Intel Core i9-10940X vs AMD Ryzen 9 3950X

Processor comparisons 17-03-2021

   Perhaps you are thinking about choosing a processor, you will be able to make a decision after reading the comprehensive tests Intel Core i9-10940X vs AMD Ryzen 9 3950X and decide which is better for games or simple use for programming, rendering, streaming, machine learning, video editing. Here is useful information from several benchmarks or real video editing and streaming tests. 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 parallel examination in special testing software like Furmark, PassMark, RealBench, MATLAB, AIDA64, GeekBench 6, 5.2, Gears 5, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, UserBenchmark, Blender, PCMark 10, Prime95, Dolphin Emulator, WPrime, SuperPi, VeraCrypt, 7zip, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), Blender, Handbrake, DaVinci Resolve Studio, 3DMark.
   And how good the processors are in games:

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

After reading the results of all benchmarks and videos, you can already make an briefed decision about which CPU is better to buy for gaming AMD Ryzen 9 3950X or Intel Core i9-10940X.

Summary benchmark results

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

Core i9-10940X

58%

Ryzen 9 3950X

61%

This parameter shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, Ryzen 9 3950X is 4% better than Core i9-10940X. The data source is several popular tests. More detailed information of the benchmarks is below.

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Core i9-10940X

59%

Ryzen 9 3950X

58%

For the maximum in this test, the results of the most powerful processor in the site database are taken. 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 small game result, 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: Forza Horizon 4, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, Ghostrunner, NBA 2K20, Half-Life: Alyx, League of Legends (LOL), Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Hitman 3, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Metro Exodus, Battlefield V, Control, Horizon Zero Dawn, DOTA 2A, Monster Hunter World, Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	104.3	103.7
Valorant	118.5	117.9
Cyberpunk 2077	66.4	66.0
Apex Legends	111.4	110.8
Call of Duty Warzone	88.9	88.4
Overwatch	96.0	95.5
Red Dead Redemption 2	81.8	81.3
DOOM Eternal	59.2	58.9
Warzone	92.4	91.9
Assassin's Creed	99.5	99.0
Valheim	98.3	97.8

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 i9-10940X

24%

Ryzen 9 3950X

40%

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 9 3950X is more energy efficient than the Core i9-10940X as it consumes less power: 165W vs. 105W. Power consumption is especially important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, you need to know its TDP. It is necessary to count 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, machine learning, streaming, programming, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, the processor includes all threads and cores that it has to the maximum to reach 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. 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 i9-10940X	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
Cinbench 15 Single-core	201	217
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	3117	3897
Cinbench 20 Single-core	442	531
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	7609	9148
Cinbench 23 Single-core	1263	1371
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	21309	24050

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

	Intel Core i9-10940X	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
Single-Core	2704	2718
Multi-Core	29374	39170

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

	Intel Core i9-10940X	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
Single-Core	1226	1286
Multi-Core	15950	15407

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the most useful will be the the possibility of overclocking it and release date of the processor. 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 can be said about overclocking. When the processor can be overclocked, thereby increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain maximum FPS even in the newest games. The economy are obvious! Accordingly, you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	Intel Core i9-10940X	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
Announcement date	October 01, 2019	October 01, 2019
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	FCLGA2066	AM4
Core name	Cascade Lake	Matisse
Architecture	x86	Zen 2
Generation	10	3
Turbo Frequency	4.8 MHz	4.7 MHz
Frequency	3.3 MHz	3.5 MHz
Cores	14	16
Threads	28	32
Bus rate	8 GT/s DMI3
Bit	64	64
Lithography	14 nm	7 nm
Transistors count	9200 millions	7800 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	165 W	105 W
Memory type	DDR4-2933	DDR4
Max. Memory	256 Gb
Memory Frequency		3200
Memory bandwidth	94 GB/s
L1 cache		1MB
L2 cache		8MB
L3 cache	19.25 MB	64MB
Overclocking	Yes	Yes
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number		100-000000051 100-100000051WOF

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Ryzen 9 3950X is 5% better than Core i9-10940X in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Ryzen 9 3950X has 2 more core than Core i9-10940X. 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 i9-10940X is better: 18
The number of parameters for which AMD Ryzen 9 3950X is better: 18
Although it should be understood that all the data in the table above do not mean that taking them into account you should completely trust a simple comparison of these numbers. Better to watch the testing video and read the opinion of of people who bought Intel Core i9-10940X and AMD Ryzen 9 3950X before making a decision which CPU to buy for gaming and which not.

• Intel Core i9-10940X specs and review.

• AMD Ryzen 9 3950X specs and review.