Intel’s 9th gen CPUs were clearly being outshined by AMD’s 3rd Gen Ryzen processors. This time, Intel is back with their latest 10th Gen Comet Lake CPUs, with the Intel Core i9-10900K as their flagship product. It boasts 10 cores, 20 threads and with clock speeds reaching up to 5.3GHz. Is this enough to beat AMD’s flagship Ryzen 9 3590X? Perhaps not, and a recently leaked Cinebench R15 benchmark may have confirmed that.
Intel Core i9-10900K vs AMD Ryzen 9 3950X Cinebench Benchmark
Even without seeing the benchmark results, I already have a rough idea how the Intel Core i9-10900K will fare against AMD’s Ryzen 9 3950X. The Core i9-10900K has fewer cores, but can reach up to 5.3GHz in boost clock speed. On the other hand, the Ryzen 9 3950X has 16 cores and 32 threads but can reach only up to 4.7GHz, with an all-core boost around 4.2GHz.
Below is a specifications table comparing the Core i9-10900K vs Ryzen 9 3950X. I also added the Ryzen 9 3900X since it is at the same price range as the i9-10900K.
| Core i9-10900K | Ryzen 9 3950X | Ryzen 9 3900X | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Socket | LGA 1200 | AM4 | AM4 |
| Architecture | Comet Lake | Zen2 | Zen2 |
| Fab. Process | 14nm+++ | 7nm | 7nm |
| Cores | 10 | 16 | 12 |
| Threads | 20 | 32 | 24 |
| Cache | 20MB (Smart) | 64MB (L3) | 64MB (L3) |
| Base Clock Speed | 3.7 GHz | 3.5 GHz | 3.8GHz |
| Boost Clock Speed | 5.3 GHz | 4.7 GHz | 4.6GHz |
| All-Core Boost Speed | 4.8 GHz | 4.2 GHz | 4.1 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 | $749 | $499 |
Based on these specifications alone, the Core i9-10900K will perform better on single threaded workloads, while the Ryzen 9 3950X will significantly outperform the i9-10900K on multi-threaded workloads. Let’s check out the leaked benchmark below.
The Core i9-10900K scored 222 points in Cinebench R15 single core test; followed its predecessor the i9-9900K with 219 points. The Ryzen 9 3950X only scored 213 points, but that’s only a ~4% lead by the i9-10900K.
Meanwhile, on multi-core test, the Ryzen 9 3950X scored 3932 points; followed by the i9-10900K with 2645 points and the i9-9900K by 2025 points. Based on this result, the Ryzen 9 3950X is ~49% faster than the i9-10900K.
Do take this with a grain of salt; after all, this is a “leaked” benchmark. However, the results are not far from reality and it may reflect their actual performance. Also, note that Cinebench scores tend to differ from one benchmark run to another; although the difference isn’t that significant.
I don’t think it would be fair to compare the Core i9-10900K vs the Ryzen 9 3950X. Aside from the significant advantage of the 3950X over the i9-10900K with its core and thread count; the 3950X is also ~53% more expensive. The i9-10900K is priced closer or similarly to the 3900X; and that would make an interesting comparison.
Sometime in March, AMD discounted the prices of their AMD Ryzen CPUs; and some retailers are even selling the Ryzen CPUs lower than the suggested discounted price at that time. So, I wouldn’t be surprised if retailers are selling them below MSRP today. For latest pricing and availability, you can check them out via the links below.
- AMD Ryzen 9 3900X available on Amazon.com here and Amazon UK here
- AMD Ryzen 9 3950X available on Amazon.com here and Amazon UK here
- Intel Core i9-10900k check at Amazon.com here and Newegg.com here
- Intel Core i7-10700K check at Amazon.com here and Newegg.com here
- Intel Core i5-10600K check at Amazon.com here
