AMD Ryzen vs. Intel Core series: Price Wars

AMD has completed rolling out its first batch of processors in the local market and, as expected, they are priced to directly compete with Intel’s latest line-up of processors.

For the longest time, AMD has been trailing far behind Intel. The AMD Ryzen family comes with a new Zen micro-architecture and feature more computing cores compared to an equivalent processor from Intel.

The entry-level processor is the Ryzen 3 and it competes with Intel’s Core i3 processors. Here are the currently available processors in the market today along with their retail prices.

AMD Ryzen 3 1200 3.1GHz (4 cores /4 threads) – Php6,000USD 102INR 8,668EUR 97CNY 745
AMD Ryzen 3 1300X 3.5GHz (4 cores /4 threads) – Php7,250USD 124INR 10,473EUR 118CNY 900

Intel Core i3-7100 3.9GHz (2 cores /4 threads) – Php5,700USD 97INR 8,234EUR 93CNY 707
Intel Core i3-7350 4.2GHz (2 cores /4 threads) – Php8,250USD 141INR 11,918EUR 134CNY 1,024

Note that the Core i3 processors have higher base clock speed per core but only has 2 cores per chip compared to the 4 cores of the Ryzen 3 series. While the pricing between the two is comparable, AMD’s Ryzen 3 has double the number of processing cores already at this level.

Coincidentally, Intel has also released earlier this year new variants of their Intel Pentium processors. The likes of Intel Pentium G4620 now have 2 cores and 4 threads compared to the older variants that have 2 cores and 2 threads. This is perhaps a response to the Ryzen 3 series.

Moving up to the “mainstream” segment are the Ryzen 5 processors, a direct competitor to Intel’s Core i5 family. This batch has more variants since they cater to a wider segment of the market with the pricing gap of just around Php1,000USD 17INR 1,445EUR 16CNY 124 in between them.

AMD Ryzen 5 1400 3.2GHz (4 cores /8 threads) – Php9,250USD 158INR 13,363EUR 150CNY 1,148
AMD Ryzen 5 1500X 3.5GHz (4 cores /8 threads) – Php10,500USD 179INR 15,168EUR 170CNY 1,303
AMD Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz (6 cores /12 threads) – Php11,500USD 196INR 16,613EUR 187CNY 1,427
AMD Ryzen 5 1600X 3.6GHz (6 cores /12 threads) – Php13,800USD 235INR 19,935EUR 224CNY 1,713

Intel Core i5-7400 3.0GHz (4 cores /4 threads) – Php9,000USD 153INR 13,001EUR 146CNY 1,117
Intel Core i5-7500 3.4GHz (4 cores /4 threads) – Php10,300USD 176INR 14,879EUR 167CNY 1,278
Intel Core i5-7600 3.5GHz (4 cores /4 threads) – Php11,450USD 195INR 16,541EUR 186CNY 1,421
Intel Core i5-7600K 3.8GHz (4 cores /4 threads) – Php12,400USD 211INR 17,913EUR 201CNY 1,539

Intel’s Core i5 series only have the same number of threads as the number of cores which is an inherent limitation Intel has placed on their chip. This puts the i5 at a huge dis-advantage since the Ryzen 5 variants all have double the number of threads to their cores.

Likewise, the higher variant Ryzen 5 processors have 6 cores and 12 threads compared to the 4 cores and 4 threads of an equivalent Core i5 processor. This is the biggest disparity I’ve seen between the two and while the Ryzen 5 variants are priced slightly higher, the difference is not that significant.

Then we go to the “performance” segment of both CPU vendors. The Ryzen 7 processors are slightly more expensive compared to a comparable Core i7 processor. The Ryzen 7 CPUs also have much lower base clock compared to the i7.

AMD Ryzen 7 1700 3.0GHz (8 cores /16 threads) – Php16,750USD 285INR 24,197EUR 272CNY 2,079
AMD Ryzen 7 1700X 3.4GHz (8 cores /16 threads) – Php20,800USD 354INR 30,048EUR 338CNY 2,581

Intel Core i7-7700 4.2GHz (4 cores /8 threads) – Php15,850USD 270INR 22,897EUR 257CNY 1,967
Intel Core i7-7700K 4.2GHz (4 cores /8 threads) – Php17,900USD 305INR 25,858EUR 291CNY 2,221

However, the Ryzen 7 processors have twice the number of cores and twice the number of threads compared to a Core i7 processor. Again, no contest here.

Also note that Intel’s processors are frequency locked with the exception of variants that have a letter “K” at the end. These ones are unlocked and can be over-clocked.

On the other-hand, the entire Ryzen family feature unlocked multipliers so they are capable of being overclocked. Furthermore, the variants that end with a letter “X” allow for twice the boost capability.

Well, it’s pretty clear that the AMD Ryzen family is offering twice the number of CPU cores compared to Intel’s offering. This puts the Ryzen processors at a huge advantage when it comes to multi-threaded computing like video editing or rendering and other productivity tasks.

All that, for the same price. Intel has, once again, got some pretty serious competition.

Author’s Note: The prices indicated for the Ryzen processors here are the original SRP when it first came out. Apparently, due to high demand, their local prices have increased since then.