Ryzen Zen 3 vs. Intel Alder Lake – Ultimate CPU showdown

When building a new PC, it can be challenging to decide whether to go for an Intel or an AMD CPU.

This is mainly due to AMD’s recent efforts to overtake Intel as the leading CPU manufacturer by releasing its highly competitive Ryzen 5000 series Zen 3 processors.

Intel is not backing down, however, as it has responded with its 12th-generation Alder Lake processors.

Here’s a breakdown of the different essential factors to consider when deciding on which CPU to put in your PC build.

Cost

When it comes down to cost, AMD’s Zen 3 chips are all cheaper than Intel’s Alder Lake equivalents – except in the case of the Ryzen 9 5950X.

In reality, the cost of running a 12th-gen Intel CPU at its full potential will be even higher than what’s represented in the table since you’ll have to splurge extra cash on a premium Z-Series motherboard, aftermarket CPU cooler, and DDR5 RAM you want to use the processor’s DDR5 compatibility and its ability to overclock.

Of course, it is still possible to run a 12th-gen processor on an older motherboard, but this will exclude you from accessing the full suite of new features that it offers.

Here’s a table summarising the costs of AMD Zen 3 and Intel Alder Lake processors, with all of it sourced from Wootware:

Performance

Intel’s Alder Lake processors beat AMD’s Ryzen Zen 3 processors with ease in terms of raw gaming performance.

When tested using the same PC build, the top-of-the-line Core i9-12900K beats an overclocked Ryzen 9 5950X by an average of 25 frames per second across various modern games.

AMD vs. Intel average FPS across a suite of games in 1080p running an Nvidia RTX 3090 (Credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Overclocking

Intel wins this round if you look purely at how much you can overclock the processor’s base speeds.

However, if you plan to overclock your Intel CPU, you will first need to ensure that you have bought a K-Series variant of the CPU and a Z-series motherboard.

When it comes to AMD’s Zen 3 CPUs, you can overclock any CPU and won’t have to worry about whether you’ve bought the correct CPU and motherboard model.

Power consumption and heat

AMD’s Zen 3 processors take the win here as they consume less power and run cooler than Intel’s Alder Lake equivalents.

Additionally, if you run an Alder Lake CPU, you will need a beefy aftermarket CPU cooler since these chips run so hot.

It should be noted, however, that Intel’s Alder Lake processors have much-improved performance per watt than the company’s last-gen Rocket Lake CPUs.

Intel’s Alder Lake CPUs consume much more power and consequently produce more heat. (Credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Conclusion

Ultimately, your CPU choice will depend on many different factors, like your needs, budget, and the other components in your build.

If you want the absolute best performance and latest features no matter the cost, Intel’s 12th-gen Alder Lake CPU is the way to go.

Otherwise, if you are on a budget and want the best performance for your money, then you’d be better off going for a Ryzen Zen 3 CPU.

Read: AMD’s RDNA 2 is a big step up for laptop gaming