The rivalry between Intel and AMD is fierce, with the two companies constantly competing for the best processor crown. But few people expected the aggression that would lie in a new one playbook presented by Intelwhich insinuates that AMD is selling “snake oil” to unsuspecting customers.
The claims were made in a slide deck called 'Core Truths', the main argument of which is that AMD's CPU naming conventions can confuse consumers and obscure old architecture in newer products.
For example, Intel directly mentions the Ryzen 5 7520U chip, which it notes is built on the Zen 2 architecture that debuted in 2019, despite the chip going on sale in 2022. Intel says its own comparable chip (the Core i5 1335U) is 83. % faster than the Ryzen 5 7520U, even though AMD markets its chip as brand new technology.
Intel goes further than just saying this is misleading, instead juxtaposing it with images of a snake oil salesman and a dodgy-looking used car salesman. Intel's inference is clear: AMD's product naming is deliberately confusing and can fool buyers.
Does Intel have a point?
It's hard to argue that Intel's slide deck is a complete overkill. AMD's CPU naming convention is somewhat confusing. It works like this: instead of differentiating the CPU architecture by generation, AMD now says all its mobile chips will fall under the latest Ryzen 7000 moniker.
The third number in the chip's name indicates the architecture – the two in the 7520U mean Zen 2, for example – but that deviates from AMD's long-standing naming practices and could confuse buyers, who may see and assume the seven that they get a brand -new architecture.
But Intel itself does not have completely clean hands. The company's (just released) 14th generation desktop chips are essentially revamped 13th generation Raptor Lake processors, while the upcoming Core 100 series is rumored to recycle Raptor Lake parts as well.
So yes, Intel does have a point when it comes to AMD's confusing chip naming system, and we shouldn't ignore it. But it could be seen as a somewhat cynical play, while Intel itself has been guilty of integrating old architectures into new products. It just highlights the fact that when shopping for PC parts, you need to do your research to make sure you get exactly what you expect.