Intel Core i9-7960X vs AMD Ryzen 7 3800X

Processor comparisons 17-03-2021

   You may have difficulties with the choice of a CPU, you will solve them by reading the full tests Intel Core i9-7960X vs AMD Ryzen 7 3800X and decide which is better for games or normal use for streaming, video editing, programming, rendering, machine learning. Here you can find useful information from many benchmarks or real video editing and streaming tests. A thorough review of all the specifications, to make it easier to understand, is presented in the form of the table.
   From the comparison video, you can get the results of joint testing in software tests like Furmark, DaVinci Resolve Studio, Gears 5, Blender, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), 3DMark, Dolphin Emulator, WPrime, MATLAB, AIDA64, SuperPi, 7zip, VeraCrypt, PassMark, Handbrake, Prime95, PCMark 10, RealBench, GeekBench 6, 5.2, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, UserBenchmark, Blender.
   Gaming performance of processors in:

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

After looking at the data these benchmarks and videos, you already be able to understand which CPU is better to buy for gaming AMD Ryzen 7 3800X or Intel Core i9-7960X.

Summary benchmark results

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

Core i9-7960X

58%

Ryzen 7 3800X

57%

This parameter shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, Core i9-7960X is 1% better than Ryzen 7 3800X. The data source is several popular tests. More detailed information of the benchmarks is below.

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Core i9-7960X

60%

Ryzen 7 3800X

56%

The maximum result in this parameter is 100 percent, which is the performance of the most powerful processor at the moment. 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. Therefore, if you think 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: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Control, Metro Exodus, League of Legends (LOL), Hitman 3, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, DOTA 2A, NBA 2K20, Monster Hunter World, Half-Life: Alyx, Horizon Zero Dawn, Battlefield V, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Ghostrunner, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), Forza Horizon 4, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	106.9	98.9
Valorant	121.4	112.4
Cyberpunk 2077	68.0	62.9
Apex Legends	114.2	105.6
Call of Duty Warzone	91.1	84.3
Overwatch	98.4	91.0
Red Dead Redemption 2	83.8	77.5
DOOM Eternal	60.7	56.2
Warzone	94.7	87.7
Assassin's Creed	102.0	94.4
Valheim	100.8	93.3

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 i9-7960X

22%

Ryzen 7 3800X

44%

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 Ryzen 7 3800X is more energy efficient than the Core i9-7960X since it has less power consumption: 165W vs. 105W. Power consumption is especially important for laptops. And TDP should be taken into account when choosing a processor cooling system. You need to buy a cooler that has the TDP data specified in the specification was greater than the TDP of the compared processor.

Software benchmarks

For example you plan to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for video editing or video rendering, programming, machine learning, streaming, then the main parameter for you is its performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to achieve maximum efficiency, the processor turns on all threads and cores that it has. You will find out this data from the benchmark tables below. Before using the data from these tests, be sure to check whether the program 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 i9-7960X	AMD Ryzen 7 3800X
Cinbench 15 Single-core	184	209
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	3161	2165
Cinbench 20 Single-core	611	509
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	5496	4960
Cinbench 23 Single-core	1103	1325
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	22189	12874

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

	Intel Core i9-7960X	AMD Ryzen 7 3800X
Single-Core	2605	2773
Multi-Core	27039	23436

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

	Intel Core i9-7960X	AMD Ryzen 7 3800X
Single-Core	1113	1393
Multi-Core	18501	10679

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 in your computer. 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 the newest games. The savings are obvious! Accordingly, there is no longer a need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	Intel Core i9-7960X	AMD Ryzen 7 3800X
Announcement date	October 01, 2017	July 07, 2019
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	FCLGA2066	AM4
Core name	Skylake	Matisse
Architecture	x86	Zen 2
Generation	7	3
Turbo Frequency	4.2 MHz	4.5 MHz
Frequency	2.8 MHz	3.9 MHz
Cores	16	8
Threads	32	16
Bus rate	8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography		7 nm
Transistors count	7800 millions	4600 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	165 W	105 W
Memory type	DDR4-2666	DDR4
Max. Memory	128 Gb
Memory Frequency		3200
Memory bandwidth	85 GB/s
L1 cache		512KB
L2 cache		4MB
L3 cache	22 MB	32MB
Overclocking	No	Yes
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number		100-000000025 100-100000025BOX 100-100000025MPK

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Ryzen 7 3800X is 28% better than Core i9-7960X in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Core i9-7960X has 8 more core than Ryzen 7 3800X. 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 i9-7960X is better: 25
The number of parameters for which AMD Ryzen 7 3800X is better: 13
Although it should be understood that all the figures that you have looked at here do not mean that taking them into account you should totally trust a simple comparison of these numbers. Better to watch benchmarks video and read the opinion of real owners of Intel Core i9-7960X and AMD Ryzen 7 3800X before deciding which of the processors to buy for gaming.

• Intel Core i9-7960X specs and review.

• AMD Ryzen 7 3800X specs and review.