The world of modern 3D gaming is a demanding landscape for PCs, requiring powerful hardware to run seamlessly. In the eternal battle between AMD’s Threadripper and Intel’s Core i9, which contender reigns supreme? Gordon Ung and Will Smith break it down in the newest PCWorld YouTube video.
In this showdown, we witness a face-off between a Falcon Northwest Talon desktop boasting a 64-core AMD Threadripper 7980X, thanks to the video’s sponsor, and a custom-built Intel machine equipped with a Core i9-14900KS. Both machines are fitted with top-of-the-line components, such as a Crucial T705 Gen5 SSD and an RTX 4090 graphics card. The Intel rig sports 48GB of Patriot Viper Elite 5 DDR5 RAM, while AMD’s monster machine rocks 128GB of Kingston DDR5 RAM (slower but with more lanes).
Rather than relying solely on benchmark numbers, we dive deeper into real-world scenarios. The Intel system is tailored with consumer-grade components, ideal for high-end gaming, while the Falcon Northwest rig is optimized for game development. Will, a former game developer, sheds light on the demands of heavy computing tasks such as creating lightmaps and compiling code, crucial for game development productivity.
When put through the paces of Unreal 5 tasks, the Threadripper outshines the Core i9, boasting faster compute times. The AMD powerhouse with its 64 cores excels in optimizing development tools to utilize maximum processing power. The AMD Threadripper dominates the Core i9 in rendering tasks, showcasing the true powerhouse capabilities of the former.
In the grand scheme of things, cost becomes a significant factor. The Threadripper carries a hefty price tag of $5,000 for the CPU alone, surpassing the total cost of the Intel system. Considering the investment for solo developers or small indie studios, dedicating a render server to handle intensive tasks might be a smart alternative.
While the Threadripper excels in heavy lifting for development tasks, its prowess might not translate as effectively to gaming performance. High-end gaming PCs, whether from Intel or AMD, offer better frame rates due to modern games not fully leveraging extreme core counts. Building a PC tailored for versatile use rather than specialized tasks could be a more economical choice.
Ultimately, the Intel Core i9 is likened to a wide-market pickup truck, while the AMD Threadripper is compared to a giant dump truck in Gordon’s analogy. Both CPUs are powerful in their own right, but each serves a specific purpose. So whether you’re in the market for groceries (frames per second in Fortnite) or heavy-duty construction (development tasks), choose wisely.
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