This is why Intel is beating AMD Ryzen on price and availability

Intel Robert Noyce Building
(Image credit: Intel)

A new report from Mercury Research has AMD losing market share in the last three months, ceding more control of the CPU game back to Intel. That's a somewhat surprising revelation because it's wildly accepted that AMD has the better processors right now—you only need look at our best CPU for gaming guide to see AMD takes up the number one and two slots, with Intel being relegated to the bronze medal position with its Core i7 10700K.

Your next upgrade

(Image credit: Future)

Best CPU for gaming: the top chips from Intel and AMD
Best graphics card: your perfect pixel-pusher awaits
Best SSD for gaming: get into the game ahead of the rest

Here's the thing though, depending on where you live in the world, it's almost impossible to get your hands on the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X or the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X. And if you can, there's a good chance you're going to be paying over the odds for the pleasure. Sometimes well over. And, while they are both great chips, price is obviously an essential factor. 

Intel, meanwhile, has plenty of its chips on the shelves ready for customers to buy. It's clearly feeling a bit bullish too, as there are deals to be had on its very latest processor lines. The likes of the Core i5 10600K recently popped up on Best Buy for $230, which is a $50 saving on its usual list price and the Core i7 10700 (that's the non-K version) can be had for $295 over at Newegg and Best Buy—that's a $65 saving. Even the Core i7 10700K can be had for $25 less than its normal selling price, at $360.

Our buying guide still stands, if you're in the market for a new build, then AMD's Ryzen 5000-series chips are the way to go. But we wouldn't recommend paying over the odds for them. But if you can't find the Zen 3 CPUs at reasonable prices, then Intel's chips are just as capable in-game and right now offer great value for money as well. 

TSMC

(Image credit: Taiwanese Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.)

So how has Intel got so many chips out there and AMD so few? Supply and demand. Intel has full control over its supply chain while AMD has to battle the likes of Apple, Nvidia, and Qualcomm et al. to try and get more production capacity at TSMC. And with reports that like the fact that TSMC's 3nm production capacity has already been reserved up to 2024, there probably isn't a lot of spare capacity there right now.

We're as guilty as any site for constantly poking fun at Intel over the fact that it's still using a production process node that it should have kicked out into the long grass at least five years ago, but Intel appears to have turned its difficulties into a positive. Yeah, it may not be the most cutting-edge production process around, even at Intel, but it works. Intel knows how to get the most from it, and has done incredibly well so far pushing clock speeds ever higher—5.3GHz on its Core i9 10900K for instance.

Don't get me wrong. It's not like Intel is in a great place with its process development—its share price took a massive hit after admitting there were problems with its move to 7nm, and these problems were undoubtedly a factor in CEO Bob Swan's decision to step aside so known techie, Pat Gelsinger, could take over

Still, at a time when some are calling for Intel to stop focusing so much on the manufacturing side of its business, it seems that this doggedness has actually worked surprisingly well. 

10900K

(Image credit: Intel)

Obviously, it would be better if Intel hadn't had production problems. Imagine a world where it was competing with AMD on a slightly more even footing, possibly with 10nm or 7nm desktop chips in tow, and it probably wouldn't have to take a scalpel to its price tags, but the very fact it's still not only in the game but increasing its market share, is testament to its decision to keep going on the manufacturing front.

Key to this is that Intel doesn't have to fight with its competitors to try and get allocation for its chips. Which is essentially what AMD has to do to get more capacity from TSMC. And while Intel cosying up with TSMC is on the cards in the short term, Intel's new CEO Pat Gelsinger has said 7nm production is looking good and that the majority of its 2023 products will be manufactured internally. 

After managing to increase its market share against a technologically more advance AMD, that seems like a wise move. 

AMD may have the best architecture right now, using an advanced production process that helps it shine, but without the volume, it simply doesn't stand a chance of making the most of a buoyant market. Intel also has a new CPU architecture on its way soon with Rocket Lake, another 14nm design but with a backport of the 10nm Ice Lake Core architecture.

That will give it a bit of an IPC bump, but also means it's on a mature production node which will be straightforward to manufacture. The fact that it could actually appear in volume is one reason that Rocket Lake, despite its geriatric process, might actually be a win for Intel. Especially if it's priced right.

For now though, if you are looking to build a brand new PC today, then the likes of the Core i7 10700 for $295 is really hard to ignore. Even if it doesn't have support for PCIe 4.0.

Alan Dexter

Alan has been writing about PC tech since before 3D graphics cards existed, and still vividly recalls having to fight with MS-DOS just to get games to load. He fondly remembers the killer combo of a Matrox Millenium and 3dfx Voodoo, and seeing Lara Croft in 3D for the first time. He's very glad hardware has advanced as much as it has though, and is particularly happy when putting the latest M.2 NVMe SSDs, AMD processors, and laptops through their paces. He has a long-lasting Magic: The Gathering obsession but limits this to MTG Arena these days.

Latest in Processors
 photo shows a factory tool that places lids on data center system-on-chips at an Intel fab in Chandler, Arizona, in December 2023. In February 2024, Intel Corporation launched Intel Foundry as the world’s first systems foundry for the AI era, delivering leadership in technology, resiliency and sustainability.
Return of the gigahertz wars: New Chinese transistor uses bismuth instead of silicon to potentially sock it to Intel and TSMC with 40% more speed
 photo shows a factory tool that places lids on data center system-on-chips at an Intel fab in Chandler, Arizona, in December 2023. In February 2024, Intel Corporation launched Intel Foundry as the world’s first systems foundry for the AI era, delivering leadership in technology, resiliency and sustainability.
So, wait, now TSMC is supposedly pitching a joint venture with Nvidia, AMD and Broadcom to run Intel's ailing chip fabs?
Pipboy holds up an open padlock.
A BIOS update could be all that's stopping you or someone else from jailbreaking your old AMD CPU
A screenshot from Sony's PlayStation 5 Pro announcement video, showing a stylized processor against a dark background with glowing lines streaming from its edges
The AMD x Sony collab gave us FSR4 and a version will appear in PlayStation next year, too, having 'already started to implement the new neural network on PS5 Pro'
A screenshot from a YouTube video showing a sticker being pulled from the front of a fake 9800X3D CPU
This Amazon-bought fake AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is actually a 14-year-old Bulldozer chip with a cheap sticker on it
A close-up stylized photo of a silicon wafer, showing many small processor dies
Intel is still using TSMC for 30% of its wafer demands: 'We were talking about trying to get that to zero as quickly as possible. That's no longer the strategy'
Latest in Features
Honey B Lovely
The state of Final Fantasy 14 in 2025: It's in a weird spot, huh?
Monster Hunter Wilds palico
One of the biggest victories of Monster Hunter Wilds' streamlining is I don't have to deal with those awful gimmick fights anymore
A vampire with a dark castle and swarms of bats in the background.
We need to decide on a genre name for Vampire Survivors-like games before a really terrible one sticks
Olivia, Alma and a palico
I wish Monster Hunter Wilds wasn't so afraid of letting me play Monster Hunter
SteelSeries QcK Performance mouse pads overlapping on a desk
The SteelSeries QcK Performance series has reignited my excitement over the simple pleasure of a quality mouse pad… and trying to click skulls with pinpoint accuracy
OneXPlayer 2 pro on a table
I never thought a handheld PC bloated with Windows could replace my Steam Deck, but after gaming on an old OneXPlayer 2 Pro I can see now I judged it too harshly