— The AMD 7000X3D CPUs have the same core architecture as the rest of the 7000 series but they have one group of eight "3D" cores with extra cache. The “3D” cores are priced higher but run at 10% lower clocks. For most real-world tasks performance is comparable to the 7000X variant. Cache sensitive scenarios such as low res. canned game benchmarks with an RTX 4090 ($2,000) benefit at the cost of everything else. Be wary of sponsored reviews with cherry picked games that showcase the wins, ignore frame drops and gloss over the losses. Also watch out for AMD’s army of Neanderthal social media accounts on reddit, forums and youtube, they will be singing their own praises as usual. AMD continue to develop “Advanced Marketing” relationships with select youtubers with the obvious aim of compensating for second tier products with first tier marketing. PC gamers considering a 7000X3D CPU need to work on their critical thinking skills: Influencers are paid handsomely to promote overpriced products. Rational gamers have little reason to look further than the $300 13600K which offers comparable real-world gaming and better desktop performance at a fraction of the price. Workstation users (and RTX 4080+ gamers) may find value in higher core CPUs such as the 16-core $400 13700K. Despite offering better performance at lower prices, as long as Intel continues to sample and sponsor marketers that are mostly funded by AMD, they will struggle to win market share.

— The AMD 7000X3D CPUs have the same core architecture as the rest of the 7000 series but they have one group of eight "3D" cores with extra cache. The “3D” cores are priced higher but run at 10% lower clocks. For most real-world tasks performance is comparable to the 7000X variant. Cache sensitive scenarios such as low res. canned game benchmarks with an RTX 4090 ($2,000) benefit at the cost of everything else. Be wary of sponsored reviews with cherry picked games that showcase the wins, ignore frame drops and gloss over the losses. Also watch out for AMD’s army of Neanderthal social media accounts on reddit, forums and youtube, they will be singing their own praises as usual. AMD continue to develop “Advanced Marketing” relationships with select youtubers with the obvious aim of compensating for second tier products with first tier marketing. PC gamers considering a 7000X3D CPU need to work on their critical thinking skills: Influencers are paid handsomely to promote overpriced products. Rational gamers have little reason to look further than the $300 13600K which offers comparable real-world gaming and better desktop performance at a fraction of the price. Workstation users (and RTX 4080+ gamers) may find value in higher core CPUs such as the 16-core $400 13700K. Despite offering better performance at lower prices, as long as Intel continues to sample and sponsor marketers that are mostly funded by AMD, they will struggle to win market share.

— The AMD 7000X3D CPUs have the same core architecture as the rest of the 7000 series but they have one group of eight "3D" cores with extra cache. The “3D” cores are priced higher but run at 10% lower clocks. For most real-world tasks performance is comparable to the 7000X variant. Cache sensitive scenarios such as low res. canned game benchmarks with an RTX 4090 ($2,000) benefit at the cost of everything else. Be wary of sponsored reviews with cherry picked games that showcase the wins, ignore frame drops and gloss over the losses. Also watch out for AMD’s army of Neanderthal social media accounts on reddit, forums and youtube, they will be singing their own praises as usual. AMD continue to develop “Advanced Marketing” relationships with select youtubers with the obvious aim of compensating for second tier products with first tier marketing. PC gamers considering a 7000X3D CPU need to work on their critical thinking skills: Influencers are paid handsomely to promote overpriced products. Rational gamers have little reason to look further than the $300 13600K which offers comparable real-world gaming and better desktop performance at a fraction of the price. Workstation users (and RTX 4080+ gamers) may find value in higher core CPUs such as the 16-core $400 13700K. Despite offering better performance at lower prices, as long as Intel continues to sample and sponsor marketers that are mostly funded by AMD, they will struggle to win market share.

— The Intel Core i5-13500 offers an interesting mix of performance and value that will likely capture the attention of savvy PC builders providing its MSRP of $235 USD holds true. The 13500 features the same 6 P-cores and 8 E-cores as the i5-13600K, which currently retails for $320 USD. However, it has a lower boost clock frequency (4.8 GHz versus 5.1 GHz) and less cache (35.5 MB versus 44 MB) which translates to a 10% performance disadvantage against the 13600K. Nevertheless, paired with a B660 motherboard and inexpensive DDR4, the 20 thread i5-13500, is a very capable mid-range processor for both gaming and multi-threaded tasks. Compared to AMD’s similarly priced, hex-core Ryzen 5 7600 and 7600X, the 13500 offers better gaming and 50% faster multi-core performance which is particularly beneficial to workstation and professional users. Intel has completely priced AMD's 7000 series CPUs out of the rational market. Despite this, as long as Intel continues to sample and sponsor marketers that are mostly funded by AMD, they will struggle to win market share.

— The Raptor Lake Intel i3-13100F is practically identical to its predecessor, the 12100F. They both feature four hyper-threaded Golden Cove P-cores. The only differences are a 100 MHz base and a 200 MHz boost clock increase which result in a 2% effective speed improvement. With an MSRP of $110 USD, The i3-13100F is the obvious choice for entry level gaming builds. It offers performance that almost matches the previous generations, higher tier, i5-12400F. Since Intel don’t care for long term relationships with PC hardware influencers, for product launches, they often end up sponsoring influencers that are mostly funded by AMD. As a result, Intel rarely get positive marketing coverage beyond launch, and their products remain relatively under priced compared to AMD. When paired with a DDR4 motherboard the 13100F/13400F CPUs (at MSRP) offer unbeatable/good value to entry/mid level PC gamers. High end gamers should investigate the 13600K, which thanks to both higher clocks and higher IPC (Raptor Cove), is around 15% faster than the 13400F.

— The Raptor Lake Intel i5-13400F ($200 USD, cooler included) paired with a B660/B760 motherboard ($150 USD) and 2x8 GB DDR4 3600 RAM ($50 USD) offers good value for money to mid-range gamers. The 13400F has around 5% higher single-core and 35% higher multi-core performance than its predecessor. Although both processors feature the same Golden Cove p-cores, the 13400F has four additional energy efficient e-cores which account for the improvement in multi-core performance. The 13400F offers comparable gaming and better multi-core performance than AMD's 7600X but at a lower price and without the need for an aftermarket cooler, DDR5 memory and an expensive motherboard. Since Intel don’t care for long term relationships with PC hardware influencers, for product launches, they often end up sponsoring influencers that are mostly funded by AMD. As a result, Intel rarely get positive marketing coverage beyond launch, and their products remain relatively under priced compared to AMD. When paired with a DDR4 motherboard the 13100F/13400F CPUs (at MSRP) offer unbeatable/good value to entry/mid level PC gamers. High end gamers should investigate the 13600K, which thanks to both higher clocks and higher IPC (Raptor Cove), is around 15% faster than the 13400F.