No integrated graphics. Runs hot. The Bottom Line With more cores and threads than its chief like-priced Intel competitor, AMD's Ryzen 9 3900X is an excellent 12-core beast of a CPU to power a high-end gaming rig or a multimedia editing station. AMD Ryzen 9 3900X Review Intel's Core i9-9900K mainstream flagship CPU is a spirited performer, no matter what you task it with. If you don't need the RAM bandwidth or PCI Express lanes of Intel's Core X or AMD's Threadripper platforms, this chip is peak silicon for a new build. Intel Core i9-9900K Review Advertisement With the arrival of the first Ryzen 9 processors in 2019, AMD expanded its ability to rival the performance of competing Core i7 and Core i9 chips from Intel. If you're in the market for the ultimate high-performance, consumer-grade desktop CPU, the Ryzen 9 and Core i9 are both compelling options. In 2021, new second-generation Ryzen 9s in the Ryzen 5000 Series (headed up by the ferociously powerful 16-core AMD Ryzen 9 5950X) have taken the fight to the latest Core i9s. (The Core i9 is now in the 10th and 11th Generations on a new-for-2020 platform, the LGA1200.)