AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 3900 vs Intel Core i9-9960X

Processor comparisons 17-03-2021

   Let's say you are thinking about choosing a processor, you will be able to make a choice after reading the comprehensive tests AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 3900 vs Intel Core i9-9960X and see which is better for games or simple use for rendering, streaming, video editing, programming, machine learning. Here is useful information from many benchmarks or real video editing and streaming tests. 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 parallel examination in synthetic type tests like Dolphin Emulator, WPrime, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), Blender, Gears 5, MATLAB, PCMark 10, AIDA64, Prime95, UserBenchmark, DaVinci Resolve Studio, GeekBench 6, 5.2, VeraCrypt, Furmark, RealBench, Blender, 7zip, 3DMark, Handbrake, SuperPi, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, PassMark.
   And how good the processors are in games:

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

After looking at the data these benchmarks and videos, you already be able to know which processor is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i9-9960X or AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 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 PRO 3900

59%

Core i9-9960X

59%

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Ryzen 9 PRO 3900

56%

Core i9-9960X

60%

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

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	99.7	106.4
Valorant	113.3	120.9
Cyberpunk 2077	63.5	67.7
Apex Legends	106.5	113.6
Call of Duty Warzone	85.0	90.7
Overwatch	91.8	97.9
Red Dead Redemption 2	78.2	83.4
DOOM Eternal	56.7	60.5
Warzone	88.4	94.3
Assassin's Creed	95.2	101.6
Valheim	94.1	100.3

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 comparing 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. 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

Ryzen 9 PRO 3900

64%

Core i9-9960X

24%

To make a final decision on which processor is better, you should also consider the generation of its core. The newer the processor generation, the better its performance in games and benchmarks, as well as its energy efficiency. In this case the Ryzen 9 PRO 3900 is more energy efficient than the Core i9-9960X since it has less power consumption: 65W vs. 165W. Power consumption is particularly 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 want to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for streaming, video editing or video rendering, machine learning, programming, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to reach maximum performance, the CPU includes all threads and cores that it has. You will find out this data from the benchmark tables below. Before you take into account the data from these tests, be sure to find out whether 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 advantages 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 PRO 3900	Intel Core i9-9960X
Cinbench 15 Single-core	202	200
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	3007	2872
Cinbench 20 Single-core	499	457
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	6987	6671
Cinbench 23 Single-core	1182	1086
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	17436	22943

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

	AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 3900	Intel Core i9-9960X
Single-Core	2663	2684
Multi-Core	31704	30816

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

	AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 3900	Intel Core i9-9960X
Single-Core	1252	1230
Multi-Core	11494	18032

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the processor release date and overclocking capability will be the most useful. The later the processor is released, the longer it will last you. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system later. 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 in the newest games. Accordingly, you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer. The economy are obvious!

	AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 3900	Intel Core i9-9960X
Announcement date	September 30, 2019	January 01, 2019
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	AM4	FCLGA2066
Core name	Matisse	Skylake
Architecture	Zen 2	x86
Generation	2	9
Turbo Frequency	4.3 MHz	4.4 MHz
Frequency	3.1 MHz	3.1 MHz
Cores	12	16
Threads	24	32
Bus rate		8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	7 nm	14 nm
Transistors count	7800 millions	8600 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	65 W	165 W
Memory type	DDR4	DDR4-2666
Max. Memory		128 Gb
Memory Frequency	3200
Memory bandwidth		85 GB/s
L1 cache	768KB
L2 cache	6MB
L3 cache	64MB	22 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. Another difference is that Core i9-9960X has 4 more core than Ryzen 9 PRO 3900. 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 PRO 3900 is better: 14
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i9-9960X is better: 23
Although it should be realized that the summary data in the article above do not mean that you should be guided entirely by them and trust a simple comparison of these numbers. Better to watch the video tests and read the reviews of of people who bought AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 3900 and Intel Core i9-9960X before making a selection which CPU to buy for gaming and which not.

• AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 3900 specs and review.

• Intel Core i9-9960X specs and review.