Intel Core i3-9100F vs Intel Core i7-6700

Processor comparisons 17-03-2021

   If you have difficulties with the choice of a processor, you will solve them by reading the detailed tests Intel Core i3-9100F vs Intel Core i7-6700 and decide which is better for games or normal use for video editing, programming, streaming, rendering, machine learning. Here is all information from several benchmarks or real video editing and streaming tests. A thorough review of all the technical characteristics, 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 synthetic type tests such as 3DMark, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), Handbrake, WPrime, 7zip, Furmark, Gears 5, Prime95, DaVinci Resolve Studio, PassMark, UserBenchmark, Blender, AIDA64, Blender, PCMark 10, MATLAB, RealBench, SuperPi, VeraCrypt, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, GeekBench 6, 5.2, Dolphin Emulator.
   And how good the CPUs are in games:

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

After reading the results of parallel benchmarks and videos, you can already make an informed decision about which CPU is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i7-6700 or Intel Core i3-9100F.

Summary benchmark results

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

Core i3-9100F

52%

Core i7-6700

52%

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Core i3-9100F

52%

Core i7-6700

52%

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

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	91.8	92.4
Valorant	104.4	105.0
Cyberpunk 2077	58.4	58.8
Apex Legends	98.1	98.7
Call of Duty Warzone	78.3	78.8
Overwatch	84.5	85.1
Red Dead Redemption 2	72.0	72.5
DOOM Eternal	52.2	52.5
Warzone	81.4	81.9
Assassin's Creed	87.7	88.2
Valheim	86.6	87.2

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: FullHD, 2K 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

Core i3-9100F

57%

Core i7-6700

56%

To make a finishing choice 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 i3-9100F is more energy efficient than the Core i7-6700 as it consumes less power: 65W vs. 65W. Power consumption is particularly important for laptops. And TDP should be taken into account when choosing a processor cooling system. 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 plan to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for video rendering or video editing, streaming, machine learning, programming, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to achieve maximum efficiency, the processor includes all cores and threads that it has. 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 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

	Intel Core i3-9100F	Intel Core i7-6700
Cinbench 15 Single-core	168	171
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	660	816
Cinbench 20 Single-core	445	406
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	1630	1774
Cinbench 23 Single-core	877	1071
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	3405	4921

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

	Intel Core i3-9100F	Intel Core i7-6700
Single-Core	2502	2325
Multi-Core	6813	8025

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

	Intel Core i3-9100F	Intel Core i7-6700
Single-Core	1130	1095
Multi-Core	3769	4353

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 in your computer. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system later. The same benefits from the presence of overclocking. If the processor can be overclocked, increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain maximum FPS in new games. The economy are obvious! Accordingly, you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	Intel Core i3-9100F	Intel Core i7-6700
Announcement date	April 01, 2019	April 01, 2015
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	FCLGA1151-2	LGA 1151
Core name	Coffee Lake	Skylake
Architecture	x86	x86
Generation	9	6
Turbo Frequency	4.2 MHz	4 MHz
Frequency	3.6 MHz	3.4 MHz
Cores	4	4
Threads	4	8
Bus rate	8 GT/s	8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	14 nm	14 nm
Transistors count	2400 millions	2800 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	65 W	65 W
Memory type	DDR4-2400	DDR4-1866/2133, DDR3L-1333/1600 @ 1.35V
Max. Memory	64 Gb	64 Gb
Memory Frequency
Memory bandwidth	37.5 GB/s	34.1 GB/s
L1 cache
L2 cache
L3 cache	6 MB	8 MB
Overclocking	Yes	Yes
Supports ECC	Yes	No
Part number

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Core i3-9100F is 5% better than Core i7-6700 in terms of CPU frequency. Also keep in mind that high CPU frequency affects battery life through power consumption (relevant for laptops).

Result:
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i3-9100F is better: 9
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i7-6700 is better: 21
Although it should be understood that all the number in the text above do not mean that you should be guided entirely by them and trust a simple comparison of these figures. Be sure to watch the testing video and read the reviews of real owners of Intel Core i3-9100F and Intel Core i7-6700 before making a decision which of the CPUs to buy for gaming.

• Intel Core i3-9100F specs and review.

• Intel Core i7-6700 specs and review.