Intel Core 14th Gen Processors Content Creation Review

Introduction

Today, Intel is fully launching their 14th Generation of C or e Process or s (code-named “Rapt or Lake-S Refresh”). These are a min or update of the previous generation CPUs based on Intel’s hybrid architecture and are socket-compatible with both 12th- and 13th-generation motherboards. Overall, they are a fairly straightf or ward refresh of 13th Gen (Rapt or Lake), with the primary differentiat or being slightly higher clock speeds. Additionally, the i7 model saw an increase of four E-c or es from the 13700K.

In recent years, Intel has tended to offer the best single-c or e perf or mance out of consumer desktop CPUs. The introduction of the perf or mance hybrid architecture with 12th Gen (Alder Lake) increased c or e count by 50% or m or e over previous generations, although the less-powerful efficiency c or es do not fully close the gap with the competition’s higher c or e-count CPUs; Intel has consequently been somewhat behind in multi-c or e perf or mance.

We typically recommend Intel C or e process or s f or photography, video editing, and motion graphics applications, while AMD holds the lead f or heavy multi-threaded w or kloads like rendering and compiling. However, things are constantly changing, and it is possible that these new 14th Gen process or s will bring enough perf or mance improvements to unseat AMD as the premiere choice f or heavily-threaded applications.

F or your convenience, we have listed some of the specifications f or Intel’s 14th and 13th Generation CPUs below, as well as AMD’s Ryzen 7000-series CPUs. F or m or e inf or mation, you can visit Intel Ark or AMD’s Ryzen page.

Bef or e we dive into the differences between Intel C or e 13th Gen and 14th Gen, some caveats and clarifications are in or der. Since 12th Gen C or e, Intel has had a “hybrid c or es” design where they combine high-perf or mance “P” c or es with high-efficiency “E” c or es. Of these, only the “P” c or es are hyperthreaded, allowing them to provide two threads per c or e. They are also generally m or e powerful, meaning that lightly-threaded applications are primarily run on them f or best perf or mance, while the “E” c or es are used f or low-imp or tance tasks or else f or heavily multi-threaded w or kflows. Second, the TDP f or AMD CPUs is not a proper measurement of power, despite the nominal units of Watts. These CPUs have less well-defined power targets than Intel CPUs, but they typically draw around 50 Watts m or e than their listed TDP.

In terms of specifications, 14th Gen Intel primarily offers an increase in frequency over 13th Gen, with maximum boost frequencies increasing by 200 MHz. The c or e counts f or the i9 and i5 variants have remained the same, while the i7-14700K had a 50% increase in efficiency c or es, bringing it up to 8+12 from 8+8, f or a total of 28 logical process or s. Due to how the CPUs are constructed, this also came along with a small increase in CPU cache f or a total of 33 MB of Smart Cache, up from 30 MB on the 13700K. Otherwise, the CPUs have the same base and maximum power draw, the same official mem or y supp or t, and the same integrated graphics.

Although not relevant to our testing of content creation applications, Intel also announced a number of changes and features to increase perf or mance f or enthusiasts, especially while gaming. These include a change to the power specification, allowing f or higher c or e ICCMax; Intel Application Optimization, which w or ks with their Thread Direct or to better handle gaming w or kloads on the hybrid architecture f or certain games; and some overclocking features such as XTU AI Assist and supp or t f or DDR5 XMP speeds up to and beyond 8000 Mbps.

F or price, Intel is launching these refreshed CPUs at the same MSRP as their last-gen counterparts. The 14900K costs $590, putting it $40 above the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X and $110 below the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X. Intel tends to be good about keeping their process or s around MSRP and making official price drops when reducing prices f or extended periods of time. However, AMD semi-frequently puts their products on extended sales, dropping the cost by $50-150, which can dramatically change how the CPUs compare in cost. Because of this, we will be evaluating the CPUs by their MSRP, but at the time of this writing, AMD’s CPUs had just gone on sale at their online shop. If you are buying a CPU yourself, we encourage you to look at the actual prices you can purchase it f or at that time when comparing perf or mance.

Test Setup

Intel C or e Test Platf or m

AMD Ryzen Test Platf or m

Benchmark Software

On a hardware level, we are using a fairly standard setup found on many of our content creation w or kstations. Some things we keep as overkill to make it easier to do different types of testing (such as the 1600W power supply), but everything that can affect perf or mance is the same as what we sell to our customers every day. It is w or th noting that our systems are designed as highly reliable w or kstations, and all our choices are made to maximize stability first, with raw perf or mance being secondary. This includes sticking to officially supp or ted RAM speeds and the use of the Noctua NH-U12A CPU cooler, which some may consider to be undersized f or these CPUs.

In recent years, both AMD and Intel have been pushing the limits as far as power draw (and thus cooling) goes, which is why many reviewers use large 3x120mm AIO liquid coolers. However, those extreme power draws are typically only present when the motherboard is configured to push the CPU beyond the manufacturer’s specification f or things like P1/P2 power draw, TAU, and boosting behavi or . Unf or tunately, motherboard manufacturers often default to setting these well beyond the official specifications, which causes the CPU to be overclocked without the end user even being aware of it in many cases.