Intel Core Ultra 9 285K vs AMD Ryzen 9 9900X: Which is best for gaming?

The Intel Core Ultra 9 285K and Ryzen 9 9900X are high-end gaming CPUs launched to target the enthusiast class. They are some of the fastest chips you can buy, meaning you can pair them with any high-end GPU and not face bottlenecks. However, the processors are pretty costly, with both chips costing over $500.

While the 9900X isn't the fastest AMD CPU, it's good enough for most gamers. This raises the question: Should you buy AMD's 12-core chip or Intel's flagship CPU? Let's look at the specs and gaming performance to decide.

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Then Intel Core Ultra 9 285K and AMD Ryzen 9 9900X are some of the highest-end CPUs

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X is a high-end enthusiast-grade CPU (Image via AMD)

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and Core Ultra 9 285K are based on wildly different architectures. In fact, examining the specs doesn't reveal much about what you can expect from video games. Regardless, let's review the on-paper details before delving into gaming performance.

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Specs comparison

The Core Ultra 9 285K is the fastest gaming CPU from Team Blue. Part of the Arrow Lake family, it is based on the refined monolithic hybrid architecture with 24 cores and the same number of threads. Hyperthreading has been fully turned off this generation.

The chip is insanely power-hungry, however, drawing up to 250W under full load. The bundled iGPU has been upgraded to a 4-core Arc-based chip. Moreover, the LGA-1851 platform offers more upgradability than AM5, which is already a couple of years old.

The Ryzen 9 9900X, on the other hand, is more sane in terms of specs. You get a 12-core, 24-threaded CPU with a maximum boost speed of 5.6 GHz. The chip packs more cache: 64 MB vs. 40 MB on the 285K. It is also more power efficient, drawing 120W under full load. However, the processor has a tendency to overshoot that number and use up to 170W (maximizing the AM5 socket's power delivery capabilities).

Here's a side-by-side look at the specs of the two chips:

Specification	Intel Core Ultra 9 285K	AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
Architecture / Process	Arrow Lake-S (TSMC N3B, 3 nm), hybrid P-/E-core + NPU, iGPU	Zen 5 (“Granite Ridge”, 4 nm, TSMC)
Cores / Threads	24 cores (8 P-cores + 16 E-cores), 24 threads	12 cores / 24 threads (SMT enabled)
Clock Speeds	P-core base 3.7 GHz, boost up to 5.7 GHz; E-core up to 4.6 GHz	Base around 4.4 GHz, boost up to ~5.6 GHz
Cache	L3: 36 MB Smart Cache; L2: total ~40 MB	L3 cache: 64 MB
TDP / Power	Base power: 125 W; Max Turbo Power: 250 W	TDP: 120 W
Socket / Platform	LGA-1851; supports DDR5-6400, PCIe 5.0, integrated NPU and iGPU support	AM5 socket; supports DDR5-5600, PCIe 5.0, integrated Radeon Graphics
AI & iGPU Features	4-core Arc iGPU, 13 TOPS NPU, DL Boost, AI frameworks support	Integrated Radeon Graphics
Launch Price	Approx. USD 589–599	MSRP around USD 499

The Core Ultra 9 285K is the costlier CPU, coming in at $589-599 brand new. The 9900X, on the other hand, was launched at $499, and consistently dips below that number.

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Performance comparison

The Intel Core Ultra 9 285K is the highest-end offering from Team Blue (Image via Syntech)

Gaming performance does vary significantly based on the chip you choose. This is specifically true for chips like the 9900X and 285K, which are priced hundreds of dollars apart.

We have taken the framerate figures from the YouTube channel Mark PC. The testing was done with an RTX 3090 Ti at 4K.

	AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D	AMD Ryzen 9 9900X	Intel Core Ultra 9 285K	Intel Core Ultra 7 265K
God of War	121 FPS	123 FPS	125 FPS	129 FPS
Cyberpunk 2077	94 FPS	68 FPS	92 FPS	77 FPS
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	137 FPS	114 FPS	125 FPS	117 FPS
Watch Dogs Legion	127 FPS	102 FPS	123 FPS	113 FPS
Red Dead Redemption 2	141 FPS	126 FPS	127 FPS	118 FPS
Horizon Zero Dawn	140 FPS	124 FPS	129 FPS	118 FPS

The 9900X, on average, scores 109.5 FPS in the games above. The 285K, on the other hand, is a bit faster at 120.2 FPS. That gives a 12% lead for the 285K. Intel consistently wins in all the games, with the largest difference being in Red Dead Redemption 2, where it commands a 35.3% lead.

However, given the significantly lower price of the 9900X, it wins in the performance-per-dollar aspect (0.292 vs 0.204 FPS).

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The Ryzen 9 9900X is the better buy in 2025, given it balances performance with lower pricing. $600 may be too much for some on a gaming CPU, and while $499 is still expensive, it opens up ~$200 to be spent on a faster GPU.