Intel Core i9-7960X vs AMD Ryzen 5 3600

Processor comparisons   17-03-2021
   If you can't decide which CPU to buy, you can make a choice after reading the full tests Intel Core i9-7960X vs AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and understand which is better for games or normal use for video editing, rendering, streaming, programming, machine learning. Here is useful information from real streaming and video editing tests or various benchmarks. A thorough analysis of all the specifications, so that it can be easier to understand, is summarized in the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of parallel examination in special test applications like WPrime, PCMark 10, MATLAB, Furmark, Prime95, VeraCrypt, RealBench, UserBenchmark, DaVinci Resolve Studio, AIDA64, Handbrake, GeekBench 6, 5.2, 7zip, 3DMark, Blender, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), PassMark, Dolphin Emulator, SuperPi, Blender, Gears 5, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark.
   And how good the processors are in games:

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

After reading the results of joint benchmarks and videos, you already be able to figure out which processor is better to buy for gaming AMD Ryzen 5 3600 or Intel Core i9-7960X.

Summary benchmark results

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

Core i9-7960X

58%

Ryzen 5 3600

55%

This shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, Core i9-7960X is 5% better than Ryzen 5 3600. The data source is several popular tests. Detailed information can be found below.

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Core i9-7960X

60%

Ryzen 5 3600

53%

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 the cost of this processor reaches several tens of thousands of dollars. Therefore, if you think that the selected CPU has a low game result, look at the FPS that it produces in real games in the summary table below.
List of other games in which processors were compared: Hitman 3, Ghostrunner, Horizon Zero Dawn, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Microsoft Flight Simulator, Metro Exodus, Control, DOTA 2A, Forza Horizon 4, Monster Hunter World, NBA 2K20, League of Legends (LOL), Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Battlefield V, Half-Life: Alyx.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	106.9	94.7
Valorant	121.4	107.6
Cyberpunk 2077	68.0	60.3
Apex Legends	114.2	101.2
Call of Duty Warzone	91.1	80.7
Overwatch	98.4	87.2
Red Dead Redemption 2	83.8	74.3
DOOM Eternal	60.7	53.8
Warzone	94.7	83.9
Assassin's Creed	102.0	90.4
Valheim	100.8	89.3

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 computers participating in the comparisons not only were the equipped with different video cards and different amounts of RAM. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: 2K, FullHD or 4K. 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

Core i9-7960X

22%

Ryzen 5 3600

63%

To make a finishing choice on which processor is better, you should also consider the generation of its core. The newer the processor generation, the better its performance in games and benchmarks, as well as its energy efficiency. In this case the Ryzen 5 3600 is more energy efficient than the Core i9-7960X as it consumes less power: 165W vs. 65W. Power consumption is especially important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, you must know its TDP. It is necessary to calculate so that the TDP data specified in the cooler specification is 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 video editing or video rendering, streaming, programming, machine learning, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to reach maximum performance, the CPU uses all threads and cores that it has. You will learn this data from the benchmark tables below. Before you take into account 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 can use only one core to run, 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 i9-7960X	AMD Ryzen 5 3600
Cinbench 15 Single-core	184
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	3161	1578
Cinbench 20 Single-core	611	472
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	5496	3689
Cinbench 23 Single-core	1103	1253
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	22189	9412

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

	Intel Core i9-7960X	AMD Ryzen 5 3600
Single-Core	2605	2611
Multi-Core	27039	17872

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

	Intel Core i9-7960X	AMD Ryzen 5 3600
Single-Core	1113	1238
Multi-Core	18501	6578

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the processor release date and overclocking capability will be the most useful. The newer the processor, the longer it will last in your computer. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system in the future. The same benefits from the presence of overclocking. When the processor can be overclocked, thereby increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain maximum FPS in new games. The economy are obvious! Accordingly, you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	Intel Core i9-7960X	AMD Ryzen 5 3600
Announcement date	October 01, 2017	July 07, 2019
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	FCLGA2066	AM4
Core name	Skylake	Matisse
Architecture	x86	Zen 2
Generation	7	3
Turbo Frequency	4.2 MHz	4.2 MHz
Frequency	2.8 MHz	3.6 MHz
Cores	16	6
Threads	32	12
Bus rate	8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography		7 nm
Transistors count	7800 millions	4200 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	165 W	65 W
Memory type	DDR4-2666	DDR4
Max. Memory	128 Gb
Memory Frequency		3200
Memory bandwidth	85 GB/s
L1 cache		384KB
L2 cache		3MB
L3 cache	22 MB	32MB
Overclocking	No	No
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number		100-000000031 100-100000031BOX 100-100000031MPK

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Ryzen 5 3600 is 22% better than Core i9-7960X in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Core i9-7960X has 10 more core than Ryzen 5 3600. 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 i9-7960X is better: 26
The number of parameters for which AMD Ryzen 5 3600 is better: 10
All the data that you have looked at here do not mean that you should be guided entirely by them and trust a simple comparison of these numbers. Better to watch benchmarks video and read the opinion of of people who bought Intel Core i9-7960X and AMD Ryzen 5 3600 before making a selection which processor to buy for gaming and which not.

• Intel Core i9-7960X specs and review.

• AMD Ryzen 5 3600 specs and review.