Intel Core i7-6950X vs AMD Ryzen 5 3600X

Processor comparisons 24-03-2021

   You may have difficulties with the choice of a CPU, you will solve them by reading the comprehensive tests Intel Core i7-6950X vs AMD Ryzen 5 3600X and decide which is better for games or normal use for rendering, programming, streaming, video editing, machine learning. Here is all information from different benchmarks or real streaming and video editing tests. A thorough review of all the technical characteristics, to make it easier to read, is summarized in the table.
   From the comparison video, you can get the results of joint testing in software tests like 3DMark, Handbrake, VeraCrypt, Gears 5, UserBenchmark, GeekBench 6, 5.2, RealBench, DaVinci Resolve Studio, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, SuperPi, AIDA64, Blender, MATLAB, 7zip, PCMark 10, Dolphin Emulator, Blender, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), Prime95, PassMark, WPrime, Furmark.
   Gaming performance of CPUs in:

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

After reading the results of parallel benchmarks and videos, you already be able to understand which CPU is better to buy for gaming AMD Ryzen 5 3600X or Intel Core i7-6950X.

Summary benchmark results

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

Core i7-6950X

55%

Ryzen 5 3600X

55%

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Core i7-6950X

56%

Ryzen 5 3600X

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 less popular games in which processors were compared: PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Microsoft Flight Simulator, Half-Life: Alyx, Forza Horizon 4, Metro Exodus, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Battlefield V, Horizon Zero Dawn, DOTA 2A, Hitman 3, League of Legends (LOL), Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, Monster Hunter World, Ghostrunner, Control, NBA 2K20.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	99.4	96.0
Valorant	113.0	109.1
Cyberpunk 2077	63.3	61.1
Apex Legends	106.2	102.6
Call of Duty Warzone	84.7	81.9
Overwatch	91.5	88.4
Red Dead Redemption 2	77.9	75.3
DOOM Eternal	56.5	54.6
Warzone	88.1	85.1
Assassin's Creed	94.9	91.7
Valheim	93.8	90.6

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 computers that were in the comparisons not only did they have different video cards and different amounts of RAM. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: 4K, 2K or FullHD. So 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

Core i7-6950X

28%

Ryzen 5 3600X

47%

To make a final decision 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 5 3600X is more energy efficient than the Core i7-6950X since it has less power consumption: 140W vs. 95W. Power consumption is especially important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, it will be useful to know its TDP. 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

If you plan to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for machine learning, video editing or video rendering, streaming, programming, then the main parameter for you is its performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to reach maximum efficiency, the processor turns on all cores and threads that it has. You will learn this data from the benchmark tables below. Before using the data from these tests, be sure to check whether the program you are going to use on your computer supports multi-threaded mode. Since there are still many programs that use only one core to work, and all the benefit of multi-core mode are unused.

Cinebench 23, 20 an 15
The results of this benchmark show Single-threaded and Multi-threaded CPU performance

	Intel Core i7-6950X	AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
Cinbench 15 Single-core	152	204
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	1819	1647
Cinbench 20 Single-core	498	501
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	4827	3751
Cinbench 23 Single-core	1091	1286
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	12713	9588

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

	Intel Core i7-6950X	AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
Single-Core	2377	2651
Multi-Core	17125	18377

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

	Intel Core i7-6950X	AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
Single-Core	1204	1341
Multi-Core	11187	7891

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the most useful will be the the possibility of overclocking it and release date of the processor. 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. When the processor can be overclocked, increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain maximum FPS even in new games. Accordingly, you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer. The economy are obvious!

	Intel Core i7-6950X	AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
Announcement date	April 01, 2016	July 07, 2019
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	LGA2011-v3	AM4
Core name	Broadwell E	Matisse
Architecture	x86	Zen 2
Generation	6	3
Turbo Frequency	3.5 MHz	4.4 MHz
Frequency	3 MHz	3.8 MHz
Cores	10	6
Threads	20	12
Bus rate
Bit	64	64
Lithography	14 nm	7 nm
Transistors count		4200 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	140 W	95 W
Memory type	DDR4 2400/2133	DDR4
Max. Memory	128 Gb
Memory Frequency		3200
Memory bandwidth
L1 cache		384KB
L2 cache		3MB
L3 cache	25 MB	32MB
Overclocking	No	Yes
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number		100-000000022 100-100000022BOX 100-100000022MPK

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Ryzen 5 3600X is 21% better than Core i7-6950X in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Core i7-6950X has 4 more core than Ryzen 5 3600X. Also keep in mind that high CPU frequency affects battery life through power consumption (relevant for laptops).

Result:
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i7-6950X is better: 19
The number of parameters for which AMD Ryzen 5 3600X is better: 17
Although it should be understood that the summary data in the article above do not mean that you should be guided entirely by them and trust a simple quantitative comparison. Better to watch the video tests and read the opinion of real owners of Intel Core i7-6950X and AMD Ryzen 5 3600X before deciding which processor to buy for gaming and which not.

Intel Core i7-6950X - all data

• Cinebench r15 score
• Cinebench r20 score
• Cinebench r23 score
• GeekBench 6, 5.2 score

• Intel Core i7-6950X specs and review.

• AMD Ryzen 5 3600X specs and review.