As we approach the holiday season, chipmakers are gearing up to release their next-gen products. December will see the launch of Intel’s 1st Gen Core Ultra processors for the high-performance notebook market. The desktop segment will get another rebrand in the form of the Raptor Lake-S Refresh. Most of these chips, including the 14900K, are identical to their predecessors with a slightly higher boost clock, and that is it.
The official benchmarks (Via HXL) of the flagship, the 14900K, have leaked out, and to no surprise, they’re barely higher than Core i9-13900K’s scores. Intel has compared the 14900K to the Ryzen 9 7950X3D across 25 games, showing a lead of up to 23% over its competitor. What they aren’t telling you is that for gamers, the 7950X3D is a 7800X3D with an extra die that does mostly nothing for gaming performance.
| Title | Core i9-14900K vs Ryzen 9 7950X3D (Gains) |
|---|---|
| Metro Exodus | 23% |
| Starfield | 23% |
| Total War: Warhammer 3 | 22% |
| Ashes of the Singularity | 15% |
| CSGO | 14% |
| Civilization VI | 9% |
| Serious Sam 4 | 8% |
| World of Tanks Encore | 8% |
| Rainbow Six Siege | 7% |
| Hitman 3 | 6% |
| GTA V | 5% |
| COD: MW2 | 3% |
| Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord | 3% |
| Far Cry 6 | 3% |
| Company of Heroes 3 | 0% |
| Galaxy Breaker | -1% |
| Assassin’s Creed Valhalla | -1% |
| Forza Horizon 5 | -2% |
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | -4% |
| Final Fantasy XIV | -5% |
| Horizon Zero Dawn | -6% |
| League of Legends | -6% |
| Cyberpunk 2077 | -11% |
| Fortnite | -18% |
| DOTA 2 | -23% |
The Ryzen 7 7800X3D is as fast (if not faster) as the 7950X3D in gaming workloads, and hence, it is the best SKU for comparison against the 14900K. Intel’s official benchmarks show a double-digit gain over the Ryzen 9 7950X3D (and the 7800X3D) across five titles, most notably Metro Exodus, Starfield, and Warhammer 3. Out of the 25 games, the Ryzen is as fast (or faster) than the 14900K in 11 titles, with a notable lead in Cyberpunk 2077, Fortnite, and DOTA 2.
The 14th Gen Raptor Lake Refresh isn’t for Alder Lake or Raptor Lake owners. Unless you’re on a Rocket Lake or Comet Lake platform, it’s best to steer clear. AM4 or AM5 owners will be better off upgrading to the most affordable X3D chip. You will get a quieter system that draws less power and is faster than most “of the next-gen” CPUs currently on the market.
