Last week, Intel announced their latest 10th Gen Comet Lake processors along with the new Intel 400 series chipset. The new generation of CPU is lead by the Intel Core i9-10900K; it’s Intel’s flagship CPU offering 10 cores and 20 threads, with a maximum boost clock speed of 5.3GHz. Recently, a Cinebench benchmark was leaked comparing the i9-10900K against AMD’s flagship CPU – the Ryzen 9 3950X. While the Ryzen 9 3950X is AMD’s flagship mainstream CPU, I don’t think that it is a good comparison for Intel’s i9-10900K. I think the AMD Ryzen 9 3900X is the better match for Intel’s flagship CPU. So, in this article, let’s compare the i9-10900K vs Ryzen 9 3900X.
Intel Core i9-10900K vs AMD Ryzen 9 3900X – Faster Clock vs More Cores
Let me discuss first why I think the AMD Ryzen 9 3900X is the better CPU to match the i9-10900K. First of all, both CPUs are priced similarly. The i9-10900K comes with a suggest retail price of around $488; while the Ryzen 9 3900X has a suggested retail price of $499. However, at this time, I see that some retailers are selling the 3900X at lower than the suggested retail price. Also, the Ryzen 9 3950X is simply priced way higher than the i9-10900K, at $749 MSRP.
Second, the i9-10900K and Ryzen 9 3900X has a much closer core count. The i9-10900K has 10 cores and 20 threads, while the Ryzen 9 3900X has 12 cores and 24 threads. On the other hand, the Ryzen 9 3950X has 16 cores and 32 threads; that’s simply way more cores and threads than the i9-10900K.
Below is a specifications table comparing the Intel Core i9-10900K vs the AMD Ryzen 9 3900X. I’ll also throw in the 3950X for reference.
Core i9-10900K | Ryzen 9 3900X | Ryzen 9 3950X | |
---|---|---|---|
Socket | LGA 1200 | AM4 | AM4 |
Architecture | Comet Lake | Zen2 | Zen2 |
Fab. Process | 14nm+++ | 7nm | 7nm |
Cores | 10 | 12 | 16 |
Threads | 20 | 24 | 32 |
Cache | 20MB (Smart) | 64MB (L3) | 64MB (L3) |
Base Clock Speed | 3.7 GHz | 3.8GHz | 3.5 GHz |
Boost Clock Speed | 5.3 GHz | 4.6GHz | 4.7 GHz |
All-Core Boost Speed | 4.8 GHz | 4.1 GHz | 4.2 GHz |
Integrated Graphics | Intel UHD 630 | None | None |
PCIe | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
TDP | 125W | 105W | 105W |
Unlocked | Yes | Yes | Yes |
MSRP (at Launch) | $488 | $499 | $749 |
Advantages of Intel Core i9-10900K vs Ryzen 9 3900X
There are a few advantages or why the Intel Core i9-10900K is better than AMD’s offering. First of all, it can reach higher clock speeds. The i9-10900K can reach up to 5.3GHz, with an all-core boost of 4.8GHz. Intel also promised improved overclocking features with the new 10th gen CPUs. With these improvements, I think that the i9-10900K can (easily) reach 5.3GHz on all cores via manual overclocking.
With higher clock speeds, this usually means that games would perform better with this CPU. That’s why Intel is calling the i9-10900K as the “world’s fastest gaming processor”. They are not wrong with that claim. Even the previous i9-9900K beats AMD’s offering in games thanks to the higher clock speeds.
Although this one is a minor advantage, but the Core i9-10900K features integrated graphics in the form of Integrated UHD Graphics 630. It’s really nothing new, and UHD Graphics 630 has been around since the 8th gen CPUs. If you need an iGPU and features like Quick Sync, well the i9-10900K got you covered.
WiFi 6 is also a key feature on the new 10th Gen CPUs. Unfortunately for AMD, WiFi 6 isn’t supported by all X570 motherboards. There are some X570 motherboards feature WiFi 6 though.
Advantages of AMD Ryzen 9 3900X vs i9-10900K
The AMD Ryzen 9 3900X, although features a slower clock speed in general, does have several advantages over the i9-10900K. First, the Ryzen 9 3900X has 2 more cores and 4 more threads. This means that the 3900X would theoretically perform better in multi-threaded workloads. The 3rd Gen Ryzen CPUs also natively support PCIe 4.0 interface. And I think this is a missed opportunity for Intel, for not implementing PCIe 4.0 in their 10th gen CPUs.
AMD’s Ryzen 9 3900X also supports more PCIE lanes; 20 to be exact vs the i9-10900K’s 16. The 3900X is also based on the newer 7nm fabrication process. As a result, it runs more efficient and it only has a TDP of 105W. Lastly, AMD is kind enough to include a functional CPU cooler. I don’t think Intel will include a stock CPU cooler with the i9-10900K. And considering the i9-10900K’s TDP, I think you’d need a good air cooler or AIO cooler to keep its temperature at bay.
Intel Core i9-10900K vs AMD Ryzen 9 3900X Benchmark
At this time, there are no benchmarks for the Core i9-10900K. Embargo will lift on May 27 20++, so we won’t be seeing benchmarks for the said CPU by then. However, based on the leaked Cinebench R15 scores, the Core i9-10900K scored 2645.7 on multi core test and 222 on single core test.
Now, the Ryzen 9 3900X scores around ~3050-3150 (give or take) on multi core test. While it scores around ~205-210 points on single core test. I’m not surprised if the i9-10900K would perform better on single threaded workload thanks to its higher clock speeds; while the 3900X would perform better on multi-threaded workload thanks to its higher core / thread count.
The Core i9-10900K vs Ryzen 9 3900X would be an interesting comparison, and I hope we’d be able to test and compare both CPUs soon.
- Intel Core i9-10900k available on Amazon.com here and Newegg.com here
- Intel Core i7-10700K available on Amazon.com here and Newegg.com here
- Intel Core i5-10600K available on Amazon.com here
- AMD Ryzen 9 3950X available on Amazon.com here and Amazon UK here
- AMD Ryzen 9 3900X available on Amazon.com here and Amazon UK here
- AMD Ryzen 7 3800X available on Amazon.com here