Ryzen 7 9700X vs Core i5-14600K: We Tested Both

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Shehryar Khan

Senior Editor and Content Writer:

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Pros And Cons

Comparison Table

Architectural Differences

1. Core Count: The Core i5-14600K has 14 cores, which are a mixture of high and low-power cores that total up to 20 threads. The Ryzen 7 9700X has 8 cores and 16 threads.
2. Clock Speed: The 14600K has a base frequency of 3.5GHz, whereas the boost clock lies around 5.3GHz. The 9700X, however, has a base clock of 3.8GHz and a boost of 5.5GHz.
3. Process Node: AMD has started to use a 4nm process node for their new processors, which promises to be more power efficient than the 10nm nodes used in the 14600K.
4. TDP: The 14600K is rated for a PL2 TDP of 181 watts, while the 9700X is rated to draw in 88 watts of power, a very impressive difference.
5. Memory: The Core i5-14600K has support for both DDR4 and DDR5 memory, while the 9700X only supports the more modern DDR5 variant.

Most fans find the Ryzen 9000 series of processors’ performance disappointing, so we decided to softball AMD. Today, we will pit the Ryzen 7 9700X against the Core i5-14600K to see if Ryzen can meet one of the basic requirements: being better than the lower tier.

Gaming Benchmarks – 1080p

To check the performance of the Ryzen 7 9700X vs Core i5-14600K, we decided gaming would be the best choice for the use case of most people. To measure it, we used a tailored test bench, the specifications of which are listed below:

Test Bench

• OS – Windows 11 
• RAM – V-Color Manta XPrism RGB DDR5 7200MHz 32GB RAM
• CPU Cooler – Noctua NH-D9L chromax.black
• Graphics Card – GIGABYTE RTX 4090 Gaming OC 24G
• SSD – XPG Gammix S70 Blade 2TB NVMe
• Power Supply – DeepCool PX1000G ATX3.0 PSU

Baldur’s Gate 3

• Disappointingly, our test of Baldur’s Gate 3 had a 6% performance advantage for the 14600K, with an average of 122 FPS, while the 9700X trailed behind with 115 FPS.
• The minimum framerates were much better, showing a 5% performance advantage for the AMD chip with lows of 85 FPS, while the 14600K was a tad behind with 81 FPS.

The Last Of Us 

• The slight underperformance also reared its ugly head in our test of The Last Of Us, with the 9700X getting a framerate of 170 FPS, around 3% slower than the 175 FPS of the 14700K.
• The Ryzen did not meet the minimums this time, with the 14600K leading by around 4%, with lows of 125 FPS instead of the 9700X’s 120 FPS.

Cyberpunk 2077

• The average framerate for the 9700X was 152 FPS in Cyberpunk 2077, while the 14600K kept leading by around 5% at 160 FPS—another loss for the Ryzen.
• The minimums told a similar tale, with the 14600K hovering around 120 FPS, 4%, while the 9700X was dipping down to 115 FPS at times.

Hogwarts Legacy

• Not even the magic of Hogwarts Legacy could save the 9700X. With average framerates of 110 FPS in our tests, it trailed by around 12% to the 123 FPS of the 14600K.
• The 14600K plateaued at around 79 FPS in our testing, 2.6% higher than the 77 FPS of the 9600X, a relatively small difference, but all these losses are stacking up.

Assetto Corsa Competizione

• When we tested this game, we saw a difference of around 5.6%, with the 9700X hovering around 167 FPS, whereas the 14600K stuck closer to 158 FPS. AMD’s first win in averages.
• The minimum framerates were disappointing, with the 9700X getting lows of around 135 FPS, while the 14600K was 2% ahead with lows 138 FPS.

Spider-Man Remastered

• The 9700X had an average framerate of 153 FPS in this well-optimized PS port, but the 14600K was 8.5% faster with an average framerate of 166 FPS.
• Minimums were slightly better on the Ryzen, with the chip getting the performance to around 119 FPS, while the 14600K was around 1.7% faster with lows of 117 FPS.

Homeworld 3

• Amazingly, the 9700X took the lead in our testing of this game by around 8.6%, with an average framerate of 75 FPS, while the 14600K had an average of 69 FPS.
• The 1% lows were also better on the Ryzen, with a framerate of 34 FPS, while the 14600K had a laughable framerate of 19 FPS in the hard-to-render scenes.

A Plague Tale: Requiem

• The 9700X ended our testing with an average framerate of 151 FPS in A Plague Tale: Requiem, which was around 4% faster than the 145 FPS average of the 14600K.
• The 1% lows were around 116 FPS on the 9700X, which comes out to a lead of around 7.4% over the 14600K, which had minimums of 108 FPS.

Overall Gaming Performance

Average Framerate

In our testing, the 14600 K had a 2.4% lead, with most games running slightly better on the Intel chip. AMD’s 9600X struggled to keep up, even though it is a higher performance tier than the Core i5-14600K.

1% Lows

The minimum framerates of these chips showed a 1.8% lead for the Core i5-14600K. This means the Ryzen 7 9700X let us down in both aspects, averages and 1% lows.

Though the overall difference looks pretty minute, the game-to-game performance shows a different picture. The 14600K pulled away with small wins in most games, while the Ryzen took a much lower number of victories too. 

Power

Astoundingly, the Ryzen 7 9700X showed a 31% reduction in power compared to the 14600K. This is a welcome advantage, but we can’t help but think that AMD could improve the performance to give a slightly higher yet still impressive reading on power consumption.

Temperature

The Ryzen’s temperatures were around 7.3% lower than those of the Intel processor, most likely a result of its much lower power consumption. That said, the temperatures of the 14600K are certainly nothing to fret over, meaning both processors can be pushed to a similar limit.

Price

As of early September 2024, the difference in price between the Core i5-14600K and the Ryzen 7 9700X is around 19.15%, with the Ryzen being more expensive. This was expected going into this comparison, but the slightly lower performance makes this out to be a problem.

What We Recommend

Core i5-14600K: This processor’s lower price, coupled with its higher performance, makes it the leader in the two most important aspects of a CPU. Yes, its power consumption is way worse, and the temperatures are also higher, but that does not matter as much to most people.

Ryzen 7 9700X: It seems like AMD saw Intel’s weakness with their old processing nodes and made them look bad for this one flaw, disregarding the rest of the processor. Performance should be much higher for this chip, especially when compared to its price competitors.

The Ryzen 9000 series is a weird family, with low power consumption matched with low performance. If you have a particular limitation with your power consumption, you should get the 9700X, but for most people, the better choice is the Core i5-14600K. 

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Shehryar Khan

[Comparisons Expert]

Shehryar Khan, a seasoned PC hardware expert, brings over three years of extensive experience and a deep passion for the world of technology. With a love for building PCs and a genuine enthusiasm for exploring the latest advancements in components, his expertise shines through his work and dedication towards this field. Currently, Shehryar is rocking a custom loop setup for his built.

Get In Touch: shehryar@tech4gamers.com