- Intel processors under $200 now provide performance that was previously available from more expensive processors.
- Core Ultra 5 chips put pressure on AMD to match clock speeds with multi-core results
- AMD Ryzen 9 5900XT struggles to justify the price compared to new Intel alternatives
I've noticed something interesting in the low-end desktop processor market – right now some of the fastest processors you can buy for around $200 are made by IntelNo AMDand the performance gap is so inconvenient that it raises an intriguing question: Is Intel starting to look like the old AMD, a company that wins by offering more performance for less money?
The most striking example is the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF processor. For a penny under $220 on Amazonit delivers performance that not so long ago seemed impossible at this price.
With 14 cores spread across six performance cores and eight efficiency cores, a clock speed of up to 5.2GHz, and a PassMark score of around 43,000, it outpaces many older high-end chips that once cost much more.
Intel offers the best value for money
Even better for price-conscious buyers, this level of performance is close to the $200 mark rather than approaching $300 or higher.
There is also a slightly more expensive alternative, the Core Ultra 5 245K, which adds integrated Intel graphics and moves to the newer LGA1851 platform. For pennies under $230 at Neweggit underperforms most competing processors with more cores while still offering modern features like PCIe 5.0 support and a large cache size.
This is the balance that users building general-purpose systems, workstations, or mid-range gaming PCs really want.
In comparison, the AMD Ryzen 9 5900XT tells a very different story. It's a powerful processor with 16 cores and 32 threads, but is based on the older Zen 3 architecture and is limited to DDR4 and PCIe 4.0.
It sells for $309 on Amazonand even at a discount from its $349 list price, it struggles to justify the premium when new Intel chips offer comparable or better everyday performance for much less money.
Price pressure matters. AMD made its comeback years ago, beating Intel with its aggressive core count and solid price.
Now Intel is doing something similar, flooding lower price points with processors that deliver strong multi-threaded performance without commanding flagship prices.
For everyday work, creative tasks and intense multitasking, the numbers increasingly favor Intel.
The new Ryzen platforms still compete well at higher price points, and platform longevity of course remains a big advantage for AMD, but in the $200 to $230 range, Intel is currently setting the pace.
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