What is the fascination with "alleged design superiority" if it doesn't deliver the goods ? "Our racing engine is a superior design and our transmission is highly innovative ... so what, if you came in 2nd none of that matters. It doesn't matter how close it was, the guy who crosses the finish line 1st take home the big cash prize.
Who can name the silver medalist from the last Olympics ? Its the Gold medal winner that gets their name remembered, it's the Gold medal winner that gets their pic on the wheaties box. I don't care if Option B is thought to have a better design ... I don't have reason to care if it's faster at doing things neither myself nor 98% other PC users do. I can not justify a $500 3900x for a pure gaming box when TPU test results show a $230 9600k outperforming it.
Forget cores, forget die size, no matter who makes the CPU, no matter how many cores, how many threads, how many teraflops, whatever.... arguing abut design philosophy is not reasoning, it's making excuses. Only one thing matters, what lets you work and play faster.
Is cost a factor ... yes ofcourse. Is CPU cost in and of itself a factor ? No. You are not comparing cost of a $250 CPU and a $300 CPU, thats a red herring. Your investment in "the box" iss what's relevant. If you are willing to pay $1.800 for a box that's faster instead of $1,750, then that investment has no ROI if it's not more than 2.8% faster But if you earn a living on that box say as a CAD Operator charging $100 an hour .... then you pay for that investment in about 2 days .... every day after that you are making money.
When ya client asks why your competition completed the project for less money and in less time than you did, explaining that your CPU has a better design and it can do many things faster but it's slower in CAD, it's not going to cut any juice. Use the best tool for each job. In my field... CAD operators doing straight 2D and 3D CAD use Intel Boxes with GTX / RTX Graphics ... when that finished work is rendered, it's done on AMD CPUs with more cores and Quadro graphics. There is no tool in any field that id best for every task.... the best tool if the one that finishes the job in the quickest manner. How new or innivative the design is may be dividends for the manufacturer... but it doesn't mean beans to the user. What i the best tool in ta toolbox ? .. the screwdriver, the hammer or the wrench ... the answer depends on whether your current need is to put in a screw, bang in a nail or tighten a bolt. If you never bang in nails, then no matter how good the hammer's design is , this tool is not the best choice for tout work