CONCLUSION INTEL’S NEW WINNING WAYS
And with that, Intel returns to the top step of the podium. But for how long? The world of PC hardware can be fluid. A price drop can change everything, and let’s not forget, people’s choice of hardware can come down to just more than a few benchmarks and a list of specs.
The first wave of 13th Gen Raptor Lake CPUs are exciting from an enthusiast point of view, but the high-volume models are yet to come. The 65W locked multiplier models may throw up some surprises. The likes of an i5-13500 or i5-13400 should carry the excellent traits of the 13600K, but in a cheaper and lower power form, albeit with proportionally lower clock speeds. They’re rumoured to include E-cores for the first time.
If you consider the upcoming i5-13400, which should include four E-cores, giving it 20 threads, on paper it will be a mega all-round CPU. If it settles around the $300 mark, AMD is going to have to come up with something special if it’s to compete. It’s hard to see the 7600X competing even if it drops to price parity. Intel’s E core strategy is a good one. It’s successfully drawn level, if not ahead of the multithreading prowess of AMD’s competitors at every price point.
AMD’s challengers remain strong offerings, and though we might choose an Intel CPU like the 13600K at its release price point, that can change. Should AMD drop the price of its 7700X competitor, the narrative could change. One can rightfully argue that although it’s expensive, the AM5 platform has a long life ahead of it, unlike LGA 1700, which is due to be
superseded by a new socket.
It isn’t all smooth sailing for Intel though. Intel continues to push power consumption to ever higher levels. The 13900K already stresses a 360mm AIO to its limits, and that’s the best mainstream cooling you can get. Where can it go from here? Let’s hope 14th Generation Meteor Lake processors don’t go over the power consumption and temperature cliff.
That’s a year off though. In the short term, AMD is expected to launch a 7000 X3D with stacked V-cache. If they’re anything like the 5800X3D, we can expect AMD to seriously challenge for the gaming crown, at the very least. But then there’s rumours of a 13900KS with 6GHz clocks. Six Gigahertz! Who needs UFC when you’ve got AMD and Intel duking it out?
At the end of the day, you can’t really go wrong, no matter what CPU and motherboard you choose. A competitive AMD and Intel is a win for all of us. It forces both companies to innovate, or lower prices, or both. A 13th Gen for a high-end gaming system sounds good, as does a rendering monster 7950X system. Perhaps you’re after something a little worldlier? A 13600K delivers awesome performance at a good price. Alternatively, a 7600X system based on the AM5 platform delivers a far superior upgrade path, even if it’s a costly path to go down right now.
When you look at the technology and performance on offer from the best CPUs, and particularly GPUs, it’s been an exciting upgrade season. And there’s even more to come.