AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX vs Intel Core i7-8700K

Processor comparisons   17-03-2021
   If there are difficulties with the choice of a processor, you will solve them by reading the comprehensive tests AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX vs Intel Core i7-8700K and see which is better for games or normal use for video editing, streaming, programming, machine learning, rendering. Here is all information from several benchmarks or real video editing and streaming tests. A thorough review of all the specifications, so that it can be easier to read, is summarized in the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of parallel examination in synthetic type tests like Cinebench 23 (20, 15), Furmark, AIDA64, PassMark, Blender, WPrime, Gears 5, UserBenchmark, Handbrake, 3DMark, SuperPi, 7zip, GeekBench 6, 5.2, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, Prime95, VeraCrypt, RealBench, Blender, MATLAB, DaVinci Resolve Studio, Dolphin Emulator, PCMark 10.
   And how good the CPUs are in games:

Grand Theft Auto V
Valorant
Red Dead Redemption 2
Fortnite
Last Man Standing
Valheim
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone
Fallout 76
Watch Dogs Legion
Overwatch
Assassin's Creed Valhalla
Cyberpunk 2077
Death Stranding
Apex Legends
DOOM: Eternal
Halo Infinite
Borderlands 3
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands
Rainbow Six Siege

After reading the results these benchmarks and videos, you already be able to understand which CPU is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i7-8700K or AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX.

Summary benchmark results

As a percentage of the maximum value based on a sample from the entire base of all processors
Processor Benchmark

Ryzen 9 5900HX

57%

Core i7-8700K

54%

The number of this parameter shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, Ryzen 9 5900HX is 5% better than Core i7-8700K. The data source is several popular tests. More detailed information of the benchmarks is below.

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Ryzen 9 5900HX

55%

Core i7-8700K

54%

The maximum result in this parameter is 100 percent, which is the performance of the most powerful processor currently available. And of course, this is a server processor, on which no one will play games. Because this processor costs several tens of thousands of dollars. Therefore, if you think that the selected CPU has a little game result, look at the FPS that it produces in real games in the final table below.
List of other games in which processors were compared: Metro Exodus, NBA 2K20, DOTA 2A, Hitman 3, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Battlefield V, Half-Life: Alyx, Forza Horizon 4, League of Legends (LOL), Monster Hunter World, Control, Ghostrunner, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Shadow of the Tomb Raider, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), Horizon Zero Dawn.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	97.6	95.7
Valorant	110.9	108.7
Cyberpunk 2077	62.1	60.9
Apex Legends	104.3	102.2
Call of Duty Warzone	83.2	81.6
Overwatch	89.9	88.1
Red Dead Redemption 2	76.5	75.0
DOOM Eternal	55.5	54.4
Warzone	86.5	84.8
Assassin's Creed	93.2	91.3
Valheim	92.1	90.3

The numbers in this table indicate the maximum FPS that was received on the device with the corresponding processor. Depending on the configuration of the computer (RAM size and Video Card) and graphics quality settings (Ultra, Medium, Normal), the results may differ quite significantly. We recommend that you better study the results of the Cinebench, GeekBench and Passmark becnmarks.
The tested computers not only did they have different amounts of RAM and different video cards. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: 2K, 4K or FullHD. Therefore, the game benchmark data is approximate. But all video cards met the average system requirements of games. To be sure exactly how much performance the processor will be in games, if you get acquainted with the benchmarks that are made with the same video card that is installed in your computer.

Power consumption

Ryzen 9 5900HX

115%

Core i7-8700K

49%

To make a finishing resolution on which processor is better, you should also consider the generation of its core. It is clear that the newer the generation, the better the performance of the processor in games and benchmarks, as well as its energy efficiency. In this case the Ryzen 9 5900HX is more energy efficient than the Core i7-8700K since it has less power consumption: 45W vs. 95W. Power consumption is especially important for laptops. And TDP should be taken into account when choosing a processor cooling system. You need to buy a cooler that has the TDP data specified in the specification was greater than the TDP of the compared processor.

Software benchmarks

Let's say you plan to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for programming, machine learning, video rendering or video editing, streaming, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, the CPU includes all threads and cores that it has to the maximum to reach maximum efficiency. You will find out this data from the benchmark tables below. Before using the data from these tests, be sure to make sure that the software that you are going to use on your computer can work in multi-threaded mode. Because there are still many programs that use only one core to run, and all the advantages of multi-core mode are unused.
Cinebench 23, 20 an 15
The results of this benchmark show Single-threaded and Multi-threaded CPU performance

	AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX	Intel Core i7-8700K
Cinbench 15 Single-core	223	208
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	2160	1447
Cinbench 20 Single-core	571	487
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	5536	3689
Cinbench 23 Single-core	1344	1209
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	12051	8960

Passmark
This popular benchmark displays Multi-threaded and Single-threaded processor performance

	AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX	Intel Core i7-8700K
Single-Core	3340	2760
Multi-Core	23829	13949

GeekBench 6, 5.2
This benchmark shows Multi-threaded and Single-threaded processor performance

	AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX	Intel Core i7-8700K
Single-Core	1561	1402
Multi-Core	9439	7536

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the most useful will be the release date of the processor and the possibility of overclocking it. The newer the processor, the longer it will last you. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system later. The same benefits from the presence of overclocking. If the processor can be overclocked, increasing its performance, then it will still be able to produce maximum FPS in new games. Accordingly, you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer. The savings are obvious!

	AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX	Intel Core i7-8700K
Announcement date	January 12, 2021	October 01, 2017
Type	Laptop	Desktop
Socket	FP6	FCLGA1151-2
Core name	Vermeer	Coffee Lake
Architecture	Zen 3	x86
Generation	3	8
Turbo Frequency	4.6 MHz	4.7 MHz
Frequency	3.3 MHz	3.7 MHz
Cores	8	6
Threads	16	12
Bus rate		8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	7 nm	14 nm
Transistors count	9400 millions	3200 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	45 W	95 W
Memory type	DDR4 - Up to 3200MHz	DDR4-2666
Max. Memory		128 Gb
Memory Frequency
Memory bandwidth		41.6 GB/s
L1 cache
L2 cache	4MB
L3 cache	16MB	12 MB
Overclocking	Yes	No
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number	100-000000300

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Core i7-8700K is 10% better than Ryzen 9 5900HX in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Ryzen 9 5900HX has 2 more core than Core i7-8700K. Also keep in mind that high CPU frequency affects battery life through power consumption (relevant for laptops).

Result:
The number of parameters for which AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX is better: 30
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i7-8700K is better: 6
Although it should be realized that all the data in the text above do not mean that taking them into account you should entirely trust a simple quantitative comparison. Better to watch benchmarks video and read the reviews of of people who bought AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX and Intel Core i7-8700K before making a selection which of the CPUs to buy for gaming.

• AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX specs and review.

• Intel Core i7-8700K specs and review.