Intel Core i9-10900K vs AMD Ryzen 9 5900X

Intel

Intel Core i9-10900K

Overall performance index

54,9

Rank 26 of 27 CPUs tested

MSRP US$537

Faster

AMD

AMD Ryzen 9 5900X

Overall performance index

61,6

Rank 23 of 27 CPUs tested

AMD Ryzen 9 5900X is 10,9% faster on average

Intel Core i9-10900K AMD Ryzen 9 5900X

Individual tests: Intel Core i9-10900K wins 6, AMD Ryzen 9 5900X wins 22 (28 shared tests)

Performance by discipline

Gaming (720p) +6,4 % 252,7fps 269,9fps Multi-thread +16,2 % 75,3points 89,8points Single-thread +9,8 % 95,7points 106,0points

Benchmarks

Intel Core i9-10900K AMD Ryzen 9 5900X Other tested CPUs Click a row to open the chart with every CPU tested; hover shows the gap in %.

Gaming (720p) – all CPUs tested

AMD Ryzen 9 5900X +6,8 %

Individual results (10 tests)

VR Mark Orange Room 14.728 points 15.979 points +8,5 %

VR Mark Blue Room 6.399 points 6.356 points +0,7 %

Unigine Superposition 1.1 720p Low Punkte 37.169 points 45.194 points +21,6 %

Unigine Superposition720p, Low,FPS 278,0 fps 338,0 fps +21,6 %

Shadow of the Tomb RaiderLite, 720p 211,0 fps 205,0 fps +2,9 %

Final Fantasy XV Benchmark720p, Low 20.310 points 21.555 points +6,1 %

Resident Evil VILLAGE720p, Lite, DX12 274,8 fps 296,8 fps +8,0 %

Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition720p, Low, Moscow 247,0 fps 239,9 fps +3,0 %

Fortnite720p, Low 399,6 fps 375,5 fps +6,4 %

Counter-Strike 2 363,3 fps 377,4 fps +3,9 %

Multi-thread – all CPUs tested

AMD Ryzen 9 5900X +19,3 %

Individual results (15 tests)

7-ZipMIPS) 32 MB 87.950 MIPS 117.168 MIPS +33,2 %

Corona 1.3lower is better 75,0 s 62,0 s +21,0 %

HandBrake4GB Video-> HQ1080P30fpslower is better 1.215 s 980,0 s +24,0 %

WinRAR 6.0164-Bit-Version 32.163 KB/s 21.269 KB/s +51,2 %

Cinebench R15 Multi-Core 2.627 points 3.455 points +31,5 %

Cinebench R20 Multi-Core 6.306 points 7.986 points +26,6 %

3D Mark Time Spy ExtremeCPU 6.612 points 7.384 points +11,7 %

3D Mark Time SpyCPU 13.707 points 11.939 points +14,8 %

3DMark CPU BenchmarkMax Threads 9.099 points 10.222 points +12,3 %

3DMark CPU Benchmark16 Threads 7.956 points 8.235 points +3,5 %

3DMark CPU Benchmark8 Threads 4.491 points 5.051 points +12,5 %

3DMark CPU Benchmark4 Threads 2.752 points 2.964 points +7,7 %

3DMark CPU Benchmark2 Threads 1.745 points 1.779 points +1,9 %

Geekbench 5.5.1 CPUMulti-Thread 10.790 points 12.169 points +12,8 %

POV-Ray v3.7Multi-Thread 5.426 px/s 7.044 px/s +29,8 %

Single-thread – all CPUs tested

AMD Ryzen 9 5900X +10,8 %

Individual results (3 tests)

3DMark CPU Benchmark1 Thread 898,0 points 953,0 points +6,1 %

Geekbench 5.5.1 CPUSingle-Thread 1.425 points 1.626 points +14,1 %

POV-Ray v3.7Single-Thread 547,0 px/s 601,0 px/s +9,9 %

Price / performance

Each dot is a CPU we tested – the further top-left, the more performance per euro.

Specifications

Key details

	Intel Core i9-10900K	AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
Codename	Comet Lake	Vermeer
Series	Core 10000	Ryzen 5000
Release	Q2 2020	November 5, 2020
Launch MSRP	US$537	n/a
Unlocked multiplier	Yes	Yes

Cores, clocks and cache

	Intel Core i9-10900K	AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
Cores / threads	10	12
Threads	20	24
Base clock	3.7 GHz	3.7 GHz
Max boost clock	5.3 GHz	4.8 GHz
L2 cache	n/a	6 MB
L3 cache	20 MB	64 MB

Power and manufacturing

	Intel Core i9-10900K	AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
TDP / base power	125 W	105 W
Process	14 nm	TSMC 7nm FinFET
Max temperature (Tjmax)	100 °C	90 °C

Platform and connectivity

	Intel Core i9-10900K	AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
Socket	LGA1200	AM4
Memory	DDR4-2933	DDR4, up to 3200 MT/s
Memory channels	2	n/a
PCI Express	PCIe 3.0	PCIe 4.0
PCIe lanes	16	n/a
Integrated graphics	Intel UHD Graphics 630	None (graphics card required)

Our measurements

	Intel Core i9-10900K	AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
System power idle	59 W	92 W
System power load	209 W	205 W
CPU package idle	11 W	34 W
CPU package load	139 W	122 W
Temperature idle	30 °C	32 °C
Temperature load	58 °C	54 °C
Highest measured clock	5289 MHz	4950 MHz
Avg clock in games	4829 MHz	4731 MHz

Test system

	Intel Core i9-10900K	AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
Motherboard	n/a	BIOSTAR X670E VALKYRE
Memory	n/a	Lexar ARES RGB Black DIMM Kit 32GB, DDR5-6400
CPU cooler	n/a	DeepCool LS720
BIOS	n/a	ComboAM5 PI 1.2.0.0a Patch A ( Beta )
Operating system	Windows 11 21H2	Windows 11 23H2
Settings	DDR4 4200	DDR4 4400

Buy