Intel Core i7-6950X vs AMD Ryzen 7 Extreme Edition

Processor comparisons   24-03-2021
   You may have difficulties with the choice of a CPU, you will solve them by reading the detailed tests Intel Core i7-6950X vs AMD Ryzen 7 Extreme Edition and decide which is better for games or simple use for programming, streaming, machine learning, rendering, video editing. Here you can find useful information from many benchmarks or real video editing and streaming tests. A careful analysis of all the technical characteristics, to make it easier to read, is summarized in the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of joint testing in software tests like Blender, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), GeekBench 6, 5.2, Furmark, AIDA64, PCMark 10, Handbrake, Gears 5, DaVinci Resolve Studio, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, Blender, 7zip, UserBenchmark, WPrime, PassMark, 3DMark, MATLAB, SuperPi, Dolphin Emulator, RealBench, VeraCrypt, Prime95.
   Gaming performance of processors in:

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

After looking at the data of joint benchmarks and videos, you can already make an briefed decision about which CPU is better to buy for gaming AMD Ryzen 7 Extreme Edition or Intel Core i7-6950X.

Summary benchmark results

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

Core i7-6950X

55%

Ryzen 7 Extreme Edition

55%

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Core i7-6950X

56%

Ryzen 7 Extreme Edition

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

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	99.4	94.8
Valorant	113.0	107.7
Cyberpunk 2077	63.3	60.3
Apex Legends	106.2	101.2
Call of Duty Warzone	84.7	80.8
Overwatch	91.5	87.2
Red Dead Redemption 2	77.9	74.3
DOOM Eternal	56.5	53.8
Warzone	88.1	84.0
Assassin's Creed	94.9	90.5
Valheim	93.8	89.4

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: 4K, 2K or FullHD. Therefore, 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 i7-6950X

28%

Ryzen 7 Extreme Edition

158%

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 Ryzen 7 Extreme Edition is more energy efficient than the Core i7-6950X as it consumes less power: 140W vs. 25W. Power consumption is particularly 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 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 i7-6950X	AMD Ryzen 7 Extreme Edition
Cinbench 15 Single-core	152	190
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	1819	1647
Cinbench 20 Single-core	498	454
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	4827	3702
Cinbench 23 Single-core	1091	1188
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	12713	10190

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

	Intel Core i7-6950X	AMD Ryzen 7 Extreme Edition
Single-Core	2377	2659
Multi-Core	17125	18228

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

	Intel Core i7-6950X	AMD Ryzen 7 Extreme Edition
Single-Core	1204	1191
Multi-Core	11187	6633

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 i7-6950X	AMD Ryzen 7 Extreme Edition
Announcement date	April 01, 2016	April 01, 2020
Type	Desktop	Laptop
Socket	LGA2011-v3	FP6
Core name	Broadwell E	Renoir
Architecture	x86	Zen 2
Generation	6	2
Turbo Frequency	3.5 MHz	4.2 MHz
Frequency	3 MHz	1.8 MHz
Cores	10	8
Threads	20	16
Bus rate
Bit	64	64
Lithography	14 nm
Transistors count		5400 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	140 W	25 W
Memory type	DDR4 2400/2133	DDR4 - Up to 3200MHz
Max. Memory	128 Gb
Memory Frequency
Memory bandwidth
L1 cache
L2 cache		4MB
L3 cache	25 MB	8MB
Overclocking	No	No
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number		100-000000097

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Core i7-6950X is 40% better than Ryzen 7 Extreme Edition in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Core i7-6950X has 2 more core than Ryzen 7 Extreme Edition. 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 i7-6950X is better: 22
The number of parameters for which AMD Ryzen 7 Extreme Edition is better: 11
However, it should be understood that all the data that you have looked at here do not mean that taking them into account you should entirely trust a simple comparison of these figures. Be sure to watch the video tests and read the opinion of real owners of Intel Core i7-6950X and AMD Ryzen 7 Extreme Edition before making a decision which processor to buy for gaming and which not.

Intel Core i7-6950X - all data

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

• Intel Core i7-6950X specs and review.

AMD Ryzen 7 Extreme Edition - all data

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

• AMD Ryzen 7 Extreme Edition specs and review.