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High-end CPUs and GPUs are finally available at MSRP and lower for enthusiastic gamers, who have been waiting for a long time. 2022 will be remembered for a number of incidents, with the digital currency crash being one of them. Thanks to this, the prices of these high-end chips have come down. Ever since the resurgence of AMD under Lisa Su, the visionary new CEO, the CPU market has seen great competition which directly benefits the consumer.
This year, AMD has been crowned the price-to-performance king, and rightfully so. This by no means implies that Intel’s offerings have been inferior to AMD. Quite to the contrary, this cut-throat competition has enabled vastly superior offerings from both the camps. For this reason, we’ve seen incredible high-end CPUs being released by the two makers this year. If one needs a high-end gaming CPU, or an adept CPU capable of handling designs and edits, there is an option for everyone.
AMD and Intel also released their latest and greatest by the end of 2022, adding even better CPUs to their already stellar line-up. Let’s look at five of the most popular high-end CPUs in 2022.
Note: The list is unranked and based on data available on online sellers websites.
5 most popular high-end CPUs this year
1) The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X - Ryzen 7 5000 Series 8-Core 3.4 GHz Socket AM4 65W Desktop Processor
AMD’s 8 core offering from the 5000 series family is a capable processor with a base clock of 3.4 GHz and boosts up to 4.6 GHz. The 5700X was part of a lot of 1440p builds and rightfully so. Based on 7nm architecture, its 32 MB of L3 cache makes it a beastly CPU that slays almost any game at 1440p resolution, at the cost of slightly higher temperatures. Even equipped with some of the best liquid coolers, the Ryzen 5700X reaches close to 85 degrees Celsius.
To AMD’s credit, the 5700X consumes a measly 65W of power for its operations and supports RAM clocks of over 3200 MTs. Now, as it is obvious that several Alder Lake CPUs offer better thermals, pricing and power than the Ryzen 7 5700X, the reason this processor became popular was the price cuts offered by AMD to stay relevant in the game. They succeeded and how. Gamers who wanted a high-end octa core set-up opted for this processor over the Ryzen 5 5600X.
Get it here.
2) The Intel Core i7-12700K 12th Gen Alder Lake 12-Core (8P+4E) 3.6 GHz LGA 1700 125W
If a processor could be crowned the absolute gaming champ, it would be 12700K from this year’s Intel line-up. Costing at about $75 more than the 5700X, Intel’s offering absolutely smashed the performance of the 5700X in almost all AAA titles by around 10-30%. It comes as no surprise, though, that the 12700K has 12 cores to boot, compared to 5700X’s 8 cores, despite offering similar clock frequencies.
The 12700K offered an excellent performance not just in 1440p, but performed quite well even at 4K resolutions. Unfortunately, this performance came at a steep cost for gamers. Chip's power draw compared to its direct competitor was an astounding 125W, almost 100 percent more of a power draw than the 5700X. This is one of the reasons why 12700K has become a popular CPU but not popular enough compared to even underpowered AMD CPUs.
This does reflect how price sensitive the modern PC gaming landscape is. Gamers these days would rather sacrifice some percentage of performance for a cheaper alternative.
You can buy it here.
3) The AMD Ryzen 9 7950X - 16-Core 4.5 GHz - Socket AM5 - 170W Desktop Processor
When AMD was caught sleeping after the launch of Intel’s Alder Lake CPUs, they knew they had to bounce back fast. This is precisely why they managed to dethrone i9 Alder Lake chips as the new go-to CPUs for intensive applications and gaming alike. With a massive core frequency of 5.7 GHz, the 7950X demolishes any game thrown at it even at 4K resolution. It has quickly gained ground as a new gaming choice for extremely high-end PC builds among gamers.
To power this high clock speed, the processor does need a monstrous 170W power draw, dwarfing even the Alder Lake’s high power requirements, but the results seem more than worth it. Unfortunately, higher power comes at the price of compatibility, since the 7950X requires AM5 motherboards, making the investment expensive. Going past the high price of entry, the 7950X is a beast of a high-end processor that deserves to be included in high-end builds.
It's available here.
4) The Intel Core i9-13900K Raptor Lake 24-Core (8P+16E) 125W TDP Processor
When your lead as the new gaming champion lasts a mere 15 days, that is how you know the competitor is hot on your heels without letting up even an inch. Gamers were surprised to analyze benchmarks and real-world performance when the Raptor Lake 13900K beat or matched the 7950X at a slightly lower price. It seems Intel is hell bent on beating AMD in its own game.
Incredibly, the 13900K achieved this performance at a significantly lesser power draw than their AMD counterpart. This is not something even the smartest AI could have predicted a few years back, ever since AMD’s resurgence. The presence of 24 cores also makes this card an incredible choice for extremely CPU intensive tasks like designing and emulating. It is thus little wonder that these CPUs have become a popular choice barely two months after release.
Purchase it here.
5) The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X 8 Core 4.5 GHz AM5 105W Desktop Processor
The Ryzen 7 7700X is mostly a toned down 7950X, but it is still a beast of a performer. When it launched, it looked like AMD had lost the lower bracket of the high-end processor battle to the unreleased 13700K. Surprisingly, even with a higher clock count and more power draw, the 13700K couldn’t definitively win the round. Watt-for-Watt, the 7700X can match or outperform the 13700K in almost all AAA titles.
All this is achieved while consuming significantly less power at around 105W. This by no means indicates that the 13700K’s performance is inferior, since gaming isn’t the only thing a PC is for. Tasks that need and depend on more core counts will benefit massively from what the 13700K offers. For every other gaming need, though, the popularity of the 7700X is absolutely justified.
Buy it here.
In the massively cut-throat market for PC parts today, the winner isn’t the one who offers the best specifications, but rather one who provides the best bang for the buck. Thus, it is no surprise that AMD has managed to trouble Intel over the last few years, and may continue to do so unless Intel offers a better value for the price. One thing is for certain, gamers are enjoying these wars and we cannot wait for what’s to come in the future of high-end CPUs.
