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

Processor comparisons 25-03-2021

   Let's say you are thinking about choosing a processor, you will be able to make a choice by looking at the Intel Core i7-6900K vs Intel Core i5-10600K tests and understand which is better for games or normal use for programming, video editing, machine learning, streaming, rendering. Here you can find all information from real streaming and video editing tests or many benchmarks. A step-by-step analysis of all the technical characteristics, to make it easier to understand, is summarized in the table.
   From the comparison video, you can get the results of parallel examination in special testing software like AIDA64, Blender, DaVinci Resolve Studio, GeekBench 6, 5.2, PCMark 10, Gears 5, Prime95, MATLAB, Blender, VeraCrypt, 7zip, PassMark, Handbrake, RealBench, Dolphin Emulator, UserBenchmark, Furmark, WPrime, 3DMark, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, SuperPi.
   And how good the processors are in games:

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

After reading the results of parallel benchmarks and videos, you can already make an briefed decision about which CPU is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i5-10600K 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 i5-10600K

54%

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Core i7-6900K

55%

Core i5-10600K

55%

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

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	97.2	97.0
Valorant	110.4	110.2
Cyberpunk 2077	61.8	61.7
Apex Legends	103.8	103.6
Call of Duty Warzone	82.8	82.7
Overwatch	89.4	89.3
Red Dead Redemption 2	76.2	76.1
DOOM Eternal	55.2	55.1
Warzone	86.1	86.0
Assassin's Creed	92.7	92.6
Valheim	91.6	91.5

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

Core i7-6900K

24%

Core i5-10600K

39%

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 i5-10600K is more energy efficient than the Core i7-6900K since it has less power consumption: 140W vs. 125W. Power consumption is especially important for laptops. And TDP should be taken into account when choosing a processor cooling system. 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

For example you want to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for programming, machine learning, streaming, 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 processor uses all cores and threads that it has to the maximum to achieve maximum performance. You will learn this data from the benchmark tables below. Before using the data from these tests, be sure to check whether the program you are going to use on your computer supports multi-threaded mode. Since there are still many programs that can use only one core to work, and all the advantages 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 i5-10600K
Cinbench 15 Single-core	207	215
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	1439	1615
Cinbench 20 Single-core	484	501
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	3668	3629
Cinbench 23 Single-core	1151	1376
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	11326	10379

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

	Intel Core i7-6900K	Intel Core i5-10600K
Single-Core	2405	2967
Multi-Core	13871	14674

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

	Intel Core i7-6900K	Intel Core i5-10600K
Single-Core	1016	1495
Multi-Core	8971	8815

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 later. 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 in new games. The economy are obvious! It turns out that there is no longer a need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	Intel Core i7-6900K	Intel Core i5-10600K
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	4.1 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	125 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 i5-10600K is 21% better than Core i7-6900K in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Core i7-6900K has 2 more core than Core i5-10600K. 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 i5-10600K is better: 16
Although it should be realized that all the number that you have looked at here do not mean that taking them into account you should totally trust a simple comparison of these figures. Better to watch the testing video and read the opinion of of people who bought Intel Core i7-6900K and Intel Core i5-10600K before deciding which processor 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 i5-10600K specs and review.