Left · AMD
AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D
Spec score
Spec score 96
$624
Amazon US, Oct 24
Ryzen 9 9950X3D against Core Ultra 9 285K
Ryzen 9 9950X3D leads on the overall index. The price beside each button is the Amazon US reading where ScoutPrices has one; the comparison below is worked on typical prices.
Right · Intel
Intel Core Ultra 9 285K
Spec score
Spec score 88
$485
Amazon US, Oct 24
Which one for what
Office & everyday
Either
Within 1 points; buy on price.
Coding & development
Either
Within 0 points; buy on price.
Light gaming
Ryzen 9 9950X3Dleft
95 vs 83 on the light gaming blend.
Gaming
Ryzen 9 9950X3Dleft
96 vs 80 on the gaming blend.
Heavy gaming
Ryzen 9 9950X3Dleft
96 vs 79 on the heavy gaming blend.
Content creation
Ryzen 9 9950X3Dleft
97 vs 94 on the content creation blend.
3D & rendering
Either
Within 1 points; buy on price.
Gaming & streaming
Ryzen 9 9950X3Dleft
96 vs 87 on the gaming & streaming blend.
AI & local models
Either
Within 0 points; buy on price.
Head to head
Scores
Indices out of 100 on ScoutSpecs' own scale, one per kind of work. They are not frames per second and not a measurement of any one sample.
Spec score
Ryzen 9 9950X3D: 96
Core Ultra 9 285K: 88
8 ptsto the left
Gaming
Ryzen 9 9950X3D: 96
Core Ultra 9 285K: 72
24 ptsto the left
Multi-core
Ryzen 9 9950X3D: 99
Core Ultra 9 285K: 100
1 ptsto the right
Single-core
Ryzen 9 9950X3D: 93
Core Ultra 9 285K: 98
5 ptsto the right
Price and value
Worked on typical prices, the figures the comparison is built on.
Value, points per $100
Ryzen 9 9950X3D: 14.3
Core Ultra 9 285K: 16.6
16%to the right
Typical price
Ryzen 9 9950X3D: $669
Core Ultra 9 285K: $530
$139to the right
From the spec sheets
Cores
Ryzen 9 9950X3D: 16
Core Ultra 9 285K: 24
50%to the right
Threads
Ryzen 9 9950X3D: 32
Core Ultra 9 285K: 24
33%to the left
Boost clock
Ryzen 9 9950X3D: 5.7 GHz
Core Ultra 9 285K: 5.7 GHz
level
Turbo power
Ryzen 9 9950X3D: 230 W
Core Ultra 9 285K: 250 W
9%to the left
The verdict
- The Ryzen 9 9950X3D leads in games by 33%.
- Ryzen 9 9950X3D and Core Ultra 9 285K are level on multi-core.
- The Core Ultra 9 285K is 5% quicker in single-threaded work, which is most of what a desktop does.
- The Core Ultra 9 285K typically costs $139 less.
- Per dollar, the Core Ultra 9 285K is the better buy: 16.6 points per $100 against 14.3.
Specifications
| Spec | Ryzen 9 9950X3D | Core Ultra 9 285K |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Zen 5 X3D | Arrow Lake |
| Socket | AM5 | LGA1851 |
| Cores / threads | 16 / 32 | 24 / 24 (better) |
| Base clock | 4.3 GHz (better) | 3.7 GHz |
| Boost clock | 5.7 GHz | 5.7 GHz |
| TDP / turbo power | 170 / 230 W | 125 / 250 W (better) |
| Memory | DDR5 | DDR5 |
| Built-in graphics | Yes | Yes |
| Cooler in the box | No | No |
| Brand | AMD | Intel |
| Released | 2025 (better) | 2024 |
| Typical price | $669 | $530 (better) |
The better figure of each pair is in green, with a tick.