After years of falling behind Intel in the race for CPU hierarchy, this year could finally be the one that sees AMD bridge the gap – with fans of Intel thinking about converting for at least a couple of years.

For many Intel users, the last few months have been plagued with frustration as the company has struggled to address issues with CPU instability. Owners of the brand’s 13th & 14th Gen desktop processors who have been experiencing this issue have been urged to reach out for support from Intel – who has given a mid-August ETA on a potential fix.

At the same time, AMD seems to be making real waves in the processing space, with early signs looking positive for its upcoming 9000 series launch – despite it being delayed. The brand’s ‘Zen 5’ CPUs are expected to be a big success, with the flagship Ryzen 9 9950X already breaking numerous records.

This year is set to be pivotal in AMD’s continued battle with Intel, as the brand could see the divide close exponentially. In fact, some Intel fans are actually talking about switching sides for at least a few years, which is a real concern for Team Blue.

As you can see from the image above, Intel still holds market dominance over AMD, with Intel holding 63.5% of the market share in Q3 2024. It’ll be incredibly interesting to see how the desktop market will change once AMD’s 9000-series chips launch.

Here’s what Intel fans are saying

People are going to Reddit to discuss whether it’s worth avoiding Intel now. It seems the general consensus among fans is against buying Intel’s 13th and 14th Gen desktop CPUs, as well as new 12th Gen desktop CPUs. Also, some have advised against future Intel CPUs for a few years, with as_1089 making the point that “you don’t want to pick up a 15600K only for it to toast itself too”.

The high failure rates on 13th Gen CPUs, reportedly “as high as 7%” in some regions according to ForsookComparison, is clearly a massive red flag for those seeking reliable hardware. KingLuis also stresses the issue of reliability, questioning why you’d buy “something that could be faulty versus a competitor that performs just as well’. Some Reddit users have also argued AMD’s CPUs are a better value proposition, with BruceyNukez highlighting “lower TDP, in some cases better performance, uses less power, doesn't need expensive cooling, most of the time it's cheaper, and it has a better upgrade path.”

To summarise, things are looking up for AMD right now. This leaked report, which suggests that Intel still doesn't “fully understand the root cause” of the CPU instability, really doesn’t help their case or provide assurance to customers of an August fix. On AMD’s side, their 9000 series launch is delayed, but fan reaction to the delay is surprisingly positive. While it’s somewhat embarrassing that a simple typo is probably a reason why the 9000 series was delayed, this is reassuring to AMD fans that it probably isn’t due to a major issue with hardware or software. And with many Intel fans feeling like they have no choice but to jump ship, it certainly seems unclear what the next steps are for Intel moving forward.

About the Author

Bruce Dent

Bruce has always had a strong interest in tech and gaming, and in particular, the latest product updates and releases.