AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D vs Intel Core i7-14700K: Which is the better gaming CPU?

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and the Intel Core i7-14700K are competing mid-premium CPUs designed to target enthusiast gamers. The chips bundle enough horsepower to handle the highest-end GPUs out there, including the RTX 4090 and 5090. Moreover, both processors bring special hardware to cater to the evolving requirements of video games, from hybrid core architecture to 3D V-caching.

However, which chip is better? To answer that question, we dissect their on-paper specs, pricing details, and the gaming performance gaps between the two processors in this article. Read on to find out which CPU offers a better bang for the buck.

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The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and Intel Core i7-14700K are powerful, high-end, gaming-focused CPUs

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is a powerful eight-core gaming chip (Image via AMD)

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and the Core i7-14700K are wildly different chips in terms of the hardware powering them. While Team Red uses the chiplet design with two CCXs and a CCD – one they popularized with the original Zen family in 2017 – Intel sticks to the tried-and-tested monolithic design with the Raptor Lake Refresh chips.

Let's look at the onboard hardware on the two chips before delving into performance differences.

Specs comparison

The Ryzen 7 9800X3D is based on Team Red's new Zen 5 architecture. In comparison, the Intel Core i7-14700K is powered by Raptor Lake Refresh, a minor refresh to the 10nm Raptor Lake design. The Arrow Lake-powered Core 200 series has already been introduced, making the Team Blue chip a generation old.

As mentioned, the 9800X3D benefits from extra L3 cache to help performance in high-throughput real-time workloads like gaming, while Intel focuses on efficiency and raw compute with 20 cores on the 14700K.

The detailed specs comparison of the two CPUs is as follows:

Specification	AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D	Intel Core i7-14700K
Release Date	November 7, 2024	October 17, 2023
Launch Price (USD)	$479	$409
Architecture	Zen 5 with 3D V-Cache (Granite Ridge)	Raptor Lake Refresh (14th Gen)
Process Node	TSMC 4nm (CPU), 6nm (I/O die)	Intel 10nm (Intel 7)
Cores / Threads	8 cores / 16 threads	20 cores (8 P-cores + 12 E-cores) / 28 threads
Base Clock	4.7 GHz	3.4 GHz (P-cores), 2.5 GHz (E-cores)
Max Boost Clock	Up to 5.2 GHz	Up to 5.6 GHz (P-cores), 4.3 GHz (E-cores)
L3 Cache	96 MB (3D V-Cache)	33 MB
L2 Cache	8 MB (1 MB per core)	28 MB
TDP / Power	120W TDP, 162W PPT	125W TDP, 253W Max Turbo Power
Socket	AM5 (LGA 1718)	LGA 1700
Memory Support	DDR5-5600, dual-channel, ECC support	DDR4-3200 / DDR5-5600, dual-channel, ECC support
PCIe Support	PCIe 5.0, 24 lanes	PCIe 5.0 (16 lanes) + PCIe 4.0 (4 lanes)
Integrated Graphics	Radeon Graphics (RDNA 2)	Intel UHD Graphics 770
Overclocking Support	Yes (Unlocked multiplier)	Yes (Unlocked multiplier)
Price	$519 (Newegg)	$329.99 (Amazon)

Intel significantly edges the AMD chip in pricing. Being a generation old, the 14700K is now much cheaper than its launch price. It remains readily available for around $320 to $350. On Amazon, we spotted a deal at $329.99.

Meanwhile, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D is a new launch. However, due to the ongoing chip shortage and high demand for X3D chips, it largely remains out of stock. Newegg is currently offering the processor at $519, making it 57% costlier than the Intel chip.

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Performance comparison

The Intel Core i7-14700K delivers competitive performance at a lower price (Image via Intel)

Gaming performance differences are the main metric to look for when building a rig. While choosing between different offerings in the same class (Ryzen 7/Core i7) isn't expected to alter framerates a lot, things operate quite differently with Ryzen X3D chips in comparison.

Video games show huge uplifts in framerates with these chips, specifically as they reduce the miss ratio of bringing large textures into memory by keeping more of them in the L3 cache. This reduces latency, promoting fast transfers between the GPU and CPU via the high-speed PCIe x16 bus, enabling better framerates.

We notice a similar trend while comparing the Ryzen 7 9800X3D and the Core i-14700K. Below are framerates achieved by either chip in some of the latest titles. The numbers were sourced from the YouTube channel Mark PC.

	AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D	Intel Core i7-14700K
God of War	144 FPS	126 FPS
Cyberpunk 2077	93 FPS	79 FPS
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	131 FPS	107 FPS
Watch Dogs Legion	123 FPS	110 FPS
Red Dead Redemption 2	136 FPS	120 FPS
Horizon Zero Dawn	133 FPS	121 FPS

On average, the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is about 15% faster than the Core i7-14700K. In more CPU-bound games like Assassin's Creed Valhalla, the gains are 22.43%. However, with most titles, you can expect between 13-17% better framerates.

These are serious numbers, sometimes only possible through gen-on-gen improvements in graphics hardware. If you're on a high-end GPU like the RTX 4080 Super or the RTX 5080, the performance gains will be particularly noticeable.

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The choice between the Ryzen 7 9800X3D and the Core i7-14700K in mid-2025 depends on how much you're willing to spend. A $520 chip can be prohibitively expensive for many and only makes sense for $1500+ builds. Otherwise, for 57% less money, you can opt for the Core i7, which is only 15% slower.

For most gamers, we recommend the cheaper Core i7-14700K. However, as pricing improves and the 9800X3D drops closer to $400, choosing the Ryzen chip will be a no-brainer.