Ryzen 3 1300X vs Core i7-4770K

Gaming speed, cores and clocks

On our gaming index the Ryzen 3 1300X scores 23 and the Core i7-4770K scores 22, about 5% faster for gaming. That gap is small and mostly shows up at 1080p with a very fast graphics card.

The Ryzen 3 1300X has 4 cores and 4 threads, and the Core i7-4770K has 4 cores and 8 threads. Core counts are the same, so cache size and clock speed decide the difference. Boost clocks are 3.7 GHz and 3.9 GHz.

Platform, power and price

The Ryzen 3 1300X uses the AM4 socket and the Core i7-4770K uses LGA1150, so they need different motherboards, and often different memory. When you compare prices, count the board as well as the chip.

Rated power is 65 W for the first and 84 W for the second. That is close enough that cooling needs will be similar.

At launch the Ryzen 3 1300X cost $129 and the Core i7-4770K $339, which gives 17.8 and 6.5 points of gaming performance per $100. Today's prices will differ.

Which graphics cards each one can feed, and which to buy

At 1080p the Ryzen 3 1300X can feed a card up to the Arc A580 before it holds the card back by more than 10 percent. The Core i7-4770K reaches the Arc A580. Both chips are in the same range for graphics card pairing.

Choose the Ryzen 3 1300X if you want the faster gaming chip and the same or more cores. Choose the Core i7-4770K if you would rather spend the difference on a graphics card, which does more for frame rates in most games.