The Intel Core i7-14700k and AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D are the latest mid-range processors from the big chip makers, offering a great balance between power and price. But which is the best option for your money?
We’ve reviewed both desktop processors, putting us in a great position to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses. We’ve collected extensive benchmark data for both chips, giving us a clear picture of how they compare.
Keep on reading for a full breakdown of the two desktop processors, as we dig deeper into the pricing, specs and performance.
Price and availability
The Intel Core i7-14700k launched back in October 2023 with a price of $409. That’s actually slightly cheaper than its predecessor, the i7-13700k, which arrived in shops with a price of $419.
Meanwhile, the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D launched in April 2023, making it a slightly older chip. AMD priced the chip at $449, although we have noticed it to be even cheaper at select retailers.
Specs
The Intel Core i7-14700k and AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D are targeting the same mid-range market, as shown by their similar price points. And yet, if you look at the specs, there seems to be a big disparity.
The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D features 8 cores and 16 threads, which looks decent in isolation, but the Intel Core i7-14700k boasts 20 cores and 28 threads.
This doesn’t paint the whole picture though. Intel has adopted a hybrid design for this generation of processors, which means it’s using a blend of eight performance cores (up to 5.5GHz) and twelve efficient cores (up to 4.3 GHz). This differs greatly to the AMD chip, as all of its cores are made equal and are capable of reaching the 5GHz peak.
| Intel Core i7-14700k | AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D | |
| Architecture | Raptor Lake | Zen 4 |
| Number of Cores | 20 | 8 |
| Number of Threads | 28 | 16 |
| Boosted Clock Speed | 5.6GHz | 5GHz |
| Base Clock Speed | 3.4GHz | 4.2GHz |
Rather than adopting a hybrid design, AMD has another ace up its sleeve. It’s using its own 3D V-Cache technology, which increases the amount of possible cache the chip can access and, theoretically, turbo boosting gaming performance.
It’s a genius idea, although it doesn’t always have the desired effect. Only select games will actually benefit from this performance boost, limiting its appeal. Nevertheless, this raises the gaming performance ceiling the chip is capable of.
Performance
The Intel Core i7-14700k scores a clean sweep when comparing the two chips in our processing power benchmark results.
Thanks to the higher boosted clock speed, Intel stole the edge over AMD in all of our single-core synthetic tests. The gap was even larger for multi-core performance, with the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D achieving a 17,938 result in the Cinebench R23 Multi-Core test, whereas the Intel Core i7-14700k scored a mighty impressive 31,928.
These results indicate that the Intel chip will be far speedier when it comes to multi-threaded workloads such as image processing and rendering animation, and so is very important for creative professionals.
But what about gaming? It’s a similar story, with Intel stealing a big advantage for every single game we had on test, which we expected due to the higher clock speed.
Of course, AMD’s 3D V-Cache technology makes this a little more complex, as any game that benefits from the technology should see a big performance boost. But it’s difficult to establish which games will actually see a difference – none of the games we had no test seemed to be affected.
Power consumption and temperature
So we’ve established that the Intel Core i7-14700k is the more powerful chip of the two, but that does come at a cost – specifically for your energy bill.
The Intel Core i7-14700k draws a lot of power, both idle and under pressure. With the Intel chip installed, our PC saw an idle power consumption of 172.3W, whereas swapping it for the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D saw that figure plummet to a128.5W.
The peak power consumption difference was even more remarkable. With the AMD our PC drew 465.3W, while switching the Intel chip saw that number leap up to 616.5W. That’s a big difference, to such an extent that you may need to be mindful about upgrading your PSU.
We also tested the thermal performance of both chips, and found the AMD Ryzen to be just over 10°C cooler than Intel when the PC was idle, but then 3°C hotter than Intel when running an intensive benchmark. With either chip, you’re going to need a decent cooling system.
Verdict
Our benchmark results show it to be slamdunk for the Intel Core i7-14700k when it comes to performance, whatever the workload. Intel especially gains a big lead for multi-core performance, but gaming results were consistently superior to AMD too – all despite the Intel having a lower RRP.
That’s not to say there’s no reason to purchase the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D. It’s still capable of great performance, all while consuming substantially less power than the Intel. If you’re worried about your energy bill, and don’t fancy upgrading your PSU, then it’s still a great option. Plus the innovative 3D V-Cache may well give you a surprising performance advantage over Intel for select games – it’s just difficult to know which games they are.
Check out our Best CPU and Best Gaming CPU guides for even more options.
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Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
