For 2022 it seems like new CPU releases are like buses, you wait ages for one then two come at the same time.
First out of the traps was AMD with their new Zen 4 chips, replacements for the older 5000 series chips, followed within 2 weeks by Intel’s 13th generation i5, i7 and i9.
In this post I’ll break down exactly what has been released, give an overview of which options are good for certain types of workloads, discuss some knock-on effects, and then tell you how you can secure yourself one.
AMD’s New Releases
Let’s start with AMD since they released their processors first.
Basically four new processors were released, these are the 7000 series chips identifiable by the 7 in-front of their CPU code:
- 7600X // 4.7GHz – 5.3GHz // 6 Cores with Hyperthreading // 12 Threads
- 7700X // 4.5GHz – 5.4GHz // 8 Cores with Hyperthreading // 16 Threads
- 7900X // 4.7GHz – 5.6GHz // 12 Cores with Hyperthreading // 24 Threads
- 7950X // 4.5GHz – 5.7GHz // 16 Cores with Hyperthreading // 32 Threads
These four chips are direct replacements for the previous 5600X, 5700X, 5900X, & 5950X CPUs.
In terms of performance improvements, all four chips are around 25% faster in single thread speed tests over the previous generation.
For multi-threaded workloads the lower chips are about 30% more effective whereas the 7950X is around 40% better than the 5950X.
Overall that is pretty significant and a good generational jump.
Intel’s New Releases
For Intel they have released their top three i5 – i9 chips:
- i5 13600K // 3.5GHz – 5.1GHz // 14 Cores (6 Performance, 8 Efficient) // 20 Threads
- i7 13700K // 3.4GHz – 5.4GHz // 16 Cores (8 Performance, 8 Efficient) // 24 Threads
- i9 13900K // 3.0GHz – 5.8Ghz // 24 Cores (8 Performance, 16 Efficient) // 32 Threads
* Note that there is also a KF version of each of the above processors, the F simply indicates the lack of built in Intel graphics technology, something you would not use if you use a dedicated graphics card setup like we do.
These new processors are direct replacements for the 12600K, 12700K, and 12900K processors.
For the i5, i7, & i9 we are seeing single thread speed jumps of around 6%, 9% and 12% respectively which is less pronounced than the AMD single thread speed jumps.
In terms of multi-threaded performance the improvements are around 45% for the i5, 38% for the i7, and 36% for the i9, so a much bigger jump here.
Should You Go For AMD or Intel?
Unhelpfully the answer is (as always) it depends on your workload.
Before I get into that let’s discuss where the new chips stand against each other.
The Intel 12th generation chips had a much higher single thread speed advantage over the 5000 series AMD chips. Due to the fact that most software will work better with a higher single thread speed processor then this made Intel the most obvious choice for most people.
As you can see above, AMD seem to have prioritised this area and have made good improvements.
For highly multi-threaded workloads though AMD were always stronger than Intel and again, as you can see, Intel seem to have prioritised this aspect of performance with their latest release.
The problem for AMD is that their single thread speed gains only really caught up with the Intel 12th generation chips. Okay, they surpassed them slightly but not by a lot. This means that even the modest gains made by the 13th gen chips over the 12th gen ones have kept Intel just about in-front of AMD here.
The new i7 and i9 chips in particular keep a decent advantage over all of the new AMD chips, and even the i5 comes in around the 7600X, 7700X, and 7900X range.
For multi-threaded workloads our tests show the i5 13600K scores higher than the 7600X and the 7700X which is a very strong result for Intel, especially at that ‘mid-range’ price point (more on costs later).
The new i7 and i9 take things further however the AMD 7950X does stand alone at the top of these results coming in with a multi-threaded result around 14% better than the 13th gen i9.
You can dig further into the results if you wish however I think this generally tells us everything you need to know.
If you need the ultimate in multi-threaded performance then the AMD 7950X is the processor to go for.
If however you don’t really rely on software which can take advantage of this multi-threaded aspect of processors, which is pretty much all software apart from extremely data heavy processing workloads, then the Intel chips are the better option due to their better single thread speeds.
Even if some of your software is multi-threaded, you will only see advantages with the AMD chips if you have workloads where you are regularly sat around waiting for results.
For traders this may be some specialised backtesting software where you set a job going and the result can take a few minutes to a few hours to complete. Other tasks like this may include video or CAD rendering jobs.
Outside of these examples you will end up with a faster computer going with an Intel chip.
Motherboard and DDR5 RAM Considerations
AMD are usually very good at not making you upgrade your motherboard when they release new processors, this makes upgrades cheaper and easier. This time though they do require you buy a new motherboard designed for the new CPU, this has led to a price increase as the new motherboards are currently a lot more expensive than the older ones.
On top of this AMD’s new motherboard will only work with DDR5 RAM, this is the newer RAM standard and is also a lot more expensive than DDR4 RAM, despite the negligible performance advantage.
These factors have combined to make the overall cost of a new AMD system a lot higher than it previously was.
Intel who are notorious for releasing new motherboards with every CPU release have actually gone the other way this time. You can use the new 13th gen CPU’s on 12th generation motherboards.
On top of this you also have the choice of sticking with DDR4 or opting for DDR5.
This means that you can put together a 13th generation Intel system for a much more affordable price than a new AMD one.
Temperature Issues
One final consideration which has come up in our testing is the temperatures of these new processors.
Basically the AMD chips seem to run a lot hotter than the newer Intel ones, this means that we have to put in a much higher capacity cooling system into the computer builds than before.
This results in further build cost increases and higher noise levels.
Taking into account performance levels, overall build costs, and the higher AMD temperatures I think it is pretty clear cut that Intel is likely the best option for the vast majority of our customers.
Which of the three Intel chips should you go for?
Honestly, the new i5 13600K virtually matches the performance levels of the 12th gen i9, I’ve been telling pretty much anyone who has asked that the 12th gen i9 is going to be massively overkill for almost any workload you could think of.
It’s hard to argue against that, so unless you have a very specific workload then I’d say the new 13th generation Intel chip is the one to go for.
How To Secure Your New Processor
The lowest cost way to access the new 13th generation Intel chips is via our Ultra or Trader PC’s. Both these machines use DDR4 RAM and offer the i5 13600KF or the i7 13700KF as available upgrade options.
Our Extreme and Trader Pro PC’s are now both DDR5 machines that come with the 13th generation i5 CPU as their default option. The new i7 and i9 are upgrade options for customers wanting them.
If you do decide to go for an AMD system then the Trader Pro and the Extreme PC also have the 7900X and 7950X as options, we have decided not to offer the 7600X or the 7700X as we simply can’t recommend them over lower cost and better performing Intel options.
Likewise, whilst the 12th gen i3 and i5’s are available still on the Ultra and Trader PC’s, we have pulled the 12th gen i7 and i9’s due to the fact that the 13th gen i5 is faster and cheaper.
I hope this helps you understand where the new processor releases stand in relation to each other? If you do have any questions then just fire us an email or give us a call, we are here to help and advise.
Written by Darren @ Multiple Monitors
Last Updated: October, 2022