AMD Ryzen 9 3900 vs Intel Core i7-11700K

Processor comparisons 17-03-2021

   If you can't decide which CPU to buy, you can make a decision after reading the detailed tests AMD Ryzen 9 3900 vs Intel Core i7-11700K and decide which is better for games or simple use for programming, video editing, streaming, rendering, machine learning. Here is all information from real streaming and video editing tests or various benchmarks. A careful review of all the technical characteristics, so that it can be easier to understand, is made by the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of joint testing in special testing software like World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, UserBenchmark, WPrime, VeraCrypt, Handbrake, SuperPi, Furmark, RealBench, GeekBench 6, 5.2, Prime95, MATLAB, Blender, 7zip, 3DMark, PassMark, Blender, DaVinci Resolve Studio, Dolphin Emulator, Gears 5, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), PCMark 10, AIDA64.
   And how good the processors are in games:

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

After looking at the data these benchmarks and videos, you can already make an informed decision about which CPU is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i7-11700K or AMD Ryzen 9 3900.

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 3900

59%

Core i7-11700K

58%

The number of this parameter shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, Ryzen 9 3900 is 1% better than Core i7-11700K. 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 3900

57%

Core i7-11700K

56%

For the maximum in this test, the results of the most powerful processor in the site database are taken. And it is clear that 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 little game result, just look at the FPS that it produces in real games in the summary table below.
List of other games in which CPU comparisons were performed: Control, Horizon Zero Dawn, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, Battlefield V, DOTA 2A, League of Legends (LOL), PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Metro Exodus, Hitman 3, Half-Life: Alyx, NBA 2K20, Ghostrunner, Monster Hunter World, Forza Horizon 4.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	101.6	100.2
Valorant	115.5	113.8
Cyberpunk 2077	64.7	63.7
Apex Legends	108.6	107.0
Call of Duty Warzone	86.6	85.4
Overwatch	93.5	92.2
Red Dead Redemption 2	79.7	78.5
DOOM Eternal	57.7	56.9
Warzone	90.1	88.8
Assassin's Creed	97.0	95.6
Valheim	95.9	94.5

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

Ryzen 9 3900

67%

Core i7-11700K

47%

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 3900 is more energy efficient than the Core i7-11700K as it consumes less power: 65W vs. 125W. 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

For example you plan to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for programming, video rendering or video editing, machine learning, streaming, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to achieve maximum performance, the CPU includes 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. Because there are still many programs that can 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

	AMD Ryzen 9 3900	Intel Core i7-11700K
Cinbench 15 Single-core	196	262
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	2922	2507
Cinbench 20 Single-core	485	612
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	6789	5618
Cinbench 23 Single-core	1149	1596
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	16943	14869

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

	AMD Ryzen 9 3900	Intel Core i7-11700K
Single-Core	2627	3562
Multi-Core	30807	27126

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

	AMD Ryzen 9 3900	Intel Core i7-11700K
Single-Core	1324	1793
Multi-Core	13362	11929

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 9 3900	Intel Core i7-11700K
Announcement date	September 30, 2019	January 20, 2021
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	AM4	FCLGA1200
Core name	Matisse	Rocket Lake-S
Architecture	Zen 2	x86
Generation	2	11
Turbo Frequency	4.2 MHz	5 MHz
Frequency	3.1 MHz	3.6 MHz
Cores	12	8
Threads	24	16
Bus rate		12 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	7 nm	14 nm
Transistors count	7800 millions	8200 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	65 W	125 W
Memory type	DDR4	DDR4-3200
Max. Memory		128 Gb
Memory Frequency	3200	3200
Memory bandwidth		64 GB/s
L1 cache	768KB
L2 cache	6MB	4 MB
L3 cache	64MB	16 MB
Overclocking	No	Yes
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number	100-000000072

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Core i7-11700K is 13% better than Ryzen 9 3900 in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Ryzen 9 3900 has 4 more core than Core i7-11700K. 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 3900 is better: 23
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i7-11700K is better: 14
All the number that you have looked at here do not mean that taking them into account you should entirely trust a simple comparison of these numbers. Be sure to watch the video tests and read the opinion of real owners of AMD Ryzen 9 3900 and Intel Core i7-11700K before making a decision which processor to buy for gaming and which not.

• AMD Ryzen 9 3900 specs and review.

• Intel Core i7-11700K specs and review.