Intel Core i9-10900K vs AMD Ryzen 9 9950X

Intel

Intel Core i9-10900K

Overall performance index

54,9

Rank 26 of 27 CPUs tested

MSRP US$537

Faster

AMD

AMD Ryzen 9 9950X

Overall performance index

94,2

Rank 1 of 27 CPUs tested

AMD Ryzen 9 9950X is 41,8% faster on average

Intel Core i9-10900K AMD Ryzen 9 9950X

Individual tests: Intel Core i9-10900K wins 2, AMD Ryzen 9 9950X wins 26 (28 shared tests)

Performance by discipline

Gaming (720p) +32,5 % 252,7fps 374,6fps Multi-thread +52,0 % 75,3points 157,1points Single-thread +39,0 % 95,7points 156,8points

Benchmarks

Intel Core i9-10900K AMD Ryzen 9 9950X 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 9950X +48,2 %

Individual results (10 tests)

VR Mark Orange Room 14.728 points 21.219 points +44,1 %

VR Mark Blue Room 6.399 points 6.332 points +1,1 %

Unigine Superposition 1.1 720p Low Punkte 37.169 points 57.239 points +54,0 %

Unigine Superposition720p, Low,FPS 278,0 fps 428,1 fps +54,0 %

Shadow of the Tomb RaiderLite, 720p 211,0 fps 323,0 fps +53,1 %

Final Fantasy XV Benchmark720p, Low 20.310 points 23.660 points +16,5 %

Resident Evil VILLAGE720p, Lite, DX12 274,8 fps 413,6 fps +50,5 %

Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition720p, Low, Moscow 247,0 fps 333,5 fps +35,0 %

Fortnite720p, Low 399,6 fps 385,1 fps +3,8 %

Counter-Strike 2 363,3 fps 437,8 fps +20,5 %

Multi-thread – all CPUs tested

AMD Ryzen 9 9950X +108,5 %

Individual results (17 tests)

7-ZipMIPS) 32 MB 87.950 MIPS 230.436 MIPS +162,0 %

Corona 1.3lower is better 75,0 s 33,0 s +127,3 %

HandBrake4GB Video-> HQ1080P30fpslower is better 1.215 s 611,0 s +98,9 %

WinRAR 6.0164-Bit-Version 32.163 KB/s 53.488 KB/s +66,3 %

Cinebench R15 Multi-Core 2.627 points 6.405 points +143,8 %

Cinebench R20 Multi-Core 6.306 points 16.156 points +156,2 %

3D Mark Time Spy ExtremeCPU 6.612 points 13.323 points +101,5 %

3D Mark Time SpyCPU 13.707 points 16.174 points +18,0 %

3DMark CPU BenchmarkMax Threads 9.099 points 16.513 points +81,5 %

3DMark CPU Benchmark16 Threads 7.956 points 16.910 points +112,5 %

3DMark CPU Benchmark8 Threads 4.491 points 9.451 points +110,4 %

3DMark CPU Benchmark4 Threads 2.752 points 5.038 points +83,1 %

3DMark CPU Benchmark2 Threads 1.745 points 2.596 points +48,8 %

Geekbench 5.5.1 CPUMulti-Thread 10.790 points 25.210 points +133,6 %

POV-Ray v3.7Multi-Thread 5.426 px/s 13.052 px/s +140,5 %

Cinebench R23 n-CoreMulti-Thread – 41.428 points

Geekbench 6.3 CPUMulti-Thread – 21.953 points

Single-thread – all CPUs tested

AMD Ryzen 9 9950X +63,8 %

Individual results (5 tests)

3DMark CPU Benchmark1 Thread 898,0 points 1.309 points +45,8 %

Geekbench 5.5.1 CPUSingle-Thread 1.425 points 2.564 points +79,9 %

POV-Ray v3.7Single-Thread 547,0 px/s 830,0 px/s +51,7 %

Cinebench R23 1-CoreSingle-Thread – 2.277 points

Geekbench 6.3 CPUSingle-Thread – 3.463 points

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 9950X
Architecture	n/a	Zen 5
Codename	Comet Lake	Granite Ridge AM5
Series	Core 10000	Ryzen 9000
Release	Q2 2020	August 15, 2024
Launch MSRP	US$537	n/a
Unlocked multiplier	Yes	Yes

Cores, clocks and cache

	Intel Core i9-10900K	AMD Ryzen 9 9950X
Cores / threads	10	16
Threads	20	32
Base clock	3.7 GHz	4.3 GHz
Max boost clock	5.3 GHz	5.7 GHz
L2 cache	n/a	16 MB
L3 cache	20 MB	64 MB

Power and manufacturing

	Intel Core i9-10900K	AMD Ryzen 9 9950X
TDP / base power	125 W	170 W
Process	14 nm	TSMC 4nm FinFET
Max temperature (Tjmax)	100 °C	95 °C

Platform and connectivity

	Intel Core i9-10900K	AMD Ryzen 9 9950X
Socket	LGA1200	AM5
Memory	DDR4-2933	DDR5, up to 5600 MT/s
Memory channels	2	2
PCI Express	PCIe 3.0	PCIe 5.0
PCIe lanes	16	n/a
Integrated graphics	Intel UHD Graphics 630	AMD Radeon Graphics

Our measurements

	Intel Core i9-10900K	AMD Ryzen 9 9950X
System power idle	59 W	153.9 W
System power load	209 W	329.9 W
CPU package idle	11 W	60 W
CPU package load	139 W	196 W
Temperature idle	30 °C	58 °C
Temperature load	58 °C	77 °C
Highest measured clock	5289 MHz	5437 MHz
Avg clock in games	4829 MHz	n/a

Test system

	Intel Core i9-10900K	AMD Ryzen 9 9950X
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 1.2.0.2 ( Beta )
Operating system	Windows 11 21H2	Windows 11 23H2
Settings	DDR4 4200	DDR5-6400,Chipset Driver 6.07.22.037

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