Intel Core i7-11700 vs Intel Core i9-9940X

Processor comparisons 18-03-2021

   Perhaps you can't decide which CPU to buy, you can make a choice by looking at the Intel Core i7-11700 vs Intel Core i9-9940X tests and understand which is better for games or normal use for rendering, video editing, streaming, machine learning, programming. Here is all information from real video editing and streaming tests or several benchmarks. A step-by-step analysis of all the specifications, to make it easier to understand, is summarized in the table.
   From the comparison video, you can get the results of joint testing in special test applications such as AIDA64, Blender, UserBenchmark, 3DMark, Blender, DaVinci Resolve Studio, Handbrake, GeekBench 6, 5.2, Prime95, 7zip, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), MATLAB, VeraCrypt, Gears 5, Dolphin Emulator, PCMark 10, WPrime, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, PassMark, Furmark, SuperPi, RealBench.
   Gaming performance of CPUs in:

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

After reading the results of all benchmarks and videos, you already be able to figure out which processor is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i9-9940X or Intel Core i7-11700.

Summary benchmark results

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

Core i7-11700

58%

Core i9-9940X

58%

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Core i7-11700

55%

Core i9-9940X

59%

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

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	97.7	104.5
Valorant	111.0	118.8
Cyberpunk 2077	62.2	66.5
Apex Legends	104.4	111.7
Call of Duty Warzone	83.3	89.1
Overwatch	89.9	96.2
Red Dead Redemption 2	76.6	82.0
DOOM Eternal	55.5	59.4
Warzone	86.6	92.7
Assassin's Creed	93.3	99.8
Valheim	92.2	98.6

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 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. 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

Core i7-11700

88%

Core i9-9940X

25%

To make a finishing resolution 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 Core i7-11700 is more energy efficient than the Core i9-9940X as it consumes less power: 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. It is necessary to count so that the TDP data specified in the cooler specification is greater than the TDP of the compared processor.

Software benchmarks

Let's say you plan to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for streaming, programming, machine learning, video editing or video rendering, then the main parameter for you is its performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, the processor uses all threads and cores 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 find out whether the program that you are going to use on your computer can work in multi-threaded mode. Since there are still many programs that use only one core to run, 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

	Intel Core i7-11700	Intel Core i9-9940X
Cinbench 15 Single-core	257	197
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	2457	2587
Cinbench 20 Single-core	600	457
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	5506	5912
Cinbench 23 Single-core	1564	1175
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	14572	20834

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

	Intel Core i7-11700	Intel Core i9-9940X
Single-Core	3491	2589
Multi-Core	26583	28183

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

	Intel Core i7-11700	Intel Core i9-9940X
Single-Core	1735	1257
Multi-Core	9531	16211

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

	Intel Core i7-11700	Intel Core i9-9940X
Announcement date	January 20, 2021	October 01, 2018
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	FCLGA1200	FCLGA2066
Core name	Rocket Lake	Skylake
Architecture	x86	x86
Generation	11	9
Turbo Frequency	4.9 MHz	4.5 MHz
Frequency	2.5 MHz	3.3 MHz
Cores	8	14
Threads	16	28
Bus rate	8 GT/s	8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	14 nm	14 nm
Transistors count	8200 millions	8600 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	65 W	165 W
Memory type	DDR4-3200	DDR4-2666
Max. Memory	128 Gb	128 Gb
Memory Frequency	3200
Memory bandwidth	50 GB/s	85 GB/s
L1 cache
L2 cache	4 MB
L3 cache	16 MB	19.25 MB
Overclocking	No	No
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Core i9-9940X is 24% better than Core i7-11700 in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Core i9-9940X has 6 more core than Core i7-11700. 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 i7-11700 is better: 11
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i9-9940X is better: 22
However, it should be realized that the summary data in the table above do not mean that taking them into account you should undividedly trust a simple quantitative comparison. Better to watch the testing video and read the reviews of real owners of Intel Core i7-11700 and Intel Core i9-9940X before making a decision which CPU to buy for gaming and which not.

• Intel Core i7-11700 specs and review.

Intel Core i9-9940X - all data

• Fortnite gaming benchmark
• Assassin's Creed gaming benchmark
• DOOM Eternal gaming benchmark
• Overwatch gaming benchmark
• Call of Duty: Warzone gaming benchmark
• Apex Legends gaming benchmark
• Cyberpunk 2077 gaming benchmark
• Roblox gaming benchmark
• PUBG gaming benchmark
• Red Dead Redemption 2 gaming benchmark
• GTA 5 gaming benchmark
• Valorant gaming benchmark

• Intel Core i9-9940X specs and review.