Intel Core i9-7960X vs AMD Ryzen 9 5900

Processor comparisons 17-03-2021

   If you can't decide which processor to buy, you can make a decision after reading the comprehensive tests Intel Core i9-7960X vs AMD Ryzen 9 5900 and see which is better for games or simple use for programming, machine learning, rendering, video editing, streaming. Here is useful information from many benchmarks or real video editing and streaming tests. A careful review of all the technical characteristics, so that it can be easier to understand, is presented in the form of the table.
   From the comparison video, you can get the results of joint testing in special testing software such as Handbrake, RealBench, SuperPi, DaVinci Resolve Studio, GeekBench 6, 5.2, 3DMark, Blender, UserBenchmark, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), Prime95, Furmark, PassMark, MATLAB, 7zip, Gears 5, Blender, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, WPrime, VeraCrypt, PCMark 10, AIDA64, Dolphin Emulator.
   And how good the processors are in games:

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

After looking at the data of parallel benchmarks and videos, you already be able to understand which CPU is better to buy for gaming AMD Ryzen 9 5900 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 9 5900

62%

This parameter shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, Ryzen 9 5900 is 6% better than Core i9-7960X. The data source is several popular tests. Detailed information can be found below.

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Core i9-7960X

60%

Ryzen 9 5900

59%

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

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	106.9	103.8
Valorant	121.4	118.0
Cyberpunk 2077	68.0	66.1
Apex Legends	114.2	110.9
Call of Duty Warzone	91.1	88.5
Overwatch	98.4	95.6
Red Dead Redemption 2	83.8	81.4
DOOM Eternal	60.7	59.0
Warzone	94.7	92.0
Assassin's Creed	102.0	99.1
Valheim	100.8	97.9

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 video cards and different amounts of RAM. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: 2K, 4K or FullHD. So 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 i9-7960X

22%

Ryzen 9 5900

89%

To make a final decision 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 9 5900 is more energy efficient than the Core i9-7960X since it has less power consumption: 165W vs. 65W. 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

For example you want to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for programming, video rendering or video editing, streaming, machine learning, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to achieve maximum efficiency, the CPU includes all threads and cores that it has. You will learn this data from the benchmark tables below. Before you take into account 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 can use only one core to run, and all the advantages 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 9 5900
Cinbench 15 Single-core	184	285
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	3161	3789
Cinbench 20 Single-core	611	668
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	5496	8653
Cinbench 23 Single-core	1103	1815
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	22189	23790

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

	Intel Core i9-7960X	AMD Ryzen 9 5900
Single-Core	2605	3487
Multi-Core	27039	39560

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

	Intel Core i9-7960X	AMD Ryzen 9 5900
Single-Core	1113	1743
Multi-Core	18501	15530

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 in your computer. 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 continue to maintain maximum FPS in new games. The economy are obvious! Accordingly, you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	Intel Core i9-7960X	AMD Ryzen 9 5900
Announcement date	October 01, 2017	January 12, 2021
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	FCLGA2066	AM4
Core name	Skylake	Vermeer
Architecture	x86	Zen 3
Generation	7	4
Turbo Frequency	4.2 MHz	4.7 MHz
Frequency	2.8 MHz	3 MHz
Cores	16	12
Threads	32	24
Bus rate	8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography		7 nm
Transistors count	7800 millions	9400 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	165 W	65 W
Memory type	DDR4-2666	DDR4
Max. Memory	128 Gb
Memory Frequency		3200
Memory bandwidth	85 GB/s
L1 cache
L2 cache		6MB
L3 cache	22 MB	64MB
Overclocking	No	Yes
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number		100-000000062

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Ryzen 9 5900 is 6% better than Core i9-7960X in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Core i9-7960X has 4 more core than Ryzen 9 5900. 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: 19
The number of parameters for which AMD Ryzen 9 5900 is better: 18
Although it should be realized that all the figures in the text above do not mean that taking them into account you should entirely trust a simple comparison of these figures. Be sure to watch the testing video and read the reviews of of people who bought Intel Core i9-7960X and AMD Ryzen 9 5900 before making a selection which processor to buy for gaming and which not.

• Intel Core i9-7960X specs and review.

• AMD Ryzen 9 5900 specs and review.