Intel Core i9-9900 vs AMD Ryzen 5 3500X

Processor comparisons   24-03-2021
   You may have difficulties with the choice of a processor, you will solve them by reading the comprehensive tests Intel Core i9-9900 vs AMD Ryzen 5 3500X and see which is better for games or simple use for rendering, video editing, streaming, programming, machine learning. Here you can find useful information from several benchmarks or real video editing and streaming tests. A step-by-step analysis of all the specifications, to make it easier to read, is made by the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of parallel examination in special testing software like GeekBench 6, 5.2, 3DMark, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, SuperPi, 7zip, Dolphin Emulator, PCMark 10, MATLAB, UserBenchmark, DaVinci Resolve Studio, RealBench, Gears 5, WPrime, Furmark, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), PassMark, AIDA64, Handbrake, Blender, VeraCrypt, Prime95, Blender.
   Gaming performance of processors in:

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

After reading the results of all benchmarks and videos, you can already make an briefed decision about which processor is better to buy for gaming AMD Ryzen 5 3500X or Intel Core i9-9900.

Summary benchmark results

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

Core i9-9900

55%

Ryzen 5 3500X

54%

This shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, Core i9-9900 is 1% better than Ryzen 5 3500X. The data source is several popular tests. More detailed information of the benchmarks is below.

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Core i9-9900

55%

Ryzen 5 3500X

53%

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

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	97.1	94.1
Valorant	110.4	106.9
Cyberpunk 2077	61.8	59.9
Apex Legends	103.7	100.5
Call of Duty Warzone	82.8	80.2
Overwatch	89.4	86.6
Red Dead Redemption 2	76.1	73.8
DOOM Eternal	55.2	53.5
Warzone	86.1	83.4
Assassin's Creed	92.7	89.8
Valheim	91.6	88.7

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: 4K, 2K or FullHD. So 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 compare it in one assembly with the video card that is installed in your computer.

Power consumption

Core i9-9900

74%

Ryzen 5 3500X

65%

To make a finishing 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 Core i9-9900 is more energy efficient than the Ryzen 5 3500X as it consumes less power: 65W vs. 65W. Power consumption is especially important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, you must know its TDP. 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

For example you plan to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for streaming, video editing or video rendering, programming, machine learning, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to achieve maximum performance, the processor uses 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 can use only one core to work, 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 i9-9900	AMD Ryzen 5 3500X
Cinbench 15 Single-core	219	188
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	1931	1129
Cinbench 20 Single-core	518	464
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	4346	2652
Cinbench 23 Single-core	1284	1126
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	12205	7797

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

	Intel Core i9-9900	AMD Ryzen 5 3500X
Single-Core	2864	2562
Multi-Core	17110	13476

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

	Intel Core i9-9900	AMD Ryzen 5 3500X
Single-Core	1454	1272
Multi-Core	8933	5963

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

	Intel Core i9-9900	AMD Ryzen 5 3500X
Announcement date	April 01, 2019	September 24, 2019
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	FCLGA1151-2	AM4
Core name	Coffee Lake	Matisse
Architecture	x86	Zen 2
Generation	9	3
Turbo Frequency	5 MHz	4.1 MHz
Frequency	3.1 MHz	3.6 MHz
Cores	8	6
Threads	16	6
Bus rate	8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	14 nm	7 nm
Transistors count	8600 millions	4200 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	65 W	65 W
Memory type	DDR4-2666	DDR4
Max. Memory	128 Gb
Memory Frequency		3200
Memory bandwidth	41.6 GB/s
L1 cache		384KB
L2 cache		3MB
L3 cache	16 MB	32MB
Overclocking	No	Yes
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number		100-000000158 100-100000158CBX 100-100000158MPK

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Ryzen 5 3500X is 13% better than Core i9-9900 in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Core i9-9900 has 2 more core than Ryzen 5 3500X. 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 i9-9900 is better: 29
The number of parameters for which AMD Ryzen 5 3500X is better: 8
Although it should be realized that all the number in the text above do not mean that you should be guided entirely by them and trust a simple quantitative comparison. Be sure to watch benchmarks video and read the reviews of real owners of Intel Core i9-9900 and AMD Ryzen 5 3500X before making a decision which of the processors to buy for gaming.

Intel Core i9-9900 - all data

• Cinebench r15 score
• Cinebench r20 score
• Cinebench r23 score
• GeekBench 6, 5.2 score

• Intel Core i9-9900 specs and review.

• AMD Ryzen 5 3500X specs and review.