AMD vs. Intel: Top Differences To Know About Performance

The ongoing AMD vs Intel battle continues as each company offers a range of low to high-end processors. Find out the difference between the two.

Whether upgrading your PC or looking for the most stable and fastest processor, the choice will always be between AMD and Intel. Today, the blog will cover the AMD vs. Intel battle in detail. 

1. What determines a CPU’s performance
2. What is AMD?
3. What is Intel?
4. AMD vs. Intel: Key Differences

What Determines a CPU’s Performance

Before looking into the distinctions between AMD and Intel, there are three factors to consider when it comes to their CPU performance. 

Clock Speed

Clock speed is the number of cycles the CPU processes per second. It is measured in Gigahertz (GHz). If a CPU has 3 GHz as clock speed, it means it executes 3 billion cycles in a second. The higher the clock speed, the faster the CPU will be. 

In the Intel Core i7 series, the maximum clock speed is 5.5 GHz. AMD’s highest clock speed is around 3.6 GHz. 

Also note that the current generation of gaming CPUs from both Intel and AMD do not come less than 3 GHz. 

Core

Core is the CPU’s brain that reads and executes the programs in the computer. When CPUs were first introduced to the market between late 60s and early 70s, they had only one core. 

But for a basic computer setup to do regular tasks, you will need at least 2 cores, which is also known as a dual-core. For faster processing and to be able to handle multiple tasks, you will need a multicore CPU. 

If you are going for an Intel processor, you will find up to 16 cores. AMD provides up to 64 cores. 

Threads

A thread is like a CPU core but virtual. Threads break down the core into multiple threads for improving performance. But threads differ from what Intel offers compared to AMD. 

Intel CPUs with two cores offer four threads through hyper-threading, while AMD CPUs with four cores can provide eight threads through simultaneous multithreading. (Note, hyper threading and simultaneous multithreading mean the same thing, according to Tom’s Hardware.) 

Related: Best Laptops for Machine Learning Tasks

What is AMD?

AMD or Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., is a global company that is known for its semiconductor devices. It also manufactures motherboards, microchips, CPUs, and many other computer components. 

AMD is well-known for its CPUs (Central Processing Unit) that give a tough competition to its rival, Intel. AMD processors are also relatively cheaper than the ones of Intel. Along with that, AMD processors allow overclocking, which is rare to find on Intel processors at the same price. 

AMD has two types of processors – CPUs and APUs. APU or Accelerated Processing Unit is another name for a CPU but with AMD’s integrated graphics processor, Radeon. But the most popular are the AMD Ryzen processors. 

AMD Ryzen Series 

Based on AMD Zen microarchitecture, Ryzen CPUs comprise seven as a series – 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000, 6000, and 7000. AMD Ryzen Tiers

There are four AMD Ryzen tiers. 

Tiers	Performance
AMD Ryzen 3	Most affordable with good performance. AMD Ryzen 3 3300X has 4 cores and 8 threads with 3.8 GHz base clock and4.3 GHz boost clock
AMD Ryzen 5	Mid-priced processor with a clock speed of up to 4.6 GHz. It has 6 cores and 12 threads.
AMD Ryzen 7	Known for high performance and ideal for gaming and content creation. Clock speed goes up to 4.5 GHz. It has 8 cores and 16 threads.
AMD Ryzen 9	Better than Ryzen 7 with clock speed of up to 4.9 GHz. It has 16 cores and 32 threads.

While these are all consumer grade CPUs of Ryzen, AMD also makes a super high power processor known as AMD Threadripper. It has 64 cores and 128 threads. 

What is Intel?

Intel is much older than AMD and started building processors since the late 60s. Intel Corp holds the majority of the global market share, but AMD is beginning to catch up. 

Intel CPU Family

Find the list of Intel processors below. 

Intel Atom Processor	Intel Core Processor
Intel Core 2 Processor	Intel Pentium M Processor
Intel Pentium D Processor	Intel Itanium Processor
Intel Pentium III Processor	Intel Pentium 4 Processor
Intel Pentium II Xeon Processor	Intel Celeron Processor
Intel Core i-Series

Intel Core i-Series

The Intel Core series consists of i3, i5, i7, and i9. Let’s have a look at the most essential features of them. 

Core i-Series	Description
Intel Core i3	Better than Pentium family, with 2 – 4 cores and clock speed range between 1.30 GHz up to 3.50 GHz
Intel Core i5	Ideal for video editing, these processors can have up to 6 cores. The clock speed ranges from 1.6 GHz to 3.4 GHz
Intel Core i7	Comprising 8 to 16 cores, these have a clock speed of 3.8 GHz to 5.30 GHz
Intel Core i9	Features Hyper-Threading Technology and has a clock speed up to 5.20 GHz

AMD vs. Intel: Key Differences

Parameters	AMD	Intel
Economical	The high end CPUs of AMD are cheaper than Intel	The low end CPUs of Intel are cheaper than AMD
Clock Speed	AMD generates more heat at high clock speeds of 5 GHz. All AMD Ryzen processors allows overclocking.	Intel works fine up to 5 GHz. Only the Unlocked Intel Core processors allow overclocking
Cores	16 cores	64 cores
Graphics	Faster in AMD. Ryzen APUs with Vega 11 Graphics are about 2.5 times faster	Slower in Intel compared to Ryzen

Parting Thoughts

In the AMD vs. Intel debate, both are great choices. Each has its unique plus points that you should know when buying or upgrading your PC.

Also check what is operating system?