Home > CPU Comparison > Core Ultra 9 285K or Ryzen 9 9950X: what's better?

Intel Core Ultra 9 285K vs AMD Ryzen 9 9950X

91 out of 100
Intel Core Ultra 9 285K
VS
92 out of 100
AMD Ryzen 9 9950X
Intel Core Ultra 9 285K
AMD Ryzen 9 9950X

We compared two desktop CPUs: the 3.7 GHz Intel Core Ultra 9 285K with 24-cores against the 4.3 GHz AMD Ryzen 9 9950X with 16-cores. On this page, you'll find out which processor has better performance in benchmarks, games and other useful information.

  1. Review
  2. Differences
  3. Performance
  4. Specs
  5. Comments (35)

Review

General overview and comparison of the processors
Single-Core Performance
Performance in single-threaded apps and benchmarks
Multi-Core Performance
Measure performance when all cores are involved
Power Efficiency
The efficiency score of power consumption
The "iGPU" and "Power Efficiency" have a minor impact on the NanoReview Score for desktop CPU.
NanoReview Final Score
Choose your main usage scenario to recalculate the Final Score and see which CPU suits your needs.
๐Ÿ”Œ Usage Scenario:

Value for money (Beta)

Global average CPU prices are used by default! For better accuracy, enter your current prices and click โ€œCalculate".
Currency
VS
58.3
(Average)
Value Index
53.8
(Average)

Key Differences

What are the key differences between 9950X and 285K
Advantages of Intel Core Ultra 9 285K
  • Has 8 more physical cores
  • More modern manufacturing process โ€“ 3 versus 4 nanometers
  • Newer - released 5 months later
  • More than 10ยฐ C higher critical temperature
  • Around 12.8 GB/s (14%) higher theoretical memory bandwidth
Advantages of AMD Ryzen 9 9950X
  • Has 28 MB larger L3 cache size, helping fully utilize a high-end GPU in gaming
  • 4% higher Turbo Boost frequency (5.7 GHz vs 5.5 GHz)

Test in Benchmarks

Comparing the performance of CPUs across various tasks
CPU:
Core Ultra 9 285K
vs
Ryzen 9 9950X

Cinebench

Reputable cross-platform benchmark for high-performance processors
Cinebench 2024 (Single)
Cinebench 2024 (Multi)
Cinebench 2026 (Single) - 724
Cinebench 2026 (Multi) - 7630
Cinebench Scores (11th and 10th place)
Submit your benchmark results

GeekBench v6

The new version of this benchmark emulates common operations often used in real-world apps
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
File compression 1560 MB/sec 1710 MB/sec
Clang compilation 242.2 Klines/sec 226 Klines/sec
HTML 5 Browser 479.5 pages/sec 391.9 pages/sec
PDF Renderer 622.1 Mpixels/sec 586.8 Mpixels/sec
Text processing 371.2 pages/sec 351.6 pages/sec
Background blur 95.4 images/sec 84.3 images/sec
Photo processing 164.2 images/sec 144.4 images/sec
Ray tracing 52.3 Mpixels/sec 55.7 Mpixels/sec
Sources: GeekBench [1], [2] โ€“ 1 samples

PassMark

Synthetic test that focuses on raw computational performance for low-level functions
Passmark CPU (Single-Core)
Passmark CPU (Multi-Core)
Integer math 172.3 GOps/sec 241.5 GOps/sec
Floating point math 224.2 GOps/sec 158.5 GOps/sec
Find prime numbers 542M Primes/sec 343M Primes/sec
Random string sorting 94.9M Strings/sec 93.7M Strings/sec
Data encryption 57.7 GBytes/sec 44.2 GBytes/sec
Data compression 789.7 MBytes/sec 891.3 MBytes/sec
Physics 3933 Frames/sec 3254 Frames/sec
Extended instructions 62.3B Matrices/sec 71.2B Matrices/sec
Sources: PassMark [3], [4] โ€“ 8455 & 6583 samples

Blender

3D rendering test that measures CPU performance in 3D modeling tasks (uses all cores)
Blender CPU
Core Ultra 9 285K
554.43
Ryzen 9 9950X +8%
598.37

Performance Per Watt

Shows the score you get per each watt of PL1 TDP
Cinebench 2024 / Watt 18.1 PPW 13.6 PPW
Geekbench 6 Multi / Watt 184.8 PPW 128 PPW
Passmark CPU Mark / Watt 537.8 PPW 386.6 PPW
Blender / Watt 4.44 PPW 3.52 PPW
These are rough calculations, as most CPUs surpass PL1 TDP wattage even in multicore workloads.

Recent User Tests

The latest benchmark tests that have been submitted by users
Intel Core Ultra 9 285K
DateBenchmarkResult
๐Ÿ“˜ 2026-06-17 (Olafur Torfi)Cinebench 2024142 / 2242
๐Ÿ“˜ 2026-02-01 (aDamatGeek)Cinebench 2024142 / 2383
๐Ÿ“˜ 2026-01-29 (GeneralJeep)Geekbench 6 CPU3134 / 21707
๐Ÿ“˜ 2025-12-31 (Szymon919191)Cinebench 2024141 / 2261
๐Ÿ“˜ 2025-12-26 (Bill)Geekbench 6 CPU3207 / 22197
Add View all (14)
AMD Ryzen 9 9950X
DateBenchmarkResult
๐Ÿ“˜ 2026-07-05 (greenmonalisa)Cinebench 2024136 / 2307
๐Ÿ“˜ 2026-06-25 (Malanore)Cinebench 2026724 / 7630
๐Ÿ“˜ 2026-04-20 -> TukiGeekbench 6 CPU3607 / 23374
๐Ÿ“˜ 2026-02-07 (jimmygeneris)Cinebench 2024136 / 2114
๐Ÿ“˜ 2026-01-01 (Capt Jack Swallows)Cinebench 2024136 / 2162
Add View all (34)

Specifications

Full technical specification of Intel Core Ultra 9 285K and AMD Ryzen 9 9950X

General

Vendor Intel Amd
Released October 11, 2024 June 3, 2024
Type Desktop Desktop
Instruction Set x86-64 x86-64
Codename Arrow Lake Zen 5 (Granite Ridge)
Model number 285K 9950X
Integrated GPU Arc iGPU (4-Cores) Radeon Graphics
Rival Equivalent - AMD Ryzen 9 9950X - Intel Core i9 14900K
Intel CPU rating (#3rd place)

CPU

Performance Cores
P-Cores 8 16
P-Threads 8 32
Base Frequency (P) 3.7 GHz 4.3 GHz
Turbo Boost Frequency (P) 5.5 GHz 5.7 GHz
Efficient Cores
E-Cores 16 -
E-Threads 16 -
Base Frequency (E) 3.2 GHz -
Turbo Boost Frequency (E) 4.6 GHz -
Total
Total Cores 24 16
Total Threads 24 32
Bus Frequency 100 MHz 100 MHz
Multiplier 37x 43x
L1 Cache 192K (per core) 80K (per core)
L2 Cache 3MB (per core) 1MB (per core)
L3 Cache 36MB (shared) 64MB (shared)
Unlocked Multiplier Yes Yes

Package

Fabrication Process 3 nm 4 nm
TDP (PL1) 125 W 170 W
Max. Boost TDP (PL2) 250 W 230 W
Socket FCLGA-1851 AM5
Peak Temperature 105ยฐC 95ยฐC
Desktop CPU ranking (8th and 6th place)

iGPU

Integrated Graphics Intel Arc iGPU (4-Cores) Radeon Graphics
GPU Base Clock 300 MHz -
GPU Boost Clock 2000 MHz 2200 MHz
Shading Units 512 -
TMUs 32 -
ROPs 16 -
Execution Units 64 -
TGP 14 W -
iGPU FLOPS
See: Intel Arc iGPU (4-Cores) benchmarks

Memory Support

Memory Types - DDR5-6400 - DDR5-5600
Max. Memory Size 192 GB 192 GB
Memory Channels 2 2
Max. Memory Bandwidth 102.4 GB/s 89.6 GB/s
ECC Support Yes Yes

Misc

Official Site Intel Core Ultra 9 285K official page AMD Ryzen 9 9950X official page
PCI Express Version 5.0 5.0
PCI Express Lanes 24 28

Cast your vote

Choose between two processors
531 (38.5%)
850 (61.5%)
Total votes: 1381

Competitors

1. AMD Ryzen 9 9950X vs Intel Core i9 14900K (2)
2. AMD Ryzen 9 9950X vs AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D (1)
3. AMD Ryzen 9 9950X vs Intel Core i9 14900KS (11)
4. AMD Ryzen 9 9950X vs AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
5. AMD Ryzen 9 9950X vs AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (5)
6. Intel Core Ultra 9 285K vs Intel Core i9 14900KS (8)
7. Intel Core Ultra 9 285K vs Intel Core i9 14900K (8)
8. Intel Core Ultra 9 285K vs AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D (2)
9. Intel Core Ultra 9 285K vs Intel Core i7 14700K
10. Intel Core Ultra 9 285K vs Intel Core Ultra 7 265K (2)
Compare other CPUs (460+)

Comments

So which CPU will you choose: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X or Intel Core Ultra 9 285K?
๐ŸŒ Register your profile and become part of NanoReview community!
Avatar
sama March 21, 2025 at 03:43 AM
Looking at performance per watt tells you everything.
+5 Reply
Avatar
anonymous May 10, 2025 at 11:38 PM
That's calculated using the processor TDP which is not accurate, Intel sets theirs at 125 W even though it can draw up to 250 W. In reality, both are roughly equivalent in multicore, although the 285K is more efficient in less heavily threaded workloads.
+21 Reply
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LGs December 17, 2024 at 06:13 AM
Can a mod fix this issue? Both cpuโ€™s have the exact same ratings yet the ultra 9 is one point below? Kinda odd
+19 Reply
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Serhii December 17, 2024 at 08:36 AM
Ryzen is more power efficient.
0 Reply
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LGs December 17, 2024 at 06:25 PM
Serhii, Serhii, the power efficiency score on THIS site shows that the ultra 9 is more power efficient
+18 Reply
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Serhii December 18, 2024 at 08:57 AM
LGs, My bad, i will check it.
-4 Reply
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Adiyan December 26, 2024 at 10:45 AM
Serhii, No it's 4nm while intel 3nm so 285k is more power efficient
0 Reply
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Dmitry December 30, 2024 at 09:32 PM
Serhii, Are you driving or something? I saw how it works with graphics from Argus Monitor in Cinebench R23 9900X at 420 water, when the owner turned up Curve and RVO in every possible way so that the processor would not heat up to 95ยฐ. One might say it's a sad sight
+7 Reply
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Ys khan January 12, 2025 at 11:15 AM
Dmitry, Can i compare the mediatek dimensity 9400 plus with intel core ultra 9 285k lol ๐Ÿ˜?
+12 Reply
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somone#47 December 5, 2024 at 07:07 PM
Shouldn't the scores be the same?
+2 Reply
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Truth November 14, 2024 at 07:14 PM
It's Good to see the competition , it's best for consumer , i will build a high end pc in 2025 . Let's see what will happen in next few months . It's seems like AMD day by day is winning my choice with a 4090 gpu .
+10 Reply
Avatar
Learner November 15, 2024 at 03:45 AM
Yes , 9950X or you can consider 9800X3D with the upcoming 5090 .. you can't imagine the power of your device ๐Ÿ”ฅ โ˜ ๏ธ
+6 Reply
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Setsunayaki October 26, 2024 at 02:34 PM
X3D is amazing at 1080P and 1440P. Then you enter 4K and Intel wipes the floor with X3D which is why most AMD fanboy reviewers do not cover that resolution. 285K sucks at gaming, but a 12600K with an Arc GPU is more than enough for 4K encoding.
+44 Reply
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HAa November 14, 2024 at 01:05 PM
User benchmark be like :
+31 Reply
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Bruh February 7, 2025 at 09:03 PM
Pure example of the average Userbenchmark review.
+3 Reply
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geek123 October 24, 2024 at 03:38 PM
I need intel 295k ultra (8+32) and quad channel memory
+2 Reply
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USAcomputer October 20, 2024 at 01:40 PM
Nobody is going to buy Intel, regardless of performance. What matters are the upgrade possibilities. With Intel, it is 10 months; and with AMD and the AM5 platform, it is 7 years. I think this is a burden and it is logical that NO ONE wants to buy Intel. I read in other international forums that people are waiting for the AMD ZEN 5 9000x3D.
+54 Reply
Avatar
sh6669 October 30, 2024 at 07:25 AM
who said no one is buying intel ? i just got the core ultra 7, intel may not be the best in gaming but its better in something else like productivity, has lower power consumption and is less hot, not everyone buys cpu's for gaming
+33 Reply
Avatar
ComputerNerd October 10, 2024 at 04:32 PM
Intel seems on par with the most powerful AMD CPU for desktops, but most of the gaming and ML community have lost trust in Intel this past year. The few who are not dismissive about Intel will either benefit or regret their CPU choices.
+36 Reply
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akp831 October 7, 2024 at 12:59 PM
Intel will never beat AMD unless they fix their thermal issues and pricing
+48 Reply
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galaktik October 11, 2024 at 07:13 AM
WHAT A JOKE BRO ULTRA 9 285K IS FASTER THAN 9950X IN MULTICORE PERFORMANCE ALSO CHEAPER THAN 9950X.
+47 Reply
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LGs October 11, 2024 at 05:22 PM
galaktik, Nope, a 24-core is the same as a 16-core AMD. Intel needs more, not just fake power. :D
+51 Reply
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galaktik October 16, 2024 at 11:38 AM
LGs, what about power consumption? u9 285k is better overall.
+9 Reply
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HAa October 24, 2024 at 05:17 PM
galaktik, Upgrade path, am5 has support till 2027 and intels lga 1851 would be dead after 1 year As a consumer I would definitely go with amd
+20 Reply
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galaktik October 26, 2024 at 08:06 AM
HAa, PC WITH A PROCESSOR LIKE 285K ITSELF IS 6 TO 8 YEARS FUTURE PROOF NO NEED TO UPGRADE. AS A CONSUMER I WOULD DEFINITELY GO WITH INTEL.
+8 Reply
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Random man November 6, 2024 at 06:59 PM
HAa, Tbh honest โ€œhaving supportโ€ is just a marketing trick. Just look at all the โ€œnewโ€ cpus that AM4 got. They all lose to their intelโ€™s 12th gen counterpart while costing more. I wouldnโ€™t call that support because in reality they are just dumping their leftover chips rebranded
+3 Reply
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Haa November 14, 2024 at 01:07 PM
galaktik, Intel 285k is 25% more expensive than 9950 x in my country ๐Ÿ˜‚
+5 Reply
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Haa November 14, 2024 at 01:09 PM
Random man, 5800x3D , and amd just released another am4 cpu ๐Ÿ’€, I only buy amd for longetivity and giving same performance as the more expensive flagship, and dont forget that it took 3 intel generations to beat ryzen 5000 cpu ๐Ÿ˜‚
+2 Reply
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HAa November 14, 2024 at 01:18 PM
galaktik, Say that to my old i9 9900k , can't even properly use CAD and blender, and because intel has no upgrade oath I had to upgrade everything, and because of that i regeret buying intel 9th gen in first place, should have waited and bought ryzen 3000 series cpu
+2 Reply
Avatar
galaktik December 26, 2024 at 10:51 AM
Haa, AND DON'T FORGET AMD TOOK 48 YEARS TO BEAT INTEL. 1971 TO 2020 UNTIL AMD RELEASED RYZEN 5000 SIRIES.
+6 Reply
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LowIQuser November 2, 2025 at 06:08 PM
LGs, E cores exactly for multicore tasks are not fake power, more low IQ than me
0 Reply
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akp831 October 1, 2024 at 11:18 AM
The ryzen would get more fps on average because most games don't take advantage of 24 cores also the ryzen has 16 cores, All of them "Big" Cores While the Intel has 24 cores, But 16 of them are "Little" cores
+30 Reply
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Nerd October 2, 2024 at 02:22 PM
Bud, if you need gaming performance just take Ryzen 7's X3D CPUs, 8 cores with a load of Cache are more than enough for pushing the game to its maximum FPS it's engine can generate
+18 Reply
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Sam October 11, 2024 at 06:12 AM
Nerd, Super hyped when the Ryzen 9000 Series X3D CPUs release
+13 Reply
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LowIQuser November 2, 2025 at 06:05 PM
this is irrelevant the 16 cores are split on 2 separate CCDs, 8P and 8P, they have latency so high that you cannot use more than 8 for gaming.
0 Reply
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