Intel Core i7-6850K vs AMD Ryzen 5 3500

Processor comparisons 19-02-2022

   Perhaps you can't decide which CPU to buy, you can make a decision by looking at the Intel Core i7-6850K vs AMD Ryzen 5 3500 tests and understand which is better for games or simple use for programming, video editing, streaming, rendering, machine learning. Here is useful information from various benchmarks or real streaming and video editing tests. A step-by-step analysis of all the specifications, so that it can be easier to understand, is summarized in the table.
   From the comparison video, you can get the results of parallel examination in software tests such as World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, PassMark, Furmark, VeraCrypt, 7zip, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), AIDA64, SuperPi, MATLAB, PCMark 10, DaVinci Resolve Studio, WPrime, 3DMark, Gears 5, RealBench, UserBenchmark, Blender, GeekBench 6, 5.2, Prime95, Dolphin Emulator, Blender, Handbrake.
   Gaming performance of processors in:

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

After looking at the data these benchmarks and videos, you already be able to figure out which CPU is better to buy for gaming AMD Ryzen 5 3500 or Intel Core i7-6850K.

Summary benchmark results

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

Core i7-6850K

53%

Ryzen 5 3500

53%

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Core i7-6850K

54%

Ryzen 5 3500

53%

The maximum result in this parameter is 100 percent, which is the performance of the most powerful processor currently available. And it is clear that 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 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 CPU comparisons were performed: Control, DOTA 2A, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Metro Exodus, Microsoft Flight Simulator, NBA 2K20, Hitman 3, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Half-Life: Alyx, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Monster Hunter World, Forza Horizon 4, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, Ghostrunner, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), League of Legends (LOL), Horizon Zero Dawn, Battlefield V.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	95.3	94.7
Valorant	108.2	107.6
Cyberpunk 2077	60.6	60.3
Apex Legends	101.7	101.2
Call of Duty Warzone	81.2	80.7
Overwatch	87.7	87.2
Red Dead Redemption 2	74.7	74.3
DOOM Eternal	54.1	53.8
Warzone	84.4	83.9
Assassin's Creed	90.9	90.4
Valheim	89.8	89.3

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 comparisons not only were the equipped with different video cards and different amounts of RAM. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: 2K, 4K or FullHD. 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 compare it in one assembly with the video card that is installed in your computer.

Power consumption

Core i7-6850K

28%

Ryzen 5 3500

276%

To make a final 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 Ryzen 5 3500 is more energy efficient than the Core i7-6850K since it has less power consumption: 140W vs. 15W. Power consumption is especially important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, you need to know its TDP. It is necessary to calculate 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 i7-6850K	AMD Ryzen 5 3500
Cinbench 15 Single-core	182	188
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	1169	1129
Cinbench 20 Single-core	436	464
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	2625	2652
Cinbench 23 Single-core	1101	995
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	6838	7015

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

	Intel Core i7-6850K	AMD Ryzen 5 3500
Single-Core	2437	2504
Multi-Core	11192	12878

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

	Intel Core i7-6850K	AMD Ryzen 5 3500
Single-Core	1200	1245
Multi-Core	7113	6579

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 in the future. The same benefits from the presence of overclocking. If the processor can be overclocked, thereby increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain maximum FPS even in new games. The savings are obvious! Accordingly, there is no longer a need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	Intel Core i7-6850K	AMD Ryzen 5 3500
Announcement date	June 13, 2016	February 18, 2019
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	FCLGA2011-3	FP5
Core name	Broadwell E	Matisse
Architecture	x86	Zen 2
Generation	6	3
Turbo Frequency	3.8 MHz	3.7 MHz
Frequency	3.6 MHz	2.1 MHz
Cores	6	4
Threads	12	8
Bus rate
Bit	64	64
Lithography	14 nm	7 nm
Transistors count	2800 millions	4200 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	140 W	15 W
Memory type	DDR4 2400/2133
Max. Memory	128 Gb
Memory Frequency		2400
Memory bandwidth
L1 cache		384KB
L2 cache		2MB
L3 cache	15 MB	4MB
Overclocking	No	No
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number		YM3500C4T4MFG

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Core i7-6850K is 41% better than Ryzen 5 3500 in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Core i7-6850K has 2 more core than Ryzen 5 3500. 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 i7-6850K is better: 20
The number of parameters for which AMD Ryzen 5 3500 is better: 15
However, it should be realized that all the data that you have looked at here do not mean that you should be guided entirely by them and trust a simple quantitative comparison. Be sure to watch the video tests and read the reviews of of people who bought Intel Core i7-6850K and AMD Ryzen 5 3500 before making a choice which processor to buy for gaming and which not.

Intel Core i7-6850K - all data

• Cinebench r15 score
• Cinebench r20 score
• Cinebench r23 score
• GeekBench 6, 5.2 score

• Intel Core i7-6850K specs and review.

AMD Ryzen 5 3500 - all data

• Cinebench r15 score
• Cinebench r20 score
• Cinebench r23 score
• GeekBench 6, 5.2 score

• AMD Ryzen 5 3500 specs and review.