Intel Core i7-6900K vs Intel Core i5-10600

Processor comparisons 25-03-2021

   If you can't decide which CPU to buy, you can make a decision after reading the detailed tests Intel Core i7-6900K vs Intel Core i5-10600 and understand which is better for games or simple use for video editing, programming, rendering, machine learning, streaming. Here is useful information from many benchmarks or real streaming and video editing tests. A thorough review of all the specifications, so that it can be easier to read, is made by the table.
   From the comparison video, you can get the results of parallel examination in special testing software like 3DMark, Dolphin Emulator, Furmark, PassMark, PCMark 10, SuperPi, RealBench, WPrime, AIDA64, MATLAB, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), Gears 5, Blender, UserBenchmark, Prime95, Handbrake, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, VeraCrypt, Blender, 7zip, GeekBench 6, 5.2, DaVinci Resolve Studio.
   Gaming performance of CPUs in:

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

After looking at the data these benchmarks and videos, you already be able to understand which processor is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i5-10600 or Intel Core i7-6900K.

Summary benchmark results

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

Core i7-6900K

54%

Core i5-10600

54%

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Core i7-6900K

55%

Core i5-10600

54%

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

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	97.2	95.2
Valorant	110.4	108.1
Cyberpunk 2077	61.8	60.6
Apex Legends	103.8	101.6
Call of Duty Warzone	82.8	81.1
Overwatch	89.4	87.6
Red Dead Redemption 2	76.2	74.6
DOOM Eternal	55.2	54.1
Warzone	86.1	84.3
Assassin's Creed	92.7	90.8
Valheim	91.6	89.7

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, 4K 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 get acquainted with the benchmarks that are made with the same video card that is installed in your computer.

Power consumption

Core i7-6900K

24%

Core i5-10600

67%

To make a final decision 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 i5-10600 is more energy efficient than the Core i7-6900K since it has less power consumption: 140W vs. 65W. Power consumption is especially important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, you need 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

If you plan to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for machine learning, streaming, programming, video editing or video rendering, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, the CPU uses all threads and cores that it has to the maximum to achieve maximum performance. 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. Since there are still many programs that use only one core to work, 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 i7-6900K	Intel Core i5-10600
Cinbench 15 Single-core	207	214
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	1439	1569
Cinbench 20 Single-core	484	494
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	3668	3556
Cinbench 23 Single-core	1151	1286
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	11326	9024

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

	Intel Core i7-6900K	Intel Core i5-10600
Single-Core	2405	2832
Multi-Core	13871	13964

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

	Intel Core i7-6900K	Intel Core i5-10600
Single-Core	1016	1307
Multi-Core	8971	7015

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 i7-6900K	Intel Core i5-10600
Announcement date	April 01, 2016	April 01, 2020
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	FCLGA2011-3	FCLGA1200
Core name	Broadwell E	Comet Lake
Architecture	x86	x86
Generation	6	10
Turbo Frequency	3.7 MHz	4.8 MHz
Frequency	3.2 MHz	3.3 MHz
Cores	8	6
Threads	16	12
Bus rate		8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	14 nm	14 nm
Transistors count	2800 millions	4800 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	140 W	65 W
Memory type	DDR4 2400/2133	DDR4-2666
Max. Memory	128 Gb	128 Gb
Memory Frequency
Memory bandwidth		41.6 GB/s
L1 cache
L2 cache
L3 cache	20 MB	12 MB
Overclocking	No	Yes
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 i5-10600 is 3% better than Core i7-6900K in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Core i7-6900K has 2 more core than Core i5-10600. 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 i7-6900K is better: 17
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i5-10600 is better: 16
However, it should be realized that the summary data that you have looked at here do not mean that you should be guided entirely by them and trust a simple comparison of these numbers. Be sure to watch the testing video and read the reviews of of people who bought Intel Core i7-6900K and Intel Core i5-10600 before making a decision which CPU to buy for gaming and which not.

Intel Core i7-6900K - all data

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

• Intel Core i7-6900K specs and review.

• Intel Core i5-10600 specs and review.