If you are potentially in the market for a new computer the number one consideration is the processor, this is the heart of a computer and determines how fast it will run your software and how suited it is to various tasks.

Sure, if you are gamer then a gaming graphics card will have a big impact as well, and certain programs may need more RAM (memory) than others, but once these bases have been covered the CPU is the main point of difference.

Which CPU should you go for though?

There are a lot of options, you have Intel i3’s, i5’s, i7’s and i9’s, or the AMD Ryzen 3, 5, 7, or 9 series of chips.

Confusingly Intel’s latest processors released at the end of 2024 have dropped the i3, i5, i7 and i9 branding, they are now badged as Core Ultra 3, 5, 7, & 9 chips. Why they’ve dropped the i is anybody’s guess.

Generally an Intel i5 is faster than an i3, but slower than an i7, with i9’s being the top of the performance pile.

It’s the same with AMD, a Ryzen 9 is the top performer with levels dropping slightly as you move down through the numbering system.

Straight forward you may think…

The thing which catches many people out is the CPU generation and this can make a massive difference.

What is a CPU generation?

Both Intel and AMD regularly release new processors which offer enhanced performance levels, for Intel this used to be almost annually, over the past few years it has been more like every 18 months.

The problem is that when the newer and faster processors are released they are still called i3’s, i5’s i7’s, and i9’s, (or Core Ultra 3, 5, 7, & 9 moving forward).

AMD essentially do the same thing with their chips although they tend to have slightly longer periods between new releases.

Because the new CPU releases are named very similar it becomes far more complicated to compare performance.

Why is this? Well if someone tells you that you need an i7 which i7 do they actually mean? A 10th generation one? 14th generation? Or the new Core Ultra 7? The performance levels can vary wildly between a few generations.

The way to tell what generation a CPU is from is to look at its model number. For Intel the first 1 or 2 numbers indicate the generation, 9700K is a 9th generation chip, a 13700KF is a 13th generation chip.

The new Core Ultra series are starting again at the 200 series (there were no 100 series desktop processors), so the latest Intel chip generation is the 200 series, the next gen, when it comes out, will be the 300 series. You can think of the 200 series as basically being a 15th generation chip.

For AMD the first number indicates the generation or series, 5600X is a 5000 series CPU, 7950X is a 7000 series, and the 9800X is a 9000 series chip.

Sometimes there isn’t a big difference between processors from one generation to the next, other times it can make a massive impact and kind of change the rules.

Let me give you a few real-world examples.

Example 1 – New i3 versus older i5

A potential customer of ours was looking at our Ultra PC which by default is fitted with an Intel 14th generation i3 CPU, they then look at another website and see a computer which has an Intel i5 in it, the i5 machine is slightly more expensive but there isn’t much in it.

They assume the i5 is a better option, but they have not taken into account that the i5 is an 12th generation CPU.

The i3 we are offering is actually 8% faster than the older i5 due to performance improvements Intel have made over the past few years, making the i3 a decent upgrade over the older i5.

So for the same (or slightly better) price you are getting a faster computer, nice.

Example 2 – New i5 versus previous generation i9

Here’s a similar example however this time let’s look at a new Core Ultra 5 chip versus an 12th generation Intel i9 system.

You’d assume that an 12th gen i9 is going to come out on top as until the end of 2022 it was Intel’s fastest CPU on the market, and we all know an i5 is mid-range, right?

Wrong.

The new Core Ultra 200 series processor (245K) is 13% faster in terms of raw speed (the most important metric for most people) and it even beats it in multi-threaded workloads (which is pretty ridiculous for an i5 level chip).

An amazing feat for the price.

Comparing to a competitors website which still offers the 12th gen i9 CPU (along with a lot of 13th gen kit still!) our Trader Pro PC configured with the Core Ultra 245K works out to be around £300 cheaper.

That’s for a similar level of kit (RAM, Hard Drive, Graphics), so you are getting a PC that is around 13% faster for 15% less.

Using just £250 of the £300 you saved would more than cover the cost of upgrading to the top Core Ultra 9 chip. If you did this the performance increases would then be around 22% in single thread speed and a massive 65% in multi-threaded workloads.

Example 3 – AMD Ryzen 5000, 7000 and 9000 series

There are still a lot of online sellers offering Ryzen 5000 series processors, the first thing to understand is these chips were released mid 2021 so you are buying 3 and a half year old technology.

You will also find a lot of AMD 7000 series systems still being advertised.

The newer AMD 9000 series chips are far superior in terms of their raw processing speed (single thread speed), and multi-threaded performance.

Going from the top 5000 series CPU to the top 9000 series will see raw speed increases of around 30 - 35%.

Moving from a top 7000 series chip to the newer 9000 series gives around a 10 - 12% raw speed boost and a smaller jump in multi-threaded performance.

To be honest the 5000 series AMD’s were good for one thing when released, multi-threaded performance, but if you software isn’t multi-threaded, and most isn’t, then they were never massively fast processors.

Check The CPU Generation and Insist on the Latest Chips

The moral of this story is don’t assume that just because one PC headlines a processor level that it is ‘supposedly’ faster than another that it actually is.

Where possible always insist on the latest generation of chips, these are the Core Ultra 200 series for Intel and the 9000 series for AMD, you will always end up with a faster PC, and can sometimes save a lot of money.

If you need any help comparing one PC’s processor to another just get in touch, we are here to help.

Written by Darren @ Multiple Monitors

Last Updated: December, 2024