For many years in the hardware world, we have always seen the rivalry between Intel and AMD in the processor market, each (almost) always outperforming its rival every time a new generation hits the market but, what is the most powerful processor in the world right now? Will Intel or AMD take this honor? In this article we will talk about it.
You have to keep in mind that, as we said, whenever Intel or AMD launch a new generation of processors on the market, they usually surpass their rival in terms of performance, so the “crown” usually turns between one and the other. This means that the data we are going to provide to you today (January 2023) may vary significantly within a few months or even weeks, so keep that in mind.
No consumer processor is on top
This was to be expected, as both Intel and AMD have processors designed for servers or professionals that deliver much better raw performance than the best processor designed for consumers. For example, AMD has its processors EPYC for the server, or Wire cutter (and variants) for professionals (although to be fair consumers have access to them, albeit in a limited way), while Intel has its families Xeon for this purpose.
What is certain is that in the list of the most powerful processors in the world today there is no consumer processor in the top 20, although what is even more curious is that there is not a single Intel processor in this ranking either. . As you can see from the image above, currently the most powerful processor in the world is the AMD EPYC 9654, a “beast” for servers that integrates 96 cores and 192 processing threads at 3.7 GHz with a TDP of no less than 360 watts. Of course, its price makes it unaffordable for most mortals.
And it is that in fact even the few processors of the Threadripper family that appear in this ranking are, we could say, not suitable for a normal desktop PC, since we are talking about prices that exceed $ 2,000 and that little many people would be ready to invest such a sum of money, right?
Ryzen 9 7950X, the most powerful (consumer) processor
If we go down the list, the first consumer processor that appears is in position 23, and it is the AMD Ryzen 7950X new generation. It is also a “good bug”, with 16 cores and 32 processing threads that reach 5.7 GHz with a TDP of 170 watts, but of course it is something more normal and above all more affordable for a typical desktop PC (so-called consumer market). It has an RRP in stores right now which is around 680 dollars.
After this Ryzen 9 7950X we come across the first Intel processor to appear on the list, the Core i9-13900KS, a beast too and not too far from its competitor AMD but much more expensive. Two seats down, the first member of Intel’s Xeon family appears, and then several EPYC and Threadripper models reappear.
A fact that we also find curious is that this Ryzen 9 7950X is the only one that appears on this list, at least in the first positions (later we would have the Ryzen 9 7900X in position 42, much lower), and yet we are going to find several Intel models such as the Core i9-13900K and its variants.
In any case, as you can see, these are the most powerful processors in the world in January 2023, and it will be interesting to see how this list evolves as Intel and AMD launch new generations of processors on the market.
