AMD EPYC 7502 vs Intel Core i9-9990XE

Processor comparisons 17-03-2021

   Let's say you have difficulties with the choice of a CPU, you will solve them by reading the comprehensive tests AMD EPYC 7502 vs Intel Core i9-9990XE and decide which is better for games or simple use for rendering, video editing, programming, streaming, machine learning. Here you can find all information from many benchmarks or real streaming and video editing tests. A thorough analysis of all the technical characteristics, to make it easier to understand, is summarized in the table.
   From the comparison video, you can get the results of parallel examination in synthetic type tests like 3DMark, Prime95, Furmark, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, VeraCrypt, Gears 5, WPrime, RealBench, Blender, Handbrake, Blender, AIDA64, DaVinci Resolve Studio, SuperPi, PassMark, UserBenchmark, GeekBench 6, 5.2, MATLAB, 7zip, PCMark 10, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), Dolphin Emulator.
   Gaming performance of processors in:

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

After reading the results of all benchmarks and videos, you can already make an briefed decision about which processor is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i9-9990XE or AMD EPYC 7502.

Summary benchmark results

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

EPYC 7502

66%

Core i9-9990XE

59%

The number of this parameter shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, EPYC 7502 is 10% better than Core i9-9990XE. The data source is several popular tests. Detailed information can be found below.

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

EPYC 7502

73%

Core i9-9990XE

59%

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

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	129.9	104.6
Valorant	147.7	118.9
Cyberpunk 2077	82.7	66.6
Apex Legends	138.8	111.7
Call of Duty Warzone	110.7	89.1
Overwatch	119.6	96.3
Red Dead Redemption 2	101.9	82.0
DOOM Eternal	73.8	59.4
Warzone	115.2	92.7
Assassin's Creed	124.0	99.8
Valheim	122.6	98.6

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 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, FullHD or 4K. 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 compare it in one assembly with the video card that is installed in your computer.

Power consumption

EPYC 7502

17%

Core i9-9990XE

16%

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 EPYC 7502 is more energy efficient than the Core i9-9990XE since it has less power consumption: 180W vs. 260W. Power consumption is especially important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, it will be useful to 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

For example you plan to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for video editing or video rendering, programming, machine learning, streaming, then the main parameter for you is its performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to achieve maximum efficiency, the processor turns on all threads and cores that it has. You will find out 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. Because there are still many programs that 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

	AMD EPYC 7502	Intel Core i9-9990XE
Cinbench 15 Single-core	160	199
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	6608	3215
Cinbench 20 Single-core	391	455
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	14007	7457
Cinbench 23 Single-core	740	1115
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	36424	22765

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

	AMD EPYC 7502	Intel Core i9-9990XE
Single-Core	2094	3072
Multi-Core	53430	31845

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

	AMD EPYC 7502	Intel Core i9-9990XE
Single-Core	939	1308
Multi-Core	41117	16263

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 you. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system later. The same can be said about overclocking. If the processor can be overclocked, increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain maximum FPS in new games. Accordingly, there is no longer a need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer. The savings are obvious!

	AMD EPYC 7502	Intel Core i9-9990XE
Announcement date	October 01, 2020	April 01, 2020
Type	Server	Desktop
Socket	SP3	LGA2066
Core name	Rome	Skylake
Architecture	Zen 2	x86
Generation	2	9
Turbo Frequency	3.4 MHz	5.2 MHz
Frequency	2.5 MHz	4.2 MHz
Cores	32	14
Threads	64	28
Bus rate		8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	7 nm	14 nm
Transistors count	64000 millions	8600 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	180 W	260 W
Memory type	DDR4	DDR4-2666
Max. Memory		128 Gb
Memory Frequency
Memory bandwidth		85 GB/s
L1 cache
L2 cache
L3 cache	128MB	32 MB
Overclocking	Yes	Yes
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number	100-000000054 100-100000054WOF

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Core i9-9990XE is 40% better than EPYC 7502 in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that EPYC 7502 has 18 more core than Core i9-9990XE. 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 EPYC 7502 is better: 22
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i9-9990XE is better: 12
Although it should be realized that all the number 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 AMD EPYC 7502 and Intel Core i9-9990XE before making a selection which CPU to buy for gaming and which not.

• AMD EPYC 7502 specs and review.

• Intel Core i9-9990XE specs and review.