When building a gaming PC, “CPU selection” is an eternal problem.
As of 2026, AMD’s “Ryzen 9000 series (Zen 5)” and Intel’s latest generation “Core Ultra (Arrow Lake)” are now available.
While the competition is evenly matched in terms of creative performance, there is a clear winner when it comes to gaming performance.
We will thoroughly compare which one is less likely to become a bottleneck (a hindrance to the GPU).
If you specialize in games, choose “Ryzen 7 9800X3D”
In conclusion, the strongest CPU for gamers is AMD’s 3D V-Cache equipped model (X3D).
A large capacity cache is achieved by vertically stacking L3 cache memory.
This will dramatically affect the game’s frame rate.
Especially in genres that require a high CPU load, such as MMORPG, RTS, and open world games, FPS can often be 10 to 20% higher than Intel’s top-of-the-line models.
In addition, the power consumption is overwhelmingly low, so the advantage is that it can be cooled even with an air cooler.
What are the advantages of choosing Intel?
That’s not to say that Intel is no good.
In “multitasking” such as video editing, distribution (encoding), and opening a large number of browsers, Intel with its E core (high efficiency core) has an advantage.
For heavy usage such as “moving the Vtuber’s avatar while distributing a game and recording it behind the scenes,” Intel’s Core Ultra 7 or 9 will be stable.
Summary: Choose based on usage
- Game console:Ryzen 7 9800X3D / Ryzen 7 7800X3D
- Creator and Gamer:Intel Core Ultra 7 / 9
- Focus on cost performance:Ryzen 5 9600X
The motherboard standards (sockets) are also different, so consider future upgradeability when choosing one.
