Intel Core i7-6900K vs Intel Core i9-10880H

Processor comparisons 25-03-2021

   If 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 i9-10880H tests and decide which is better for games or normal use for machine learning, streaming, rendering, programming, video editing. Here you can find all information from several benchmarks or real streaming and video editing tests. A careful review of all the technical characteristics, to make it easier to understand, is presented in the form of the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of parallel examination in software tests such as Furmark, Gears 5, PassMark, GeekBench 6, 5.2, 7zip, SuperPi, 3DMark, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, Blender, MATLAB, Blender, AIDA64, WPrime, Prime95, Dolphin Emulator, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), RealBench, PCMark 10, Handbrake, UserBenchmark, VeraCrypt, DaVinci Resolve Studio.
   Gaming performance of processors in:

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

After reading the results of all benchmarks and videos, you can already make an briefed decision about which processor is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i9-10880H 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 i9-10880H

54%

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Core i7-6900K

55%

Core i9-10880H

54%

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

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	97.2	95.8
Valorant	110.4	108.9
Cyberpunk 2077	61.8	61.0
Apex Legends	103.8	102.3
Call of Duty Warzone	82.8	81.6
Overwatch	89.4	88.2
Red Dead Redemption 2	76.2	75.1
DOOM Eternal	55.2	54.4
Warzone	86.1	84.9
Assassin's Creed	92.7	91.4
Valheim	91.6	90.3

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 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. 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 i7-6900K

24%

Core i9-10880H

92%

To make a final decision 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 i9-10880H is more energy efficient than the Core i7-6900K as it consumes less power: 140W vs. 45W. 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

Let's say you want to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for streaming, video rendering or video editing, programming, machine learning, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, the processor includes all cores and threads that it has to the maximum to reach maximum efficiency. You will learn this data from the benchmark tables below. Before using the data from these tests, be sure to make sure that 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 advantages 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 i7-6900K	Intel Core i9-10880H
Cinbench 15 Single-core	207	203
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	1439	1506
Cinbench 20 Single-core	484	469
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	3668	3372
Cinbench 23 Single-core	1151	1052
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	11326	10194

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

	Intel Core i7-6900K	Intel Core i9-10880H
Single-Core	2405	2804
Multi-Core	13871	15355

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

	Intel Core i7-6900K	Intel Core i9-10880H
Single-Core	1016	1250
Multi-Core	8971	7637

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the most useful will be the release date of the processor and the possibility of overclocking it. 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. When the processor can be overclocked, increasing its performance, then it will still be able to produce maximum FPS in new games. Accordingly, there is no longer a need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer. The economy are obvious!

	Intel Core i7-6900K	Intel Core i9-10880H
Announcement date	April 01, 2016	April 01, 2020
Type	Desktop	Laptop
Socket	FCLGA2011-3	FCBGA1440
Core name	Broadwell E	Coffee Lake
Architecture	x86	x86
Generation	6	9
Turbo Frequency	3.7 MHz	4.8 MHz
Frequency	3.2 MHz	2.3 MHz
Cores	8	8
Threads	16	16
Bus rate		8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	14 nm	14 nm
Transistors count	2800 millions	9200 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	140 W	45 W
Memory type	DDR4 2400/2133	DDR4-2666, LPDDR3-2133
Max. Memory	128 Gb	128 Gb
Memory Frequency
Memory bandwidth		41.8 GB/s
L1 cache
L2 cache
L3 cache	20 MB	16 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 i7-6900K is 28% better than Core i9-10880H 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 i7-6900K is better: 19
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i9-10880H is better: 11
However, 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 quantitative comparison. Be sure to watch benchmarks video and read the reviews of of people who bought Intel Core i7-6900K and Intel Core i9-10880H before making a decision which of the processors to buy for gaming.

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 i9-10880H - all data

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

• Intel Core i9-10880H specs and review.