Intel Core i7-7900X vs Intel Core i5-10600K

Processor comparisons   23-03-2021
   If you are thinking about choosing a CPU, you will be able to make a decision after reading the detailed tests Intel Core i7-7900X vs Intel Core i5-10600K and understand which is better for games or normal use for programming, machine learning, streaming, rendering, video editing. Here is useful information from real video editing and streaming tests or different benchmarks. A thorough review of all the specifications, to make it easier to understand, is summarized in the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of joint testing in synthetic type tests like Gears 5, Dolphin Emulator, MATLAB, SuperPi, RealBench, Handbrake, GeekBench 6, 5.2, AIDA64, 7zip, Prime95, UserBenchmark, Furmark, WPrime, Blender, PassMark, 3DMark, PCMark 10, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, Blender, DaVinci Resolve Studio, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), VeraCrypt.
   Gaming performance of CPUs in:

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

After looking at the data of parallel benchmarks and videos, you already be able to know which CPU is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i5-10600K or Intel Core i7-7900X.

Summary benchmark results

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

Core i7-7900X

55%

Core i5-10600K

54%

The number of this parameter shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, Core i7-7900X is 1% better than Core i5-10600K. The data source is several popular tests. More detailed information of the benchmarks is below.

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Core i7-7900X

57%

Core i5-10600K

55%

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

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	100.5	97.0
Valorant	114.2	110.2
Cyberpunk 2077	63.9	61.7
Apex Legends	107.3	103.6
Call of Duty Warzone	85.6	82.7
Overwatch	92.5	89.3
Red Dead Redemption 2	78.8	76.1
DOOM Eternal	57.1	55.1
Warzone	89.1	86.0
Assassin's Creed	95.9	92.6
Valheim	94.8	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 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: 2K, 4K or FullHD. Therefore, 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 i7-7900X

32%

Core i5-10600K

39%

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 i5-10600K is more energy efficient than the Core i7-7900X as it consumes less power: 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

If you want to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for video rendering or video editing, programming, streaming, machine learning, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, the CPU turns on all cores and threads that it has to the maximum to achieve maximum efficiency. You will learn this data from the benchmark tables below. Before using 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 use only one core to run, 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 i7-7900X	Intel Core i5-10600K
Cinbench 15 Single-core	225	215
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	2318	1615
Cinbench 20 Single-core	518	501
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	5234	3629
Cinbench 23 Single-core	1295	1376
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	12538	10379

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

	Intel Core i7-7900X	Intel Core i5-10600K
Single-Core	2583	2967
Multi-Core	19299	14674

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

	Intel Core i7-7900X	Intel Core i5-10600K
Single-Core	1370	1495
Multi-Core	12235	8815

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the processor release date and overclocking capability will be the most helpful. The later the processor is released, the longer it will last you. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system later. The same can be said about overclocking. If the processor can be overclocked, increasing its performance, then it will still be able to produce maximum FPS in new games. It turns out that you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer. The economy are obvious!

	Intel Core i7-7900X	Intel Core i5-10600K
Announcement date	April 01, 2017	April 01, 2020
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	FCLGA2066	FCLGA1200
Core name	Skylake	Comet Lake
Architecture	x86	x86
Generation	7	10
Turbo Frequency	4.3 MHz	4.8 MHz
Frequency	3.3 MHz	4.1 MHz
Cores	10	6
Threads	20	12
Bus rate	8 GT/s	8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	14 nm	14 nm
Transistors count	8400 millions	4800 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	140 W	125 W
Memory type	DDR4-2666	DDR4-2666
Max. Memory	128 Gb	128 Gb
Memory Frequency
Memory bandwidth	85 GB/s	41.6 GB/s
L1 cache
L2 cache
L3 cache	13.75 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 19% better than Core i7-7900X in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Core i7-7900X has 4 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 i7-7900X is better: 23
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i5-10600K is better: 9
Although it should be understood that the summary data in the text above do not mean that taking them into account you should fully trust a simple quantitative comparison. Be sure to watch benchmarks video and read the reviews of real owners of Intel Core i7-7900X and Intel Core i5-10600K before making a selection which of the CPUs to buy for gaming.

Intel Core i7-7900X - all data

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

• Intel Core i7-7900X specs and review.

• Intel Core i5-10600K specs and review.