AMD Ryzen 5 9600X vs Intel Core i5-14600K

Processor comparison for gaming — benchmark scores, estimated framerates and which one suits your build.

The short answer

Intel Core i5-14600K is the faster of the two for gaming, by roughly 10% over the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X.

Gap measured from estimated framerates across 5 games, not from benchmark scores — scores rank parts reliably but compress the distance between two fast ones.

Benchmark scores

Measure AMD Ryzen 5 9600X Intel Core i5-14600K
Gaming score ours 30,160 33,959
CPU Mark 30,016 39,796
Faster than 93% of 1,255 97% of 1,255
Cores / threads 6 / 12 14 / 20
Boost clock 5.4 GHz 5.5 GHz
L3 cache 32 MB 24 MB
TDP 65 W 125 W
Socket Socket AM5 Socket 1700

The gaming score damps high-core-count parts, which win productivity benchmarks without delivering proportional framerate, and credits 3D V-Cache where it is measurably earned.

Estimated FPS at 1080p

Both measured against the same reference graphics card — a GeForce RTX 4090 — so the processor is the variable being tested. Ranges, not exact figures.

Game AMD Ryzen 5 9600X Intel Core i5-14600K
Fortnite 260–433 CPU 297–495 CPU
CS:GO 339–565 CPU 372–620 CPU
GTA V 116–193 CPU 127–212 CPU
Apex Legends 128–213 CPU 134–224 CPU
PUBG 136–227 CPU 148–246 CPU

Which suits your build?

These figures hold a reference graphics card constant. Your own build decides the answer: a faster processor buys nothing if the other component is already the limit. Run both against your actual hardware:

Check both in the bottleneck calculator