Intel Core i9-7960X vs AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 3900

Processor comparisons 17-03-2021

   For example you have difficulties with the choice of a CPU, you will solve them by reading the comprehensive tests Intel Core i9-7960X vs AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 3900 and see which is better for games or simple use for video editing, streaming, machine learning, rendering, programming. Here is all information from various benchmarks or real video editing and streaming tests. A careful analysis of all the technical characteristics, so that it can be easier to read, is presented in the form of the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of joint testing in software tests such as Blender, MATLAB, Blender, 7zip, Gears 5, GeekBench 6, 5.2, Prime95, Handbrake, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), WPrime, Furmark, SuperPi, Dolphin Emulator, DaVinci Resolve Studio, PassMark, RealBench, VeraCrypt, UserBenchmark, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, PCMark 10, 3DMark, AIDA64.
   Gaming performance of CPUs in:

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

After looking at the data these benchmarks and videos, you can already make an informed decision about which CPU is better to buy for gaming AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 3900 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 PRO 3900

59%

This parameter shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, Ryzen 9 PRO 3900 is 1% better than Core i9-7960X. 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 9 PRO 3900

56%

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 play games. Because this processor costs 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: Metro Exodus, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, League of Legends (LOL), Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Ghostrunner, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Battlefield V, Control, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Horizon Zero Dawn, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), Monster Hunter World, DOTA 2A, Half-Life: Alyx, NBA 2K20, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Forza Horizon 4, Hitman 3.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	106.9	99.7
Valorant	121.4	113.3
Cyberpunk 2077	68.0	63.5
Apex Legends	114.2	106.5
Call of Duty Warzone	91.1	85.0
Overwatch	98.4	91.8
Red Dead Redemption 2	83.8	78.2
DOOM Eternal	60.7	56.7
Warzone	94.7	88.4
Assassin's Creed	102.0	95.2
Valheim	100.8	94.1

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 that were in the comparisons not only did they have different video cards and different amounts of RAM. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: 4K, 2K 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 PRO 3900

64%

To make a finishing choice 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 PRO 3900 is more energy efficient than the Core i9-7960X since it has less power consumption: 165W vs. 65W. Power consumption is particularly important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, you must 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, programming, machine learning, streaming, then the main parameter for you is its performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to achieve maximum performance, the processor uses all cores and threads that it has. You will find out this data from the benchmark tables below. Before you take into account the data from these tests, be sure to check whether the software 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 work, 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 9 PRO 3900
Cinbench 15 Single-core	184	202
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	3161	3007
Cinbench 20 Single-core	611	499
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	5496	6987
Cinbench 23 Single-core	1103	1182
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	22189	17436

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

	Intel Core i9-7960X	AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 3900
Single-Core	2605	2663
Multi-Core	27039	31704

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

	Intel Core i9-7960X	AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 3900
Single-Core	1113	1252
Multi-Core	18501	11494

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 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, increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain maximum FPS in the newest games. The savings 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 9 PRO 3900
Announcement date	October 01, 2017	September 30, 2019
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	FCLGA2066	AM4
Core name	Skylake	Matisse
Architecture	x86	Zen 2
Generation	7	2
Turbo Frequency	4.2 MHz	4.3 MHz
Frequency	2.8 MHz	3.1 MHz
Cores	16	12
Threads	32	24
Bus rate	8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography		7 nm
Transistors count	7800 millions	7800 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		768KB
L2 cache		6MB
L3 cache	22 MB	64MB
Overclocking	No	No
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number		100-000000072

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Ryzen 9 PRO 3900 is 9% better than Core i9-7960X in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Core i9-7960X has 4 more core than Ryzen 9 PRO 3900. 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: 22
The number of parameters for which AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 3900 is better: 14
However, it should be understood that the summary data in the table above do not mean that taking them into account you should totally trust a simple quantitative comparison. Better to watch the testing video and read the reviews of of people who bought Intel Core i9-7960X and AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 3900 before deciding which of the processors to buy for gaming.

• Intel Core i9-7960X specs and review.

• AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 3900 specs and review.