The Intel Problem: CPU Efficiency & Power Consumption

A lot of you have requested that we run power consumption tests for gaming on CPUs, so we've finally done that! And alongside fulfilling that request, we also wanted to tackle a comment from Greg, our recurring antagonist commenter, who "requested" CPU efficiency testing. These benchmarks look at the efficiency and raw power consumption of Intel vs. AMD CPUs. There's a particular focus on the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D and Intel Core i7-14700K and 14900K CPUs, as these are the most recent and directly comparable / best gaming CPUs.

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TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - TwitterBall X
00:25 - BET
01:23 - Tests Included
03:22 - The Plan & Testing Methodology
06:54 - F1 2023 CPU Gaming Efficiency
08:12 - Locking the Framerate (F1)
10:25 - AMD's Floor - I/O Die Requirements
10:44 - Cyberpunk: Phantom Liberty Heavy Gaming
12:15 - GPU-Bound CPU Efficiency in Gaming
13:28 - Starfield Efficiency
14:19 - GPU Utilization vs. CPU Power Discussion
15:28 - 60FPS Locked
16:21 - Baldur's Gate 3
17:03 - Blender Power Efficiency (Wh)
17:27 - Compression Efficiency (MIPS/W)
17:47 - Photoshop Locked to 86W
18:10 - Highest Power Consumption Spikes
21:04 - Conclusions & Actual Electricity COST
25:59 - Future Plans for This Testing

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Host, Testing, Test Lead, Video Editing: Steve Burke
Video Editing, Testing: Mike Gaglione
Video Editing: Tim Phetdara
Guest: Wendell of Level1 Techs

[dremy]

I've done extensive testing and I've found that if you power limit both the 14900K and 7800X3D at 0W they perform identically with identical performance per watt.

[VincentBeauregard-io]

There's something admirable about a team which idea of having fun is piling up weeks of benchmark over a troll comment. Kudos guys!

[russellhammant]

''We figure that some people might not like this scenario because it's completely valid, fair, realistic and out of the box as you use the processor'' - sassy Steve is by far my favorite Steve

[eliasroflchopper]

It's hilarious to me that the 7800X3D without FPS limit still pulls less power than the 14900K with an FPS limit

Edit: the amount of fanboys defending Intel with all they have, for no good reason at all, is just ridiculous. Stop saying they should have undervolted it. Stop saying they should have turned off the E-cores. Stop saying they should have limited the power draw (which they did for the 14700K photoshop test, actually). Stop trying to make this literal waste of energy better than it is. You get nothing from it by doing this. You only expose yourself to siding with a company that rips you off, and that makes you look like morons.

And besides, this video was supposed to be a fair comparison between Intel and AMD. If you tweak Intels chip to the point of being advantaged, you surely can do the same for AMD.

[shivcharan]

Even though Greg took a fat L, he gave us all a big W for introducing this new set of power efficiency tests! Thanks Greg and Thanks Steve!

[andydbedford]

Greg: you are not testing CPU’s scientifically enough!
GN: challenge accepted.
Subscribers: Thanks Steve 👍

[Jdmorris]

GN team, the intros are something else. I may come here for the info you provide but I get entertained by the intros.

[UncleSilverGaming]

Damn Gregs out here makin' us look bad! From one Greg to another, DAMN IT, GREG!

[lexwaldez]

Can we all just take a moment to thank Greg for threatening us with a good time? This was an EXCELLENT presentation and more than a little eye opening. I knew 14rth gen i7 and i9 CPU's were power hungry but Intel got absolutely abused. I should not have started this at bed time. 30 minutes gone in no time.

[doesntmatter]

As a computer engineer, it baffles me how many have such strong and vocal opinions and push those opinions when they have not a single clue about the subject

[HafCoJoe]

The fact you get biased comments like this and still take the time to go through and methodically test them speaks loads to you and your team's character. THIS is the content I'm subscribed for! Love to see it.

[kasimirdenhertog]

If I can make a humble suggestion: you're referring to the voltage/frequency curve a few times in this video. It would be interesting to actually plot the curve, then find the sweet spot for the CPUs (7800X3D vs. 14700K would probably be most interesting) on that curve and compare the performance at that particular point. This would put a figure on the maximum achievable efficiency.

[limemason]

I love how Steve will see a tweet with like 5 likes and take it as a personal challenge necessitating tens of man hours of work. What a mad lad

[Noobsaucer]

The low-key tragic detail of this video is that the 14900k is LESS efficient than the 13900k in literally every single test. Ouch.

[Walterbgaming]

The important question remains tho... How will userbenchmark spin this one??

[SuspiciousGirafe]

"We figured that some people might not like this scenario... because it's completely valid, fair, realistic and ootb as you use the processor"
LOL, you didn't have to roast them this hard, Steve !

[machinainc]

Insane the amount of power Intel chips need just to keep up. 3x more power at some instances and almost always twice+ more. I knew it was bad but this was a bloodbath

[davidmstuff]

Anyone else enjoying the ridiculously good quality of stuff that the GN team has been putting out lately? Mfers are heading into 2024 on FIRE!

[dontreadtoofarintoit]

I can only imagine its difficult to come up with creative and unique shots for a processor, it doesn't go unnoticed from myself. Some creativity here using the lens with it being the subject of investigation.

[jedimastapeb]

The coverage you all have been doing, on virtually everything, has been outstanding.

I know it's not much, but here's a token of appreciation.

I debated whether or not I should give you this, considering you got someone's whole paycheck as a result of this video. I'm obviously in the wrong line of work.