JAMES GORBOLD / HARDWARE ACCELERATED
James Gorbold has been building, tweaking and overclocking PCs ever since the 1980s. He now helps Scan Computers to develop new systems.
OPINION
I
’vebeensayingfora whilenowthatIntel’sHEDT
(high-enddesktop)strategyisn’tfitforpurposeany
more.Theproductsareoutofdateandoutoftouch,
especiallytheagingX299chipset,andtheyfailtosatisfy
boththeenthusiastandworkstationmarketsatwhichthey’re
aimed.Couplethatwithongoingsupplyissues,bothwith
theoutgoing9000-seriesSkylake-Xmodelsandthenew
10000-seriesCascadeLake-Xmodels,andyouhavetowonder
what’sgoingonatIntelnow.
WithdemandforHEDTprocessorsatanall-timelow,
Intel’sbighopefora resurgenceinQ4wasthespecial-edition
Corei9-9900KS.This8-core/16-thread
processorupsthebaseclockfrom3.6GHz
to4GHz,andwithitsTDPraisedfrom95W
to127W,it’sthefirstCPUthatcanboost
allitscoresupto5GHz.Thisallcomesata
cost,however,intermsofincreasedpower
consumptionandheatoutputand,worst
ofall,resilience.Thisis evidentnotjustin
the fact that Intel can only make a tiny quantity of 9900KS
CPUs, but even more crucially in this CPU’s one-year warranty.
Although you sometimes see other processors with a one-
year warranty in the UK, these are generally a result of an
oversupply of tray OEM CPUs, not the retail boxed CPUs. For
Intel to only offer a one-year warranty on such a high-end
premium CPU as the 9900KS, especially at £550 inc VAT, does
seem outstandingly arrogant.
As a result, since its launch a few weeks ago, it has been
interesting to watch how little impact the 9900KS has had
on the market. While nobody could argue it’s been a flop, the
sales figures for the 9900KS almost exactly match the drop
insalesforthe9900K– inotherwords,Intelhasn’tsoldany
moreCPUsasa result.Datashowsthat,overthesametime
period,AMDRyzen9 processorsaleshaven’tmovedeither.
Tosumitupinonephrase,Intelappearsnowtobeinthe
unenviablepositionofcompetingwithitselfforsecondplace.
AllthishappenedatprettymuchthesametimethatAMD
releasedtheRyzen9 3950X,a mainstreamCPUwithtwice
asmanycoresasthe9900KS,andwhichcomprehensively
smashesit inalmosteverybenchmark.Eveningames,the
traditionalstrongholdofIntelCPUs,there’shardlyany
perceptibleperformancedifferencebetweenflagshipIntel
andAMDprocessors,especiallyatthe
highresolutionsatwhicha high-end
PCfeaturingoneofthesechipswould
beplaying.
CouplethiswithIntel’srepeatedlaunch
delaysofitscurrentproducts,letalone
thedelaytoshippingtruenext-gen10nm
processors,thedesktopCPUmarketfor
the near future is in many ways in the hands of AMD.
There are only two possible circumstances that I can
imagine making meaningful changes to this situation. Firstly,
if Intel splashed out big on marketing over the crucial Q4
period that includes Black Friday and Christmas sales, and
secondly, if AMD managed to score a spectacular own goal.
The latter is unlikely, and while Intel has a massive war chest,
AMD’s finances are now in a position to start funding more
marketing, so the market really is open.
As an interested observer, the CPU market is putting on a
good show, especially at this time of year when it’s nice to
be tucked up in the warm in front of a good yarn.Only offering a one-year
warranty on such a high-end
premium CPU does seem
outstandingly arrogantWHAT’S GOING ON AT INTEL?
With launch delays, and a high-end CPU with just a one-year warranty,
James Gorbold says the desktop CPU market is now in AMD’s hands