AMD is slowly turning into Intel of yesteryear as $501 32-thread Ryzen 9
7950X is just enough to beat 20-thread $270 Core Ultra 7 265KF so what's going on?

Date:
Fri, 02 Jan 2026 19:35:00 +0000

Description:
Intels Core Ultra 7 pricing exposes how AMDs high end desktop CPUs now offer smaller performance gains despite far higher prices and power requirements.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Intels cheaper CPUs now challenge AMDs high end pricing logic Performance gaps
shrink as AMD charges more for modest desktop gains Power efficiency and cost pressure reshape high end CPU value

Ive already written about Intel quietly taking control of the low end of the desktop CPU market , where chips priced around $200 now offer performance
that used to sit far higher up the stack.

However, making things even more uncomfortable for AMD is the fact that a similar pattern is creeping into the high end, where Team Reds pricing no longer stretches as far as it once did.

A comparison between AMDs Ryzen 9 7950X and Intels Core Ultra 7 265KF shows why. On paper, the Ryzen part looks comfortably dominant with 16 cores and 32 threads, while Intels chip tops out at 20 threads using a mix of performance and efficiency cores. Benchmark results, however, tell a less dramatic - and far more interesting - story. AMD ahead... marginally

The Ryzen 9 7950X scores around 62,260 in PassMarks CPU Mark , while the Core Ultra 7 265KF lands at roughly 58,734. That puts AMD ahead, but not by much, especially considering the hardware and pricing differences.

Single-thread performance narrows the gap far further. Intels processor
scores about 4,926, slightly ahead of the Ryzen 9 7950X at roughly 4,876, which matters for everyday desktop workloads that dont scale cleanly across dozens of threads.

Pricing makes the situation harder to defend. The Core Ultra 7 265KF sells
for about $270 on Amazon , while the Ryzen 9 7950X can be found selling for a far pricier $501 over on B&H .

Paying almost twice as much for a single-digit percentage lead in aggregate benchmarks shifts the value argument away from core counts and toward efficiency.

Power draw adds to that imbalance. AMDs chip carries a 170W rating compared with Intels 125W, and estimated yearly energy costs reflect that difference
at roughly $31 for the Ryzen processor versus about $23 for Intels chip.

The Ryzen 9 7950X still has a place in heavily threaded workloads like rendering, simulation, and large-scale code compilation, where its extra threads stay busy. Outside those scenarios, that advantage drops off quickly.

In my earlier look at the sub-$200 segment, I said that Intel was starting to resemble the old AMD by offering more performance for less money.

At the high end, the roles dont flip completely , but the pressure feels familiar, with Intel delivering close enough performance that makes AMDs premium pricing awkwardly hard to justify.

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/amds-slowly-turning-into-intel-of-yesteryear-as- usd501-32-thread-ryzen-9-7950x-is-just-enough-to-beat-20-thread-usd270-core-ul tra-7-265kf-so-whats-going-on


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