I’m super excited because my parents are letting me build my dream gaming PC for my birthday! I’ve picked out an RTX 5090, an ROG motherboard (latest gen), and 96GB of DDR5 Dominator Titanium RAM. However, I’m stuck trying to decide if the Intel i9 14900KS or the Ryzen 9 9950X3D is better for top-tier gaming (especially with ray tracing on). Any insights on which CPU performs better for max specs gaming?
3 Answers
The 9950X3D is generally the better option. While it has fewer cores, the i9’s efficiency cores don’t perform as well as true performance cores. Plus, the Ryzen has V-Cache, making it more suitable for gaming. It’s a solid choice overall!
I’d recommend going with the Ryzen 9 9950X3D. It does require less tuning than the 14900KS, which often needs undervolting to keep temps down. Both will need a solid cooler, ideally a 360 AIO. Also, you might not need all 96GB of RAM; around 32-48GB is usually plenty for gaming.
Don’t forget to grab a strong 1600W Platinum+ power supply for your rig! And while Noctua fans are great, I hear the Lian Li TL wireless fans look awesome and even have an LCD option, just a thought!