AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX vs Intel Core i9-7980XE

Processor comparisons 17-03-2021

   You may have difficulties with the choice of a processor, you will solve them by reading the comprehensive tests AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX vs Intel Core i9-7980XE and decide which is better for games or normal use for rendering, machine learning, video editing, programming, streaming. Here is useful information from various benchmarks or real streaming and video editing tests. 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 synthetic type tests such as Prime95, Dolphin Emulator, RealBench, Blender, Handbrake, WPrime, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), AIDA64, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, Gears 5, 3DMark, VeraCrypt, PCMark 10, DaVinci Resolve Studio, GeekBench 6, 5.2, Blender, SuperPi, MATLAB, PassMark, 7zip, UserBenchmark, Furmark.
   And how good the CPUs are in games:

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

After reading the results of parallel benchmarks and videos, you already be able to understand which CPU is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i9-7980XE or AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX.

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 5900HX

57%

Core i9-7980XE

58%

The number of this parameter shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, Core i9-7980XE is 1% better than Ryzen 9 5900HX. The data source is several popular tests. Detailed information can be found below.

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Ryzen 9 5900HX

55%

Core i9-7980XE

60%

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

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	97.6	107.0
Valorant	110.9	121.6
Cyberpunk 2077	62.1	68.1
Apex Legends	104.3	114.3
Call of Duty Warzone	83.2	91.2
Overwatch	89.9	98.5
Red Dead Redemption 2	76.5	83.9
DOOM Eternal	55.5	60.8
Warzone	86.5	94.9
Assassin's Creed	93.2	102.2
Valheim	92.1	100.9

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 that were in the comparisons not only did they have different amounts of RAM and different video cards. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: 4K, 2K or FullHD. So the game benchmark data is approximate. But all video cards met the average system requirements of games. You will get more accurate information about how powerful 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 5900HX

115%

Core i9-7980XE

23%

To make a final 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 9 5900HX is more energy efficient than the Core i9-7980XE as it consumes less power: 45W vs. 165W. Power consumption is particularly important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, you must 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 editing or video rendering, streaming, machine learning, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, the processor includes all threads and cores that it has to the maximum to achieve maximum performance. 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 software 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 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 5900HX	Intel Core i9-7980XE
Cinbench 15 Single-core	223	184
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	2160	3455
Cinbench 20 Single-core	571	446
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	5536	7671
Cinbench 23 Single-core	1344	1281
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	12051	28196

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

	AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX	Intel Core i9-7980XE
Single-Core	3340	2490
Multi-Core	23829	29612

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

	AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX	Intel Core i9-7980XE
Single-Core	1561	1158
Multi-Core	9439	18658

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the most useful will be the release date of the processor and the possibility of overclocking it. The later the processor is released, 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 new games. It turns out that you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer. The economy are obvious!

	AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX	Intel Core i9-7980XE
Announcement date	January 12, 2021	April 01, 2017
Type	Laptop	Desktop
Socket	FP6	FCLGA2066
Core name	Vermeer	Skylake
Architecture	Zen 3	x86
Generation	3	9
Turbo Frequency	4.6 MHz	4.2 MHz
Frequency	3.3 MHz	2.6 MHz
Cores	8	18
Threads	16	36
Bus rate		8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	7 nm	14 nm
Transistors count	9400 millions	7800 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	45 W	165 W
Memory type	DDR4 - Up to 3200MHz	DDR4-2666
Max. Memory		128 Gb
Memory Frequency
Memory bandwidth		85 GB/s
L1 cache
L2 cache	4MB
L3 cache	16MB	24.75 MB
Overclocking	Yes	Yes
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number	100-000000300

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Ryzen 9 5900HX is 21% better than Core i9-7980XE in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Core i9-7980XE has 10 more core than Ryzen 9 5900HX. 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 5900HX is better: 12
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i9-7980XE is better: 23
However, it should be understood that all the data in the article above do not mean that taking them into account you should fully trust a simple quantitative comparison. Better to watch the testing video and read the opinion of of people who bought AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX and Intel Core i9-7980XE before making a decision which of the processors to buy for gaming.

• AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX specs and review.

• Intel Core i9-7980XE specs and review.