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In the Red Corner: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D
AMD’s Ryzen 9 9950X3D was its top consumer processor up until its recent AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 release, and it is arguably still the best option in AMD’s consumer processor lineup. It comes equipped with 16 CPU cores clocked at 4.3GHz (5.7GHz boost). The cores support Simultaneous Multi-Threading (SMT) technology to operate two threads per core. This means the processor can crunch on up to 32 threads simultaneously, which helps to improve efficiency and overall performance.
One of the 9950X3D’s distinguishing features is its AMD 3D V-Cache chiplet. This chip portion contains 64MB of SRAM that functions as additional L3 cache for the processor, expanding its total L3 capacity to 128MB. This additional cache helps to boost performance in games, and it’s the greatest advantage the 9950X3D holds over the Intel competition (none of which features 3D V-Cache or an equivalent).
AMD’s new Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 promises to perform better than the 9950X3D, as it features two of these 3D V-Cache chiplets, which boost its L3 capacity to 192MB. That processor is significantly more expensive, however, and it is otherwise identical to the 9950X3D. I haven't had the chance to test a 9950X3D2 yet, but based on its specs and price, the 9950X3D looks like a better value.
In the Blue Corner: Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus
The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus has one major advantage over its competitor: its significantly lower $339-to-$349 list price. For this price, you’ll receive Intel’s best consumer processor. It runs on Intel’s "Arrow Lake" architecture, which is its first modern processor design that it has constructed from chiplets. Intel tweaked the design when it created the 270K Plus, which has helped to improve its gaming performance versus Intel’s first-generation (i.e., non-"Plus") Arrow Lake processors.
The 270K Plus has eight performance cores and 16 efficiency cores, for a total core and thread count of 24. These cores have access to 40MB of L2 cache and 36MB of L3 cache, and the processor can reach a peak clock speed of 5.5GHz.
These specs are similar to those of the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, which has a slightly higher max clock speed of 5.7GHz. But that flagship Arrow Lake processor lacks the enhancements Intel made to the 270K Plus to improve gaming performance. The 285K remains as Intel’s flagship processor, but you could argue that the 270K Plus is a superior option.
CPU Tests: A Dead Heat
With the 9950X3D and the 270K Plus utilizing markedly different designs, the way to determine which processor is tops is to dig into their respective test results. (For more on what each of these tests measures, read our guide to how we test desktop processors.)
In Cinebench 2024, the two chips performed about the same. Technically, the 270K Plus was faster here, but by a negligible amount. The 9950X3D edged ahead in the Blender Benchmark. It also completed the HandBrake test a little faster than the 270K Plus.
The scenario changed in POV-Ray 3.7, where the 270K Plus pulled ahead of the 9950X3D, particularly at single-threaded performance. The last CPU-focused test, using the seminal photo and video editors Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Premiere Pro, yielded results similar to Cinebench. This time, the 9950X3D was ahead by a modest amount.
Overall, the two processors nearly tie in straight CPU performance. That's pretty remarkable considering the price difference.
Winner: Tie
Gaming Tests: A Runaway Win for Team Red
The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D has a clear advantage in games, thanks to its 3D V-Cache technology. The 9950X3D was ahead of the 270K Plus in most games and at most tested resolutions.
When using low graphics presets and our GeForce RTX 5090 test card, the 9950X3D’s performance lead over the 270K Plus was substantial. This changes if you push games to higher graphics settings. In Cyberpunk 2077, using the Ray-Tracing Ultra preset, the 9950X3D was ahead of the 270K Plus while running the game at 1080p, but the two processors tied at the other two resolutions. The tests I ran with F1 2024 showed a similar result.
In Black Myth: Wukong, the 270K Plus and the 9950X3D were tied across the board. This benchmark test mandates the use of DLSS upscaling and frame generation, which benefits less-capable gaming CPUs more than faster gaming CPUs, likely causing this homogeneous result. Interestingly, the 270K Plus scored slightly higher in 3DMark, but as you can see from the rest of the gaming tests, this did not translate to real-world performance in our test games.
Winner: AMD
Integrated Graphics Tests: A Left Hook From Intel
Both the 9950X3D and the 270K Plus come equipped with integrated graphics processors (IGPs). Even if you don't plan to use the IGP, having one is still a plus. (It can be useful for troubleshooting graphics problems, or for driving a secondary display.) That said, these IGPs’ features and performance differ greatly.
The AMD Radeon IGP inside the 9950X3D runs on AMD’s RDNA2 graphics architecture, which is an older design first introduced in 2020. The IGP itself appears to be a basic graphics solution: It contains 128 stream processors, eight texture mapping units (TMUs), four raster operation processors (ROPs), and two ray accelerators, all of which run at 2.2GHz.
Intel supplies a more potent IGP with the 270K Plus, which runs on Intel’s 2022 "Alchemist" graphics architecture. It has a total of 512 shaders at its disposal, along with 32 TMUs, 16 ROPs, and four ray-tracing units, all clocked at 2GHz. This processor also has dedicated AI hardware, with a neural processing unit (NPU) that enables the 270K Plus to offload some AI workloads onto this part of the chip. Here is what our testing showed...
With the large amount of resources available to the 270K Plus, its IGP ran circles around the 9950X3D’s. This is unsurprising, and to some extent, deliberate. The code name for the Intel GPU is “Xe-LPG,” where “LPG” stands for “Low Power Gaming.” This indicates that Intel intends its IGP to handle gaming to some degree, while AMD’s IGP is a basic graphics adapter for displaying Windows and watching videos.
Of course, the whole point of buying a Ryzen X3D chip, for most shoppers, is to pair it with a robust GPU and keep that card from being CPU-bottlenecked. So, in practical fact, the IGP shortfall on the 9950X3D is just a technical one. Most folks will never use the Ryzen's IGP with an eye toward performance.
Winner: Intel
Cost of Ownership: A Clear Winner, and It’s Not Even Close
The benchmark results showed that the 270K Plus and the 9950X3D are competitive in CPU performance. The prices set on these processors tell a different story. At $339 to $349, the 270K Plus is super-competitive in the current market, with performance that exceeds what you would expect in this price band. This is demonstrated by the 270K Plus’ ability to match, and at times surpass, the 9950X3D in some tests.
The 9950X3D’s asking price of $699 is not terribly competitive, though, unless all you care about is peak frame rates in games with a high-end GPU. Once upon a time, it was, but the 270K Plus’ release for such a low asking price has severely undercut the competition. While the 9950X3D is a powerful and competitive gaming CPU and excellent for users who need peak gaming and content-creator muscle in one chip, the question of which of these processors provides the best value is hardly debatable.
Winner: Intel
