Earlier quoted context omitted.
Either I had really bad timing or bad luck, but somehow I am ending up with Intel even though I really wanted to switch. Around 2012 I bought a 4-core Core i5 and after some basic upgrades (max RAM to 32GB and a good SSD) it had more-than-acceptable performance for my work until mid-2018. Even when I dabbled with Machine Learning I borrowed a 1070 from my office and was plenty to run my tasks. Around end of 2018 I st…
AMD is beating Intel on performance, but with recent price cuts, Intel is offering VERY good value right now and also much better availability. If you don't need the absolute best, Intel is the way to go easily.
Relatedly, I am surprised by the commenters who believe that the trends in Intel pricing were somehow involuntary. The outperformance of AMD CPUs was clear even prior to the pandemic, and I recall talk at that time about Intel using price pressure to resist AMD's expansion of market share and gross margins. Now that silicon supply is getting tight, market share is all the more relevant because whatever demand AMD can't meet gets caught by Intel. It's not all about benchmarks (although IMO Intel is hanging in there with Rocket Lake). You actually have to get a customer to buy your product in order to generate revenue.