AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX vs Intel Core i9-7980XE

Processor comparisons 17-03-2021

   If you are thinking about choosing a CPU, you will be able to make a choice by looking at the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX vs Intel Core i9-7980XE tests and see which is better for games or normal use for streaming, machine learning, video editing, rendering, programming. Here is all information from several benchmarks or real video editing and streaming tests. A step-by-step analysis of all the specifications, to make it easier to understand, is presented in the form of the table.
   From the comparison video, you can get the results of parallel examination in special test applications like AIDA64, 3DMark, RealBench, GeekBench 6, 5.2, Dolphin Emulator, Blender, Prime95, WPrime, PassMark, 7zip, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), MATLAB, DaVinci Resolve Studio, Gears 5, Furmark, PCMark 10, Handbrake, UserBenchmark, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, SuperPi, VeraCrypt, Blender.
   And how good the CPUs are in games:

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

After reading the results these benchmarks and videos, you can already make an briefed decision about which processor is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i9-7980XE or AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX.

Summary benchmark results

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

Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX

58%

Core i9-7980XE

58%

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX

57%

Core i9-7980XE

60%

For the maximum in this test, the results of the most powerful processor in the site database are taken. 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 little game result, 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: League of Legends (LOL), NBA 2K20, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Control, Ghostrunner, DOTA 2A, Forza Horizon 4, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Horizon Zero Dawn, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), Monster Hunter World, Metro Exodus, Battlefield V, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, Half-Life: Alyx, Hitman 3.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	100.8	107.0
Valorant	114.5	121.6
Cyberpunk 2077	64.1	68.1
Apex Legends	107.7	114.3
Call of Duty Warzone	85.9	91.2
Overwatch	92.8	98.5
Red Dead Redemption 2	79.0	83.9
DOOM Eternal	57.3	60.8
Warzone	89.3	94.9
Assassin's Creed	96.2	102.2
Valheim	95.1	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 tested computers not only did they have different video cards and different amounts of RAM. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: 2K, FullHD or 4K. 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 Threadripper 2970WX

14%

Core i9-7980XE

23%

To make a finishing resolution 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 Core i9-7980XE is more energy efficient than the Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX as it consumes less power: 250W 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

If you want to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for video rendering or video editing, programming, streaming, machine learning, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, the CPU turns on all cores and threads that it has to the maximum to achieve maximum efficiency. You will learn this data from the benchmark tables below. Before using the data from these tests, be sure to check whether the software you are going to use on your computer supports multi-threaded mode. Because there are still many programs that use only one core to run, 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 Threadripper 2970WX	Intel Core i9-7980XE
Cinbench 15 Single-core	173	184
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	4324	3455
Cinbench 20 Single-core	431	446
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	10008	7671
Cinbench 23 Single-core	1098	1281
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	20987	28196

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

	AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	Intel Core i9-7980XE
Single-Core	2290	2490
Multi-Core	28963	29612

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

	AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	Intel Core i9-7980XE
Single-Core	1082	1158
Multi-Core	12545	18658

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the most helpful will be the the possibility of overclocking it and release date of the processor. The newer the processor, the longer it will last you. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system in the future. The same benefits from the presence of overclocking. When the processor can be overclocked, thereby increasing its performance, then it will still be able to produce maximum FPS even in the newest games. The savings are obvious! It turns out that you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	Intel Core i9-7980XE
Announcement date	October 02, 2018	April 01, 2017
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	sTR4	FCLGA2066
Core name	Colfax	Skylake
Architecture	Zen+	x86
Generation	2	9
Turbo Frequency	4.2 MHz	4.2 MHz
Frequency	3 MHz	2.6 MHz
Cores	24	18
Threads	48	36
Bus rate		8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	12 nm	14 nm
Transistors count	18800 millions	7800 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	250 W	165 W
Memory type	DDR4	DDR4-2666
Max. Memory		128 Gb
Memory Frequency	2933
Memory bandwidth		85 GB/s
L1 cache	2.25MB
L2 cache	12MB
L3 cache	64MB	24.75 MB
Overclocking	Yes	Yes
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number	YD297XAZUHCAF YD297XAZAFWOF

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX is 13% better than Core i9-7980XE in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX has 6 more core than Core i9-7980XE. 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 Threadripper 2970WX is better: 12
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i9-7980XE is better: 24
However, it should be understood that the summary data in the text above do not mean that taking them into account you should completely trust a simple comparison of these numbers. Better to watch the video tests and read the reviews of real owners of AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX and Intel Core i9-7980XE before making a selection which CPU to buy for gaming and which not.

• AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX specs and review.

• Intel Core i9-7980XE specs and review.