Intel Core i9-10850K vs AMD Ryzen 5 3500U

Processor comparisons 17-03-2021

   Let's say you can't decide which CPU to buy, you can make a choice after reading the full tests Intel Core i9-10850K vs AMD Ryzen 5 3500U and understand which is better for games or normal use for rendering, video editing, programming, streaming, machine learning. Here is useful information from real video editing and streaming tests or several benchmarks. A step-by-step analysis of all the technical characteristics, to make it easier to read, is made by the table.
   From the comparison video, you can get the results of joint testing in special testing software like Blender, Gears 5, UserBenchmark, SuperPi, 3DMark, MATLAB, Handbrake, VeraCrypt, Dolphin Emulator, Blender, DaVinci Resolve Studio, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, PCMark 10, GeekBench 6, 5.2, RealBench, AIDA64, WPrime, Prime95, Furmark, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), PassMark, 7zip.
   And how good the processors are in games:

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

After reading the results of all benchmarks and videos, you already be able to figure out which CPU is better to buy for gaming AMD Ryzen 5 3500U or Intel Core i9-10850K.

Summary benchmark results

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

Core i9-10850K

57%

Ryzen 5 3500U

52%

This shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, Core i9-10850K is 8% better than Ryzen 5 3500U. The data source is several popular tests. Detailed information can be found below.

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Core i9-10850K

56%

Ryzen 5 3500U

51%

The maximum result in this parameter is 100 percent, which is the performance of the most powerful processor currently available. 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 small game result, just look at the FPS that it produces in real games in the summary table below.
List of less popular games in which processors were compared: NBA 2K20, Half-Life: Alyx, Ghostrunner, Horizon Zero Dawn, League of Legends (LOL), Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), Hitman 3, Metro Exodus, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, Monster Hunter World, Forza Horizon 4, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Control, DOTA 2A, Battlefield V.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	99.8	91.3
Valorant	113.4	103.7
Cyberpunk 2077	63.5	58.1
Apex Legends	106.6	97.5
Call of Duty Warzone	85.1	77.8
Overwatch	91.9	84.0
Red Dead Redemption 2	78.3	71.6
DOOM Eternal	56.7	51.9
Warzone	88.5	80.9
Assassin's Creed	95.3	87.1
Valheim	94.1	86.1

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 participating in the comparisons not only were the equipped with different amounts of RAM and different video cards. 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. To be sure exactly how much performance 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 i9-10850K

36%

Ryzen 5 3500U

209%

To make a final resolution 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 Ryzen 5 3500U is more energy efficient than the Core i9-10850K since it has less power consumption: 125W vs. 15W. Power consumption is especially important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, you need 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 streaming, machine learning, video editing or video rendering, programming, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, the CPU includes all cores and threads that it has to the maximum to achieve maximum efficiency. 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 software 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 are unused.

Cinebench 23, 20 an 15
The results of this benchmark show Single-threaded and Multi-threaded CPU performance

	Intel Core i9-10850K	AMD Ryzen 5 3500U
Cinbench 15 Single-core	229	141
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	2616	620
Cinbench 20 Single-core	536	360
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	6318	1483
Cinbench 23 Single-core	1367	876
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	16820	3544

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

	Intel Core i9-10850K	AMD Ryzen 5 3500U
Single-Core	3074	2014
Multi-Core	23350	7199

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

	Intel Core i9-10850K	AMD Ryzen 5 3500U
Single-Core	1383	944
Multi-Core	11578	3231

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 in the future. The same benefits from the presence of overclocking. When the processor can be overclocked, thereby increasing its performance, then it will still be able to produce maximum FPS even in the newest games. The savings are obvious! It turns out that you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	Intel Core i9-10850K	AMD Ryzen 5 3500U
Announcement date	April 01, 2020	December 31, 1969
Type	Desktop	Laptop
Socket	FCLGA1200	FP5
Core name	Comet Lake	Picasso
Architecture	x86	Zen+
Generation	10	2
Turbo Frequency	5.1 MHz	3.7 MHz
Frequency	3.6 MHz	2.1 MHz
Cores	10	4
Threads	20	8
Bus rate	8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	14 nm	12 nm
Transistors count	9200 millions	4200 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	125 W	15 W
Memory type	DDR4-2933
Max. Memory	128 Gb
Memory Frequency		2400
Memory bandwidth	45.8 GB/s
L1 cache		384KB
L2 cache		2MB
L3 cache	20 MB	4MB
Overclocking	Yes	No
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number		YM3500C4T4MFG n/a

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Core i9-10850K is 41% better than Ryzen 5 3500U in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Core i9-10850K has 6 more core than Ryzen 5 3500U. 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 i9-10850K is better: 32
The number of parameters for which AMD Ryzen 5 3500U is better: 6
However, it should be realized that all the number in the table above do not mean that you should be guided entirely by them and trust a simple quantitative comparison. Be sure to watch the video tests and read the opinion of of people who bought Intel Core i9-10850K and AMD Ryzen 5 3500U before deciding which processor to buy for gaming and which not.

• Intel Core i9-10850K specs and review.

• AMD Ryzen 5 3500U specs and review.