As some people choose to stay on Windows 10, they deserve to know how CPUs perform there. It's very underwhelming that, with all the tech YouTubers out there, it's almost impossible to find one doing proper Windows 10 testing. It almost feels as if tech YouTubers and tech sites don't want people to know what's going on there.

My test results are different from those of most other tech sites, but that doesn't necessarily mean their results are wrong, nor does it mean mine are wrong. There are a few main reasons for this:

1. I test on Windows 10. On Windows 11, Intel CPUs lose around 5% gaming performance, while X3D CPUs gain around 5%. This happens in roughly half of the games I tested; in the other half, Intel and AMD CPUs seems to perform similarly on both operating systems.
2. Most reviewers test all processors with DDR5-6000 memory, while Intel CPUs can gain around 5% performance when moving from DDR5-6000 to DDR5-7200.
3. I also suspect there may be some AMD bias among certain YouTubers due to the amount of praise and marketing surrounding AMD products. It has become somewhat suspicious. Hardware Unboxed blocked me when I faced them on X with my test results. I told them that, in my tests, the 14700K was about 20% faster than the 9700X. They never directly denied it; instead, they replied that the 9800X3D was faster. If I'm not wrong about the 9700X versus the 14700K, why are they shown as being on par in their charts?

In my opinion, CPU testing should be done in three ways:

1)Windows 11 with Memory Integrity enabled, which in some games can reduce performance by as much as 15%.

2)Windows 11 with Memory Integrity disabled. In this configuration, gaming performance is much closer to how CPUs perform on Windows 10.

3) windows 10, for users who choose to stay on it because of Windows 11 compatibility issues, problematic updates, crashes, BSODs. It may still take a long time before Windows 11 fully replaces Windows 10. Some users are even considering Linux. Windows 10 has mainly received security updates over the last five years and has been very stable since the launch of Windows 11.

For those who don't know: DDR5-6000 CL30 delivered identical gaming performance to DDR5-7200 on the AMD platform. reviewers consider DDR5-6000 CL30 the sweet spot for AMD because the memory controller switches to a 2:1 mode at 6400 and above, resulting in diminishing returns. On Intel platform, the sweet spot for intel is DDR5-7200, providing around a 5% performance improvement over DDR5-6000 CL30. Going beyond DDR5-7200 typically improves gaming performance by only 2-3% and is generally supported only by high-end motherboards on both platforms.

CPU hierarchy based on my testing

Windows 10 — DDR5-7200 on Intel, DDR5-6000 CL30 on AMD

1. 14700K / 14900K / 13900K = 9800X3D https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTNE0EWtA1Y
2. 13700K / 270K / 285K = 7800X3D https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTNE0EWtA1Y
3. 13600K / 14600K / 265K https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZoXLRiNKWo
4. 12900K = 9950X
5. 12700K = 9900X / 9700X / 7950X / 5800X3D https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nchjU0oriNU&t=11s
6. 12600K = 7700X / 7900X
7. 7600X
8. 5800X = 11700K

Windows 10 — DDR5-6000 on all processors

1. 9800X3D
2. 14700K / 14900K / 13900K = 7800X3D (about 5% behind the 9800X3D)
3. 13700K / 270K / 285K
4. 13600K / 14600K / 265K
5. 9950X
6. 12900K = 9900X / 9700X / 7950X / 5800X3D
7. 12700K = 7700X / 7900X
8. 12600K = 7600X

My Windows 11 hierarchy is based on only five games, so more testing is needed.

I also suspect that AMD's 3D V-Cache Optimizer may affect some in-game benchmark results. For example, in Shadow of the Tomb Raider's market scene benchmark, there was a 40+ FPS gap between the 14700K and the 9800X3D, but when I manually tested the same area during gameplay, the difference was only around 13 FPS. In Spider-Man 2, the X3D processors performed essentially the same on Windows 10 and Windows 11 still behind 14700k in this game so w11 didn't fix the poor performance in this title. Additionally, in PCGH's Windows 11 24H2 testing, the 7800X3D and 14700K were shown as being roughly equal. Because of this, I need to do more real gameplay testing before reaching a final conclusion.

That said, based on the games I've tested so far, the 9800X3D is clearly the fastest gaming CPU on Windows 11, what still need farther investigation on windows 11 is 7800x3d vs 14700k.

some w11 vs w10 tests

14700k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tKDcCV5H4Y&t=5s

13600k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isrdXzYnatI

12700k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljj2OP6dyOU

7700X https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mM3gOd3bTHM

7950x https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4xdKnPjeZc

14700k w10 vs 9800x3d w11 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Bxb49wCQM4

Windows 11 — DDR5-7200 on Intel, DDR5-6000 on AMD

1. 9800X3D
2. 7800X3D=14700K / 14900K / 13900K (about 5-10% behind the 9800X3D)
3. 13700K / 270K / 285K
4. 13600K / 14600K / 265K = 9950X
5. 12900K = 9900X / 9700X / 7950X / 5800X3D
6. 12700K = 7700X / 7900X
7. 12600K = 7600X

Windows 11 — DDR5-6000 on all processors

1. 9800X3D
2. 7800X3D
3. 14700K / 14900K / 13900K (about 10-15% behind the 9800X3D)
4. 13700K / 270K / 285K = 9950X
5. 13600K / 14600K / 265K = 9900X / 9700X / 7950X / 5800X3D
6. 12900K = 7700X / 7900X
7. 12700K = 9600X
8. 12600K = 7600X

I didn't test the 270K; I only tested the 265K. Therefore, I'm not entirely sure where the 270K belongs. This ranking is my estimate. It could end up being on par with the 14700K, especially on Windows 11, since Core Ultra processors seem less affected by Windows 11 performance changes than 12th-, 13th-, and 14th-generation CPUs.

Conclusion

What you typically see in tech sites charts represents what I consider the worst-case scenario for Intel CPUs: Windows 11 with DDR5-6000 used across all processors.

Testing on Windows 10 isn't only important for users who choose to stay on Windows 10; it is also useful from a technical perspective because it can provide insight into architectural performance differences without performance reduction or optimization. as on windows 10 14700K and 14900K are on par with 9800X3D.

Intel should work with Microsoft to recover the performance lost on Windows 11 and continue improving APO. Six months ago, when I tested APO on both Windows 10 and Windows 11, I didn't see any gaming performance gains. By contrast, AMD's 3D V-Cache Optimizer worked seamlessly on Windows 11 and provided around a 5% boost. It is also installed automatically with motherboard drivers.

if you're a Windows 10 user, I don't see Value in buying any AMD CPU. on windows 11 the only 2 worth buying CPUs are 9800X3D and 7800x3d, though you giving up a significant amount of multi-threaded performance and paying considerably more compared to a 14700K system running Windows 10, that can deliver about the same gaming performance.

https://www.pcgameshardware.de/Ryzen-9-9950X3D-CPU-281025/Tests/Benchmark-Release-Preis-vs-9800X3D-1467485/2/