Intel 15th-gen Arrow Lake: Everything we're expecting from Team Blue
Key Takeaways
AMD is gaining traction on Intel with efficient CPUs and long-term socket support for consumer confidence. Ryzen 9000 series chips offer solid performance and efficiency at a lower cost compared to Intel CPUs. Intel faces stability issues and reputation challenges while AMD continues to offer stable products.
AMD has been producing some incredible CPUs over the last couple of years, with the company's Ryzen CPUs finally going toe-to-toe with Intel in many different ways. From consuming less power to providing a better experience for gamers, the company's CPUs have been on the up and up for years. Recently, we've seen AMD picking up speed, and while Intel still retains a majority (according to the Steam hardware survey, anyway, and multiple independent research outlets), the consensus is that the lead Intel has looks to be dwindling.
As for what AMD needs to do to continue its success, the funny thing is that really, there isn't much else. The company's socket support with AM4 demonstrates that the company will stand by consumers and allow them to stick with one motherboard for years to come, giving consumers confidence in AM5 sticking around for a similar length of time. That, coupled with Intel's stability issues, makes AMD an enticing choice.
As it stands, with the rest of AMD's Ryzen 9000 series just around the corner, all AMD needs to do is focus on stability to continue winning.
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Right now, AMD is already showing promising signs that the 9000 series will be simple, but solid products. There's nothing fancy or special about these two CPUs so far, except for the fact that they are fantastically efficient chips with great performance. They're outpaced by their equivalent Intel chips, but they're significantly cheaper while maintaining lower temperatures and using less power.
As a result, while you may not get the best performance, you'll definitely get better performance per dollar, and there's no question of stability. If you're weighing up the difference between Intel and AMD and you want to play games like Tekken 8, Escape from Tarkov, Counter-Strike, or anything from Alderon Games, why would you buy Intel? All of those games have trouble with Intel's high-end Core i9 chips, leaving you with a choice of either going AMD or buying Intel (which costs more) and underclocking your CPU.
Granted, those problems affect the Core i9 series, but some users have experienced issues on 14th Gen Core i7 CPUs as well that may or may not be related. While those are reported significantly less than the problems with Core i9, Intel in general is in a bad enough spot right now that it's hard to buy any of their CPUs with confidence. AMD just needs to avoid having any kind of similar issues and continue playing it safe, and things will just look worse for Intel as time goes on.
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I really want Intel to succeed, and the company can catch up, but it is going to have a hard time shaking off the reputation it's inadvertently built over the last couple of months. Between stability problems with Intel 13th Gen and 14th Gen Core processors and claims of efficiency with Lunar Lake that many find hard to believe, we'll only get a clear picture of what Intel is actually going to achieve towards the end of this year when Lunar Lake actually arrives. Until then, all we have to go off of with Intel is the fact that the company needs to do something spectacular to catch up.
At the very least, Intel can take a breath and focus on making something great knowing that it still has a majority of the CPU market share, but that majority is dwindling as the months go by. If the company can recover by the end of this year with a lifeline lent to it by Lunar Lake, then it's possible that Arrow Lake alongside it can pull the company out of a freefall. Until that comes, Intel's roadmap is just that: a roadmap.
AMD has already started converting gamers to Team Red with its fantastic 3D V-Cache and promise of stability, but the next generation of CPUs will be when people start making big changes to their computers. Those who were on Intel 12th Gen and 13th Gen will likely be looking to upgrade, and Arrow Lake will be commanding a change of motherboard regardless. If people want to stick with Intel, then so be it, but right now, AMD is making a tantalizing offer to switch to AM5 when you swap out your motherboard rather than staying with Team Blue.
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