AMD Ryzen 9 5900 vs Intel Core i7-8700K

Processor comparisons   17-03-2021
   If you can't decide which CPU to buy, you can make a choice by looking at the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 vs Intel Core i7-8700K tests and decide which is better for games or simple use for programming, streaming, rendering, video editing, machine learning. Here you can find all information from real streaming and video editing tests or different benchmarks. A careful review of all the specifications, to make it easier to read, is presented in the form of the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of joint testing in special testing software such as UserBenchmark, MATLAB, VeraCrypt, DaVinci Resolve Studio, PassMark, PCMark 10, Prime95, RealBench, SuperPi, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), GeekBench 6, 5.2, Blender, WPrime, 7zip, Furmark, Gears 5, Blender, AIDA64, Dolphin Emulator, Handbrake, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, 3DMark.
   And how good the CPUs are in games:

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

After looking at the data of parallel benchmarks and videos, you already be able to figure out which CPU is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i7-8700K or AMD Ryzen 9 5900.

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 5900

62%

Core i7-8700K

54%

This shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, Ryzen 9 5900 is 12% better than Core i7-8700K. 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 5900

59%

Core i7-8700K

54%

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

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	103.8	95.7
Valorant	118.0	108.7
Cyberpunk 2077	66.1	60.9
Apex Legends	110.9	102.2
Call of Duty Warzone	88.5	81.6
Overwatch	95.6	88.1
Red Dead Redemption 2	81.4	75.0
DOOM Eternal	59.0	54.4
Warzone	92.0	84.8
Assassin's Creed	99.1	91.3
Valheim	97.9	90.3

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

Power consumption

Ryzen 9 5900

89%

Core i7-8700K

49%

To make a finishing 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 9 5900 is more energy efficient than the Core i7-8700K as it consumes less power: 65W vs. 95W. 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

If you want to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for machine learning, video rendering or video editing, programming, streaming, then the main parameter for you is its performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, the CPU uses all cores and threads that it has to the maximum to reach maximum performance. You will find out 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. Since there are still many programs that can use only one core to work, 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 9 5900	Intel Core i7-8700K
Cinbench 15 Single-core	285	208
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	3789	1447
Cinbench 20 Single-core	668	487
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	8653	3689
Cinbench 23 Single-core	1815	1209
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	23790	8960

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

	AMD Ryzen 9 5900	Intel Core i7-8700K
Single-Core	3487	2760
Multi-Core	39560	13949

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

	AMD Ryzen 9 5900	Intel Core i7-8700K
Single-Core	1743	1402
Multi-Core	15530	7536

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 later the processor is released, the longer it will last you. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system in the future. The same can be said about overclocking. When 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, you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	AMD Ryzen 9 5900	Intel Core i7-8700K
Announcement date	January 12, 2021	October 01, 2017
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	AM4	FCLGA1151-2
Core name	Vermeer	Coffee Lake
Architecture	Zen 3	x86
Generation	4	8
Turbo Frequency	4.7 MHz	4.7 MHz
Frequency	3 MHz	3.7 MHz
Cores	12	6
Threads	24	12
Bus rate		8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	7 nm	14 nm
Transistors count	9400 millions	3200 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	65 W	95 W
Memory type	DDR4	DDR4-2666
Max. Memory		128 Gb
Memory Frequency	3200
Memory bandwidth		41.6 GB/s
L1 cache
L2 cache	6MB
L3 cache	64MB	12 MB
Overclocking	Yes	No
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number	100-000000062

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Core i7-8700K is 18% better than Ryzen 9 5900 in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Ryzen 9 5900 has 6 more core than Core i7-8700K. 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 5900 is better: 31
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i7-8700K is better: 5
All the number in the article above do not mean that taking them into account you should fully trust a simple comparison of these figures. Be sure to watch the video tests and read the opinion of real owners of AMD Ryzen 9 5900 and Intel Core i7-8700K before making a selection which of the processors to buy for gaming.

• AMD Ryzen 9 5900 specs and review.

• Intel Core i7-8700K specs and review.