Intel 12th-gen ‘Alder Lake’ vs. Ryzen 5000: 5 key things to know

If you’re looking to build a powerhouse PC, one of the first things you need to do is pick your poison: AMD or Intel? Both companies are making some absolutely fantastic CPUs and adjacent platforms, so there’s really no wrong decision here.

But to hell with that fence-sitting BS: It’s still a decision you have to make. So you might as well make the right one, right? Intel’s spanking-new 12th-gen Alder Lake CPU series is busting benchmarks, but there are still plenty of reasons to stick with AMD’s Ryzen 5000 architecture from last year — or to wait it out and see what comes next. Let’s break it down, shall we?

THE CONTENDERS

Assuming that you’re basing your decision on a budget for a PC build, and that you’re phenomenally lucky and manage to find a CPU at the base retail