Maybe Power9 is a better fit for HPC or TB HANA in memory DBs but not as a Desktop alternative, not taking into account the difficulty to find software for the architecture.
That's a bit of a stretch, don't you think? Those Intel cores (and similar AMD ones) come with a mandatory signed binary blob on a secondary CPU that has full access to all your data. In the worst case, you could simply be computing faster for an adversary by selecting the Intel solution.
Given the lack of those blobs is one of POWER's main reasons to be used on desktop, a more appropriate comparison
for the specific purpose of determining POWER's usability as a desktop computer would be against other silicon that is also blob-free -- older Intel parts (Core Duo timeframe), or blob-free ARM devices (e.g. Rockchip).
If you want the fastest possible desktop with no regard for security, owner control, or privacy, then the simple fact is the latest AMD devices running Windows are your best bet. For many of us, and especially here at Raptor, that represents such a large risk that we'd rather go back to pen and paper...
...much like the Justice Department just did here in the US, actually, after the SolarWinds proprietary / signed malware problems.