Cinema 4D: Intel Core 14th Gen vs AMD Ryzen 7000

Introduction

Last year, Intel launched its 13th Gen Core Processors codenamed Raptor Lake-S for desktop. These processors, a follow-up to their 12th Gen Alder Lake processors and using the same hybrid architecture of “P” (Performance) and “E” (Efficient) cores, supported DDR4 and DDR5 and were compatible with the same LGA 1700 socket while offering a 10-30% performance increase; the high end of this due to increases in “Efficiency core”-counts. Intel is now launching the next step up with their 14th Gen Intel Core Processors codenamed Raptor Lake-S Refresh. Like 13th Gen, these CPUs are drop-in compatible with LGA 1700 motherboards while offering higher frequencies and IPC improvements. The i7 variant—14700K—also features four additional “E”-cores over the 13700K.

Cinema 4D users often need a combination of single-core and multi-core performance, depending on their specific task. Traditionally, modeling, animation, and certain physics simulations require few fast cores. Conversely, rendering, fluid sims, and some plugins perform better with more cores. Recently, Maxon has upgraded C4D and Cinebench to Redshift for both CPU and GPU rendering, with it defaulting to GPU unless you specify or do not have a Redshift subscription. Other recent updates to Cinema 4D have also moved many physics simulations to the GPU.

In this article, we will be using Cinebench 2024 from Maxon to examine the performance of the new 14th-generation Intel Core Processors and compare them to AMD’s Ryzen 7000 series, as well as the previous 13th-generation Intel Core CPUs. The scores listed are the average of multiple runs, each running for a minimum of 5 minutes to eliminate any potential short-term boost.

If you want to read more about the new Intel 14th Gen Core CPUs and what separates them from the previous generation, we recommend checking out our main 14th Gen Intel Core Processors Content Creation Review article. That post includes more detailed information on the CPU specifications and an overview of testing results for a range of other applications, including Photoshop, Lightroom Classic, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, After Effects, Unreal Engine, Blender, and V-Ray. Although these CPUs, like the previous generation, can draw a large amount of power, we are currently disabling any features that run the tested CPUs outside of manufacturer specifications. We are also running the CPUs at the “standard” power profiles, as this is how we currently ship out systems. For more information about the impact of the power profile and how larger coolers affect the performance of the CPUs, you can refer to our Power Draw and Cooling: 14th Gen Intel Core Processors article.

Intel Core 14th Gen vs AMD Ryzen 7000 for Cinema 4D

To start our analysis, we wanted to look at how the new 14th Gen Intel Core CPUs compared to AMD’s Ryzen 7000 series. The MSRP pricing for Intel and AMD don’t exactly match, but in most cases, the comparisons we are making in the chart above are looking at CPUs that have an MSRP within $40 of each other. The exception is the Core i9 13900K vs Ryzen 7950X since Intel doesn’t currently have a CPU on par with the Ryzen 7950X in terms of MSRP ($699). Also, we are using the currently listed MSRP as a long-term price indicator, but there are often sales from either manufacturer, so be sure to check your prices before making a final decision.

If you are interested in the exact specs for each of these CPUs, we have a full breakdown in our main 14th-Gen Intel Core Processors Content Creation Review article.

The new Intel Core 14900K managed to dethrone the previous multi-core leader, AMD’s Ryzen 9 7950X, while being quite a bit less expensive. In general, Cinebench 2024 does really well on Intel CPUs compared to other render engines such as Blender or V-Ray. Looking at the single core results, Intel already had a lead in this area, and they expanded on that and are now ahead by 18%. 

The 14900K is more directly compared to the Ryzen 7900X regarding price, with only $40 between the two. Here, Intel has a lead when it comes to cores and threads, having 24 cores and 32 threads compared to 12/24 for the 7900X. This allows Intel to post a 14% higher multi-core score than the Ryzen 7900X and 15% higher single-core. 

Moving on to the lower-end parts, Intel’s lead continues to grow. The new Intel 14700K is an impressive 50% faster than the Ryzen 7700X, largely due to the extra E-cores. Intel’s offering has 20 cores and 28 threads compared to the 7700X’s eight cores and 16 threads. Single-core scores are much closer, with Intel posting a 9% lead.

Lastly, the Intel 13600K is 55% faster than the 7600K in multi-core rendering and 4% faster in single-core. Intel really gives a great value proposition on the lower end.

Intel Core 14th Gen vs Intel Core 13th Gen for Cinema 4D

In the previous section, we examined how the new 14th Gen Intel processors stack up against AMD’s newest Ryzen 7000, but we should also examine how they compare to the previous 13th Gen Intel CPUs. As we can see from the chart, there are a few stories to be told. 

On the high end, the 14900K is only 2.7% faster than the 13900K in multi-core. That is almost within the margin of error for Cinebench. For the single core scores, there is only a 4% improvement. Both of these results give little to no reason to upgrade a CPU from 13900K to this new CPU. 

The 14700K sees a bigger improvement due to this version’s extra e-cores. This CPU is 9% faster than the 13700 in multi-core rendering and 4.6% faster in single-core. While this is a better result than we saw with the 14900K, it is still not as much of an improvement as we would hope between generations. 

Interestingly, the lower-end 14600K also has a more than 9% improvement in multi-core. However, this new CPU has the same number of cores as the previous 13600K. Interestingly, Intel was able to squeeze this improvement out of this lower-end CPU while it wasn’t able to with the higher-end. Like the other new CPUs, the 14600K also had a 4% improvement in single-core performance.

How well do the Intel Core 14th Gen CPUs perform in Cinema 4D?

Intel’s new 14th Gen CPUs show modest improvements from 2-9% over the previous generation. This is enough to give Intel its first CPU rendering win in quite a while. The 14900K’s less than 3% improvement manages to edge out the AMD Radeon 7950X while being less expensive. Compared to the more similarly priced 7900X, the Intel leads by 14%. The 13700K and 13600K each further their respective leads on the lower end. 

While any improvement is appreciated, this small increase makes it tough to recommend an upgrade, especially for CPU rendering. If upgrading from an even older platform, the 14th-generation CPUs are a good option, assuming prices are equal. None of these CPUs are ideal for CPU-based rendering. For that, you would be better off with Threadripper or Xeon, but they pair well with a GPU for those who want a good platform for most other tasks without breaking the bank.

Bear in mind that the benchmarks presented in this article are for Cinema 4D, and that performance can vary dramatically between different applications; each software will utilize the available hardware differently and so be impacted in a unique way by hardware changes. If you use other software packages in your workflow, we recommend checking out out 14th Gen Intel Core Processors Content Creation Review article, which includes results and links to in-depth testing for a range of other applications, including Photoshop, Lightroom Classic, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, After Effects, Unreal Engine, Blender, and V-Ray.

---

Finding the perfect workstation doesn’t have to be complicated. Explore our solutions page for a curated selection of recommended systems for a multitude of applications and workflows, or visit our custom configuration page if you already know the ideal hardware for your needs. If you need assistance with tailoring a system to a unique workflow or have any other questions, we encourage you to reach out to our dedicated technology consultants.