AMD Ryzen 5 3500X vs Intel Core i7-4790K

Processor comparisons   17-03-2021
   Perhaps you are thinking about choosing a processor, you will be able to make a choice after reading the comprehensive tests AMD Ryzen 5 3500X vs Intel Core i7-4790K and decide which is better for games or simple use for programming, rendering, streaming, video editing, machine learning. Here is all information from many benchmarks or real streaming and video editing tests. A thorough review of all the specifications, to make it easier to read, is made by the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of joint testing in special testing software like Furmark, Handbrake, VeraCrypt, DaVinci Resolve Studio, PCMark 10, 7zip, Blender, MATLAB, 3DMark, UserBenchmark, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, Blender, RealBench, PassMark, WPrime, AIDA64, Dolphin Emulator, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), SuperPi, Prime95, Gears 5, GeekBench 6, 5.2.
   Gaming performance of processors in:

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

After reading the results of joint benchmarks and videos, you already be able to understand which processor is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i7-4790K or AMD Ryzen 5 3500X.

Summary benchmark results

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

Ryzen 5 3500X

54%

Core i7-4790K

52%

This parameter shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, Ryzen 5 3500X is 3% better than Core i7-4790K. The data source is several popular tests. More detailed information of the benchmarks is below.

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Ryzen 5 3500X

53%

Core i7-4790K

52%

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

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	94.1	92.8
Valorant	106.9	105.5
Cyberpunk 2077	59.9	59.1
Apex Legends	100.5	99.2
Call of Duty Warzone	80.2	79.1
Overwatch	86.6	85.5
Red Dead Redemption 2	73.8	72.8
DOOM Eternal	53.5	52.8
Warzone	83.4	82.3
Assassin's Creed	89.8	88.6
Valheim	88.7	87.6

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 participating in the comparisons not only were the equipped with different amounts of RAM and different video cards. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: 4K, 2K 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 5 3500X

65%

Core i7-4790K

46%

To make a finishing choice 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 3500X is more energy efficient than the Core i7-4790K since it has less power consumption: 65W vs. 88W. Power consumption is particularly important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, you must know its TDP. It is necessary to count so that the TDP data specified in the cooler specification is greater than the TDP of the compared processor.

Software benchmarks

If you plan to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for streaming, video rendering or video editing, programming, machine learning, then the main parameter for you is its performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to reach maximum performance, the processor uses 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 make sure that the program 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 benefit of multi-core mode turns out to be unnecessary.
Cinebench 23, 20 an 15
The results of this benchmark show Single-threaded and Multi-threaded CPU performance

	AMD Ryzen 5 3500X	Intel Core i7-4790K
Cinbench 15 Single-core	188	169
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	1129	854
Cinbench 20 Single-core	464	411
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	2652	1982
Cinbench 23 Single-core	1126	1069
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	7797	4936

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

	AMD Ryzen 5 3500X	Intel Core i7-4790K
Single-Core	2562	2491
Multi-Core	13476	8030

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

	AMD Ryzen 5 3500X	Intel Core i7-4790K
Single-Core	1272	1230
Multi-Core	5963	4747

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the processor release date and overclocking capability will be the most helpful. The newer the processor, the longer it will last in your computer. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system later. The same can be said about overclocking. If the processor can be overclocked, thereby increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain maximum FPS even in the newest games. The economy are obvious! Accordingly, there is no longer a need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	AMD Ryzen 5 3500X	Intel Core i7-4790K
Announcement date	September 24, 2019	April 01, 2014
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	AM4	LGA1150
Core name	Matisse	Devil's Canyon
Architecture	Zen 2	x86
Generation	3	4
Turbo Frequency	4.1 MHz	4.4 MHz
Frequency	3.6 MHz	4 MHz
Cores	6	4
Threads	6	8
Bus rate		5 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	7 nm	22 nm
Transistors count	4200 millions	1420 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	65 W	88 W
Memory type	DDR4	DDR3-1333/1600, DDR3L-1333/1600 @ 1.5V
Max. Memory		32 Gb
Memory Frequency	3200
Memory bandwidth		25.6 GB/s
L1 cache	384KB
L2 cache	3MB
L3 cache	32MB	8 MB
Overclocking	Yes	Yes
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number	100-000000158 100-100000158CBX 100-100000158MPK

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Core i7-4790K is 9% better than Ryzen 5 3500X in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Ryzen 5 3500X has 2 more core than Core i7-4790K. 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 5 3500X is better: 29
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i7-4790K is better: 8
However, it should be realized that all the data that you have looked at here do not mean that you should be guided entirely by them and trust a simple quantitative comparison. Better to watch the testing video and read the opinion of real owners of AMD Ryzen 5 3500X and Intel Core i7-4790K before deciding which CPU to buy for gaming and which not.

• AMD Ryzen 5 3500X specs and review.

• Intel Core i7-4790K specs and review.