbing astir nan CPU. It’s nan 104MB of cache packed connected apical of nan CPU die, divided betwixt 8MB of L2 cache and 96MB of L3 cache acknowledgment to AMD’s 3D V-Cache packaging tech.

The Core Ultra 9 285K doesn’t person immoderate fancy 3D V-Cache, but it still has a fewer tricks of its own. It’s a 24-core CPU, but dissimilar nan Ryzen 7 7800X3D, it doesn’t travel pinch simultaneous multi-threading (SMT). Each halfway only has a azygous thread. In addition, Intel uses its hybrid architecture, mixing together nan Lion Cove P-core creation pinch nan Skymont E-core design. According to Intel, nan E-cores are nan main capacity drivers here, dissimilar pinch nan Core i9-14900K, wherever nan E-cores were comparatively weak.

With much cores and higher timepiece speeds, it shouldn’t travel arsenic a astonishment that nan Core Ultra 9 285K has overmuch higher powerfulness requirements. I’ll reside ratio straight a spot little down successful this comparison, but I tin show you now that, nether a afloat load, nan Core Ultra 9 285K so draws doubly arsenic overmuch (or more) powerfulness than nan Ryzen 7 7800X3D — though usually pinch overmuch amended performance.

Pricing

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The Core Ultra 9 285K and Ryzen 7 7800X3D unit you to deliberation astir pricing because, depending connected what you’re utilizing your PC for, you tin prevention rather a spot of money. The Core Ultra 9 285K is newer, and it’s nan flagship spot from Intel’s latest range, truthful you’ll walk $589 if you want to prime it up now. The value will driblet complete clip — nan Core i9-14900K is astir $450 a twelvemonth aft releasing — but until we spot nan adjacent procreation from Intel, you tin expect to walk complete $500.

The Ryzen 7 7800X3D is overmuch cheaper astatine $450, though I’ve seen immoderate unusual value shifts pinch nan CPU complete nan past respective months. Just a fewer weeks earlier publishing this comparison, nan Ryzen 7 7800X3D was sold retired everywhere, and anterior to that, you could commonly find it for astir $320. Now, astatine nan clip of publishing, you’ll find it betwixt $450 and $500, but I expect nan value will driblet very soon.

AMD has confirmed that its next-gen 3D V-Cache CPU is arriving connected November 7, truthful depending connected erstwhile you’re reference this, make judge to cheque successful connected nan value of nan Ryzen 7 7800X3D. If nan caller CPU is retired by then, I expect we’ll spot nan value driblet to astir $350 to $400.

Even pinch its higher price, nan Ryzen 7 7800X3D is importantly cheaper than nan Core Ultra 9 285K — $139 cheaper, astatine least, and adjacent to $239 cheaper if nan Ryzen 7 7800X3D drops successful price.

Productivity performance

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Here’s immoderate speedy impervious that nan Core Ultra 9 285K and Ryzen 7 7800X3D are successful wholly different weight classes. As you tin spot from Cinebench R24 above, nan Core Ultra 9 285K is overmuch faster than nan Ryzen 7 7800X3D — it’s not moreover close. Intel says this CPU is peculiarly beardown successful a ray-traced renderer statement Cinebench, but moreover if you dropped 10% aliases 15% of nan capacity from nan Core Ultra 9 285K, it would still beryllium miles up of nan Ryzen 7 7800X3D.

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For much of a mixed-use benchmark, return a look astatine Geekbench 6. The Core Ultra 9 285K still runs distant pinch multi-core performance, but nan single-core delta is overmuch smaller. And contempt nan clear lead successful multi-core performance, that spread is smaller, too. Throughout my testing, 1 point became clear — nan Core Ultra 9 285K is really accelerated successful definite applications, but that capacity doesn’t use everywhere.

Jacob Roach / Digital Trends

A awesome illustration of that is Photoshop. You’d presume that nan earthy multi-core advantage of nan Core Ultra 9 285K would mean it evidently wins against nan Ryzen 7 7800X3D, but that’s not nan case. In fact, nan Ryzen 7 7800X3D is faster successful Photoshop based connected my testing. That’s not bully considering nan value and spec spread betwixt these 2 CPUs. You’d expect nan Core Ultra 9 285K to mop nan level pinch nan Ryzen 7 7800X3D crossed each productivity applications.

Jacob Roach / Digital Trends

In Premiere Pro, nan Core Ultra 9 285K reclaims a ascendant spot, but it really shouldn’t beryllium this close. Not only is nan Core Ultra 9 285K a overmuch much tin CPU, it besides has entree to QuickSync successful Premiere Pro, which speeds up capacity significantly. The truth that these 2 CPUs are moreover competitory successful Premiere shows really nan capacity of nan Core Ultra 9 285K tin beryllium disappointing successful definite apps.

Gaming performance

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Gaming capacity is wherever we spot a much accordant divergence. The Ryzen 7 7800X3D crushes. Across nan 10 games I tested, nan Ryzen 7 7800X3D didn’t suffer a azygous one. Sometimes it’s only showing a insignificant capacity improvement, but successful games like F1 22 and Cyberpunk 2077, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D provides a transformative uplift successful gaming performance.

Not each games respond good to nan further cache connected nan Ryzen 7 7800X3D. As you tin spot from titles like Assassin’s Creed Mirage and Black Myth: Wukong, there’s immoderate different facet limiting nan capacity of nan processor — successful astir cases, your graphics card. However, different games tin leverage nan further cache successful rather a large way, arsenic shown disconnected by Final Fantasy XIV, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, and even Red Dead Redemption 2. 

For nan Core Ultra 9 285K, it tin only dream to lucifer nan Ryzen 7 7800X3D, and successful astir games, it’s not moreover adjacent to doing that. If you’re focused chiefly connected gaming, there’s really nary title here. The Ryzen 7 7800X3D perfectly crushes nan Core Ultra 9 285K, and it’s importantly cheaper.

Thermals and efficiency

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Another area wherever nan Ryzen 7 7800X3D leads is efficiency. It not only has overmuch little rated power, it tin besides present higher capacity successful games while consuming little power. You tin spot that successful action successful nan floor plan above. Looking solely astatine highest powerfulness tie during these games, nan Ryzen 7 7800X3D stayed overmuch much businesslike nether a dense workload.

That’s not beryllium captious of Intel. As you tin spot from nan Core i9-14900K, Intel made monolithic ratio improvements this generation, and it’s often capable to present akin capacity nether 100 watts. But it’s still much powerfulness than nan Ryzen 7 7800X3D, which seldom goes supra 50 watts successful games.

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Temperature is simply a different story. On average, nan Core Ultra 9 285K was a spot cooler than nan Ryzen 7 7800X3D while playing games. It’s not a monolithic difference, but I tested pinch a 360mm all-in-one liquid cooler. In a mini shape facet PC, those somesthesia differences tin really adhd up, and nan Core Ultra 9 285K is group up to grip a much thermally constrained situation better.

It’s important to retrieve nan creation of 3D V-Cache CPUs. The cache is stacked straight connected apical of nan cores, serving arsenic an insolating furniture betwixt nan cores and nan integrated power spreader (IHS). That’s why nan Ryzen 7 7800X3D, and different 3D V-Cache CPUs, thin to tally a spot hotter and why they aren’t unlocked for overclocking.

The gaming king reigns supreme

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There’s really nary title present if you’re a gamer — nan Ryzen 7 7800X3D is nan measurement to go. It’s overmuch faster, and it’s cheaper, and though productivity capacity lags, nan CPU still puts up a amazingly awesome conflict successful apps for illustration Premiere Pro and Photoshop.

The earthy antagonistic to that is productivity performance. If that’s what you attraction about, nan Core Ultra 9 285K is nan measurement to go. However, nan inconsistent capacity I saw pinch Intel’s latest CPU is worthy keeping successful mind. If you want bully productivity capacity and gaming successful adjacent stride, I’d push you toward Intel’s Core i9-14900K aliases AMD’s latest Ryzen 9 9950X instead, nan erstwhile of which is disposable for astir $450.