Intel Core i9: 12-Cores Could Still Fall Short Of AMD Ryzen Threadripper

Even though neither CPU has shipped yet, the battle between Intel's incoming Core i9 and AMD's Ryzen Threadripper is already heating up. Aside from the die-hard fans of both companies doing their standard chirping from one another, we now have published clock rates for both camps. As it turns out, Intel's Core i9 could still be outpaced by Ryzen Threadripper, at least in terms of overall clock speed.

As discovered by PCWorld, Intel has published a pricing chart for its line up of CPUs, and that list includes the Core i9-7920X. The 7920X's listing shows, for the first time, the clock speed of this incoming CPU. With the 7920X, it looks like we can expect a clock speed of 2.90GHz, compared to AMD's listed clock speed of 3.5GHz.

This is surprising because when we compare prices of the Core i9-7920X and the Threadripper 1920X – the 12-core offerings for both companies – there's a rather significant discrepancy. The Core i9-7920X will come in at a steep $1,189, though admittedly, that price isn't absurd for Intel's enthusiast-level offerings. The Threadripper 1920X, meanwhile, costs significantly less at $800.

Even when we compare the Core i9-7920X to the Threadripper 1950X, things don't get much better. The 1950X will offer 16 cores at 3.4Ghz for a grand total of $1000. For a lot of people building an enthusiast-level PC, whether it's for gaming or work, AMD's Threadripper line might end up being the more tempting CPU choice.

Of course, there's more to a CPU than just clock speed – a lot more, in fact. To say that one is better than the other simply based on clock speed would be an unfair assessment. Instead, we need to see how these CPUs test in real-world scenarios before we can decide which one is better.

Still, it's not unfair to say that at least some people will determine their purchase with clock speed as a deciding factor, so this may not be great for Intel. What do you think? Which of these CPUs would you go for? Head down to the comments section and let us know!