Intel Core i7-6950X vs Intel Core i9-9900KS

Processor comparisons   24-03-2021
   If there are difficulties with the choice of a CPU, you will solve them by reading the comprehensive tests Intel Core i7-6950X vs Intel Core i9-9900KS and understand which is better for games or simple use for programming, video editing, rendering, machine learning, streaming. Here you can find all information from several benchmarks or real video editing and streaming tests. A careful analysis of all the specifications, to make it easier to read, is made by the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of parallel examination in special testing software such as World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, WPrime, UserBenchmark, 3DMark, RealBench, DaVinci Resolve Studio, GeekBench 6, 5.2, SuperPi, Handbrake, Dolphin Emulator, VeraCrypt, PCMark 10, AIDA64, Furmark, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), Blender, Prime95, 7zip, MATLAB, PassMark, Gears 5, Blender.
   And how good the CPUs are in games:

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

After reading the results of joint benchmarks and videos, you already be able to figure out which CPU is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i9-9900KS 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%

Core i9-9900KS

55%

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Core i7-6950X

56%

Core i9-9900KS

55%

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

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	99.4	97.7
Valorant	113.0	111.0
Cyberpunk 2077	63.3	62.2
Apex Legends	106.2	104.4
Call of Duty Warzone	84.7	83.3
Overwatch	91.5	89.9
Red Dead Redemption 2	77.9	76.6
DOOM Eternal	56.5	55.5
Warzone	88.1	86.6
Assassin's Creed	94.9	93.3
Valheim	93.8	92.1

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

Power consumption

Core i7-6950X

28%

Core i9-9900KS

35%

To make a finishing 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 i9-9900KS is more energy efficient than the Core i7-6950X since it has less power consumption: 140W vs. 127W. Power consumption is particularly important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, it will be useful 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

If you plan to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for video rendering or video editing, programming, machine learning, streaming, then the main parameter for you is its performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to achieve maximum performance, the processor uses all cores and threads that it has. You will find out this data from the benchmark tables below. Before you take into account the data from these tests, be sure to check whether the software you are going to use on your computer supports multi-threaded mode. Because there are still many programs that can use only one core to work, 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	Intel Core i9-9900KS
Cinbench 15 Single-core	152	222
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	1819	2201
Cinbench 20 Single-core	498	518
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	4827	5226
Cinbench 23 Single-core	1091	1284
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	12713	12704

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

	Intel Core i7-6950X	Intel Core i9-9900KS
Single-Core	2377	3018
Multi-Core	17125	19522

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

	Intel Core i7-6950X	Intel Core i9-9900KS
Single-Core	1204	1368
Multi-Core	11187	9501

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 newer the processor, the longer it will last you. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system in the future. The same can be said about overclocking. If the processor can be overclocked, thereby increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain maximum FPS in the newest games. Accordingly, you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer. The savings are obvious!

	Intel Core i7-6950X	Intel Core i9-9900KS
Announcement date	April 01, 2016	October 01, 2019
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	LGA2011-v3	FCLGA1151-2
Core name	Broadwell E	Coffee Lake
Architecture	x86	x86
Generation	6	9
Turbo Frequency	3.5 MHz	5 MHz
Frequency	3 MHz	4 MHz
Cores	10	8
Threads	20	16
Bus rate		8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	14 nm	14 nm
Transistors count		8600 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	140 W	127 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	25 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 i9-9900KS is 25% better than Core i7-6950X in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Core i7-6950X has 2 more core than Core i9-9900KS. 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: 16
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i9-9900KS is better: 16
However, it should be realized that the summary data in the table above do not mean that taking them into account you should fully trust a simple comparison of these figures. Better to watch benchmarks video and read the opinion of of people who bought Intel Core i7-6950X and Intel Core i9-9900KS before making a choice which of the processors to buy for gaming.

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.

Intel Core i9-9900KS - all data

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

• Intel Core i9-9900KS specs and review.