Intel Core i9-7960X vs AMD Ryzen 7 Pro 5850U

Processor comparisons 17-03-2021

   For example you are thinking about choosing a CPU, you will be able to make a decision after reading the detailed tests Intel Core i9-7960X vs AMD Ryzen 7 Pro 5850U and see which is better for games or normal use for machine learning, programming, rendering, video editing, streaming. Here is useful information from real streaming and video editing tests or several benchmarks. A careful 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 such as Handbrake, Furmark, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, MATLAB, PCMark 10, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), SuperPi, GeekBench 6, 5.2, Prime95, 3DMark, 7zip, UserBenchmark, Gears 5, Blender, VeraCrypt, RealBench, WPrime, Blender, DaVinci Resolve Studio, Dolphin Emulator, AIDA64, PassMark.
   And how good the processors are in games:

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

After looking at the data of joint benchmarks and videos, you already be able to figure out which CPU is better to buy for gaming AMD Ryzen 7 Pro 5850U 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 Pro 5850U

58%

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Core i9-7960X

60%

Ryzen 7 Pro 5850U

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

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	106.9	96.5
Valorant	121.4	109.6
Cyberpunk 2077	68.0	61.4
Apex Legends	114.2	103.0
Call of Duty Warzone	91.1	82.2
Overwatch	98.4	88.8
Red Dead Redemption 2	83.8	75.6
DOOM Eternal	60.7	54.8
Warzone	94.7	85.5
Assassin's Creed	102.0	92.1
Valheim	100.8	91.0

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 comparing 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. 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 Pro 5850U

206%

To make a final resolution on which processor is better, you should also consider the generation of its core. It is clear that the newer the generation, the better the performance of the processor in games and benchmarks, as well as its energy efficiency. In this case the Ryzen 7 Pro 5850U is more energy efficient than the Core i9-7960X since it has less power consumption: 165W vs. 20W. 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

Let's say you plan to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for streaming, machine learning, video rendering or video editing, programming, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to achieve maximum performance, the CPU includes all cores and threads that it has. You will learn this data from the benchmark tables below. Before using the data from these tests, be sure to make sure that the program that you are going to use on your computer can work in multi-threaded mode. Since there are still many programs that can 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 i9-7960X	AMD Ryzen 7 Pro 5850U
Cinbench 15 Single-core	184	257
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	3161	2482
Cinbench 20 Single-core	611	597
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	5496	5441
Cinbench 23 Single-core	1103	1482
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	22189	15143

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

	Intel Core i9-7960X	AMD Ryzen 7 Pro 5850U
Single-Core	2605	3308
Multi-Core	27039	27376

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

	Intel Core i9-7960X	AMD Ryzen 7 Pro 5850U
Single-Core	1113	1240
Multi-Core	18501	8286

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 later. The same benefits from the presence of overclocking. If the processor can be overclocked, thereby increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain maximum FPS in new games. The economy are obvious! It turns out that there is no longer a need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	Intel Core i9-7960X	AMD Ryzen 7 Pro 5850U
Announcement date	October 01, 2017	February 22, 2021
Type	Desktop	Laptop
Socket	FCLGA2066	FP6
Core name	Skylake	Cezanne
Architecture	x86	Zen 3
Generation	7	5
Turbo Frequency	4.2 MHz	4.4 MHz
Frequency	2.8 MHz	1.9 MHz
Cores	16	8
Threads	32	16
Bus rate	8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography		7 nm
Transistors count	7800 millions	6200 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	165 W	20 W
Memory type	DDR4-2666	DDR4-3200 LPDDR4-4266
Max. Memory	128 Gb
Memory Frequency		3200
Memory bandwidth	85 GB/s
L1 cache
L2 cache		4MB
L3 cache	22 MB	32MB
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 i9-7960X is 32% better than Ryzen 7 Pro 5850U in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Core i9-7960X has 8 more core than Ryzen 7 Pro 5850U. 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 Pro 5850U is better: 12
However, it should be understood that all the number in the article above do not mean that taking them into account you should totally trust a simple quantitative comparison. Be sure to watch the testing video and read the opinion of real owners of Intel Core i9-7960X and AMD Ryzen 7 Pro 5850U before making a decision which of the CPUs to buy for gaming.

• Intel Core i9-7960X specs and review.

• AMD Ryzen 7 Pro 5850U specs and review.