Ryzen 7 7700X vs Intel Core i7-14700K: Which Is the Better CPU?

Both the Ryzen 7 7700X and Intel Core i7-14700K are in the high-end CPU category and capable of delivering high scores, but which is better?

Picture of Ryzen 7 7700X vs Intel Core i7-14700K
Ryzen 7 7700X vs Intel Core i7-14700K (Image via AMD | Intel)

AMD’s Ryzen CPUs dominate the flagship gaming market with its 7800X3D and 9800X3D CPUs. But what about the high-end sector, which is usually occupied by Intel Core i7 processors? Can AMD’s Ryzen 7 7700X beat the Intel Core i7 14700K in both gaming and productivity?

That’s exactly what we plan to find in this article by comparing the two CPUs in a head-to-head battle of benchmarks. Read on to learn more.

Note: Parts of this article are subjective and reflect the writer’s opinions.

Ryzen 7 7700X vs Intel Core i7-14700K: Detailed Comparison

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X is based on the Zen 4 architecture, which is designed to deliver higher performance per watt. On the other hand, the Intel Core i7-14700K is designed on the Raptor Lake Refresh architecture, which focuses on delivering higher clocks. Let’s start comparing them, starting with their specs:

Specs Comparison

Picture of AMD Ryzen 7 7700X CPU
AMD Ryzen 7 7700X CPU (Image via AMD)

Here are the specs of AMD Ryzen 7 7700X and Intel Core i7-14700K:

SpecificationsRyzen 7 7700XIntel Core i7-14700K
ArchitectureZen 4Raptor Lake Refresh
P-Core/Thread count8/168/16
E-Core/Thread count12/12
Total Core/Thread count8/1620/28
Max clock speed5.4 GHz5.6 GHz
L3 cache32 MB33 MB
RAM supportDDR5-5200DDR4-3200
DDR5-5600
PCIe Gen supportGen 5Gen 5
Platform SocketAM5LGA 1700
Thermal design power (TDP)105W Typical | 142W Max125W Typical | 253W Max
Manufacturing nodes5nm, 6nmIntel 7 (10nm)

There are massive differences between the two CPUs here. The Intel Core i7-14700K has more than double the core count of the Ryzen 7 7700X. The former also has higher clock speeds and slightly higher cache, which should give a bit more advantage over the latter.

Synthetic Performance Comparison

As we know, the specs don’t always translate to real-world performance. That’s why we must start comparing the two in benchmarks to see how they perform. Here’s how the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X and Intel Core i7-14700K perform in popular benchmarks:

BenchmarksRyzen 7 7700XIntel Core i7-14700K
Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)20102228
Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)2039933860
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)28982921
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)1513719560
CPU-Z Benchmark 17 (Single-Core)774908
CPU-Z Benchmark 17 (Multi-Core)838114988

On average, the Intel Core i7-14700K is only 6.5% faster in single-core benchmarks than the Ryzen 7 7700X. However, the debate completely flips in multi-score benchmarks. Now, the former is 55.7% faster than the latter, which is a significant performance advantage. Nonetheless, this wasn’t quite surprising, considering the Intel CPU has 2.5 times more core count.

Synthetic benchmarks are good indicators of productivity but not of gaming performance. Let’s check out how well the two processors fare in gaming.

Game Performance Comparison

Here’s how the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X and Intel Core i7-14700K CPUs handle popular games:

GamesRyzen 7 7700XIntel Core i7-14700K
Red Dead Redemption 2200 FPS159 FPS
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2166 FPS179 FPS
Metro Exodus198 FPS170 FPS
Halo Infinite154 FPS185 FPS
Forza Horizon 5285 FPS279 FPS
Fortnite426 FPS363 FPS
Far Cry 6168 FPS174 FPS

Note: The two CPUs were tested at 1080p resolution with the RTX 4090 GPU to eliminate any GPU bottleneck. All FPS numbers were sourced from the Testing Games channel on YouTube.

In gaming, the Ryzen 7 7700X outperforms the Intel Core i7-14700K by an average of 5.8%. However, the individual results were a bit of a mixed bag. Both CPUs win in some games but lose in others. Therefore, it’s not a clean victory for the Ryzen CPU.

Price Comparison

Picture of Intel Core i7-14700K
Intel Core i7-14700K (Image via Intel)

The Ryzen 7 7700X is currently available for $232.99 at Amazon, while the Intel Core i7-14700K costs $310.22 at Amazon. Therefore, the latter is 32% more expensive.

Final Verdict on Ryzen 7 7700X vs Intel Core i7-14700K

The Intel Core i7-14700K is 55.7% faster than the Ryzen 7 7700X in productivity. However, the latter wins in gaming by 5.8%, but as we mentioned, it’s not a clear win. Therefore, if you plan to do gaming with some productivity, streaming, or content creation work, then get the Intel Core i7-14700K, as it will be much better in these regards, except for gaming.

However, if you want a CPU strictly for gaming, even then, we would recommend the Intel Core i7-14700K, despite the Ryzen being slightly faster. That’s because the Intel CPU did win in a few games, and as games become more multi-threaded, its higher core count will surely help in the future. Therefore, buying the Intel processor will be the better choice in the long term.

With the Intel CPU, you can also get into game streaming or even content creation later on, thanks to the high core count. Nonetheless, the Intel Core i7-14700K is quite expensive. If you want a cheaper CPU, only then do we recommend buying the Ryzen 7 7700X.


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