It's no secret that Intel has been playing catch-up with AMD over the last few months as Team Red pulled ahead with Ryzen 3rd Generation – Team Blue has itself admitted this. But, some leaked benchmarks of Intel's next high-end desktop (HEDT) platform suggest it will fall behind AMD's mainstream platform.
This is all according to a leaked GeekBench 4 entry spotted by the folks over at Wccftech. In these results, the Intel Core i9-10920X scores a multi-core result of 44,046, compared to the 44,160 scored by the Ryzen 9 3900X in our review. If this leaked benchmark reflects reality, it won't look too good for Intel when Cascade Lake-X launches later this year.
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Now, it's important to note that HEDT and mainstream processors aren't directly comparable, as they target different segments of the market. However, because HEDT chips are targeting high processor (CPU) performance for creatives and professionals, they're expected to crush mainstream silicon into the dirt – and the prices reflect that.
For instance, the last-generation Intel Core i9-9920X retails for $1,189 (£1,049, AU$1,799). So, if its successor is around the same price, which we don't know for sure, it should be able to beat AMD's mainstream flagship that's about half the price at $499 (£531, AU$809). It's true that the Ryzen 9 3900X is facing increased prices right now, but they've not increased that much.
It is also true that this leaked GeekBench 4 result is better than an AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X, but that processor is a year old, and new Threadripper chips are right around the corner.
Either way, these leaks may not represent reality, and we won't know the details of what Intel's Cascade Lake-X can do until Team Blue reveals its next desktop processors. Until then, all we can do is look at these leaks and try to guess what will happen next. At the very least, the PC components space is alive with competition once more.
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