Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M vs AMD Ryzen 9 3950X

Processor comparisons 17-03-2021

   Let's say you are thinking about choosing a CPU, you will be able to make a decision by looking at the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M vs AMD Ryzen 9 3950X tests and decide which is better for games or normal use for programming, rendering, video editing, machine learning, streaming. Here you can find useful information from several benchmarks or real streaming and video editing tests. A careful review 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 joint testing in special test applications such as PCMark 10, Dolphin Emulator, Furmark, Gears 5, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), Blender, PassMark, VeraCrypt, SuperPi, Handbrake, DaVinci Resolve Studio, WPrime, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, AIDA64, UserBenchmark, GeekBench 6, 5.2, 7zip, MATLAB, Blender, RealBench, Prime95, 3DMark.
   Gaming performance of processors in:

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

After looking at the data these benchmarks and videos, you can already make an informed decision about which processor is better to buy for gaming AMD Ryzen 9 3950X or Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M.

Summary benchmark results

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

Xeon Platinum 8260M

60%

Ryzen 9 3950X

61%

This parameter shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, Ryzen 9 3950X is 1% better than Xeon Platinum 8260M. The data source is several popular tests. More detailed information of the benchmarks is below.

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Xeon Platinum 8260M

69%

Ryzen 9 3950X

58%

The maximum result in this parameter is 100 percent, which is the performance of the most powerful processor at the moment. 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 low game result, just look at the FPS that it produces in real games in the final table below.
List of other games in which CPU comparisons were performed: NBA 2K20, Ghostrunner, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Metro Exodus, League of Legends (LOL), Shadow of the Tomb Raider, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), Forza Horizon 4, DOTA 2A, Half-Life: Alyx, Hitman 3, Control, Battlefield V, Monster Hunter World, Horizon Zero Dawn.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	121.9	103.7
Valorant	138.5	117.9
Cyberpunk 2077	77.6	66.0
Apex Legends	130.2	110.8
Call of Duty Warzone	103.9	88.4
Overwatch	112.2	95.5
Red Dead Redemption 2	95.6	81.3
DOOM Eternal	69.3	58.9
Warzone	108.1	91.9
Assassin's Creed	116.4	99.0
Valheim	115.0	97.8

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: 2K, FullHD or 4K. Therefore, 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

Xeon Platinum 8260M

21%

Ryzen 9 3950X

40%

To make a finishing choice 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 9 3950X is more energy efficient than the Xeon Platinum 8260M as it consumes less power: 165W vs. 105W. 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 want to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for programming, video editing or video rendering, machine learning, streaming, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to achieve maximum efficiency, the processor includes 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 find out whether the program that you are going to use on your computer can work in multi-threaded mode. Since there are still many programs that use only one core to work, and all the advantages 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 Xeon Platinum 8260M	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
Cinbench 15 Single-core	211	217
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	5808	3897
Cinbench 20 Single-core	366	531
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	14048	9148
Cinbench 23 Single-core	1239	1371
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	35899	24050

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

	Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
Single-Core	2291	2718
Multi-Core	34071	39170

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

	Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
Single-Core	1071	1286
Multi-Core	33238	15407

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the most helpful 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 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 economy are obvious! It turns out that you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
Announcement date	October 01, 2020	October 01, 2019
Type	Server	Desktop
Socket	LGA3647	AM4
Core name	Cascade Lake	Matisse
Architecture	x86	Zen 2
Generation	2	3
Turbo Frequency	3.9 MHz	4.7 MHz
Frequency	2.3 MHz	3.5 MHz
Cores	24	16
Threads	48	32
Bus rate
Bit	64	64
Lithography	14 nm	7 nm
Transistors count	7510 millions	7800 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	165 W	105 W
Memory type	DDR4-2933	DDR4
Max. Memory	1 Gb
Memory Frequency		3200
Memory bandwidth
L1 cache		1MB
L2 cache		8MB
L3 cache	35.75 MB	64MB
Overclocking	Yes	Yes
Supports ECC	Yes	No
Part number		100-000000051 100-100000051WOF

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Ryzen 9 3950X is 34% better than Xeon Platinum 8260M in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Xeon Platinum 8260M has 8 more core than Ryzen 9 3950X. 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 Xeon Platinum 8260M is better: 20
The number of parameters for which AMD Ryzen 9 3950X is better: 16
However, it should be realized that the summary data in the text above 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 reviews of of people who bought Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M and AMD Ryzen 9 3950X before deciding which of the processors to buy for gaming.

• Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M specs and review.

• AMD Ryzen 9 3950X specs and review.