Intel Core i9-10850K vs AMD Ryzen 5 3600X

Processor comparisons 17-03-2021

   You may have difficulties with the choice of a CPU, you will solve them by reading the detailed tests Intel Core i9-10850K vs AMD Ryzen 5 3600X and see which is better for games or normal use for rendering, video editing, programming, machine learning, streaming. Here is useful information from different benchmarks or real video editing and streaming tests. A thorough analysis 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 special test applications like Handbrake, SuperPi, AIDA64, VeraCrypt, MATLAB, WPrime, Prime95, GeekBench 6, 5.2, 3DMark, 7zip, UserBenchmark, RealBench, DaVinci Resolve Studio, Gears 5, PassMark, Blender, Blender, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, PCMark 10, Dolphin Emulator, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), Furmark.
   Gaming performance of CPUs in:

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

After looking at the data of joint benchmarks and videos, you can already make an briefed decision about which processor is better to buy for gaming AMD Ryzen 5 3600X 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 3600X

55%

This value shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, Core i9-10850K is 3% better than Ryzen 5 3600X. The data source is several popular tests. More detailed information of the benchmarks is below.

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Core i9-10850K

56%

Ryzen 5 3600X

54%

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

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	99.8	96.0
Valorant	113.4	109.1
Cyberpunk 2077	63.5	61.1
Apex Legends	106.6	102.6
Call of Duty Warzone	85.1	81.9
Overwatch	91.9	88.4
Red Dead Redemption 2	78.3	75.3
DOOM Eternal	56.7	54.6
Warzone	88.5	85.1
Assassin's Creed	95.3	91.7
Valheim	94.1	90.6

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: 2K, FullHD or 4K. So 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 i9-10850K

36%

Ryzen 5 3600X

47%

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 3600X is more energy efficient than the Core i9-10850K since it has less power consumption: 125W vs. 95W. 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 3600X
Cinbench 15 Single-core	229	204
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	2616	1647
Cinbench 20 Single-core	536	501
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	6318	3751
Cinbench 23 Single-core	1367	1286
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	16820	9588

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

	Intel Core i9-10850K	AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
Single-Core	3074	2651
Multi-Core	23350	18377

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

	Intel Core i9-10850K	AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
Single-Core	1383	1341
Multi-Core	11578	7891

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the processor release date and overclocking capability will be the most useful. The newer the processor, 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 continue to maintain maximum FPS in new games. Accordingly, there is no longer a need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer. The savings are obvious!

	Intel Core i9-10850K	AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
Announcement date	April 01, 2020	July 07, 2019
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	FCLGA1200	AM4
Core name	Comet Lake	Matisse
Architecture	x86	Zen 2
Generation	10	3
Turbo Frequency	5.1 MHz	4.4 MHz
Frequency	3.6 MHz	3.8 MHz
Cores	10	6
Threads	20	12
Bus rate	8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	14 nm	7 nm
Transistors count	9200 millions	4200 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	125 W	95 W
Memory type	DDR4-2933	DDR4
Max. Memory	128 Gb
Memory Frequency		3200
Memory bandwidth	45.8 GB/s
L1 cache		384KB
L2 cache		3MB
L3 cache	20 MB	32MB
Overclocking	Yes	Yes
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number		100-000000022 100-100000022BOX 100-100000022MPK

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Ryzen 5 3600X is 5% better than Core i9-10850K in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Core i9-10850K has 4 more core than Ryzen 5 3600X. 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: 30
The number of parameters for which AMD Ryzen 5 3600X is better: 7
All the figures in the text above do not mean that taking them into account you should completely trust a simple comparison of these numbers. Be sure to watch benchmarks video and read the reviews of of people who bought Intel Core i9-10850K and AMD Ryzen 5 3600X before deciding which CPU to buy for gaming and which not.

• Intel Core i9-10850K specs and review.

• AMD Ryzen 5 3600X specs and review.