AMD EPYC 7601 vs Intel Core i9-7960X

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


AMD EPYC 7601 CPU1 vs CPU2 Intel Core i9-7960X
AMD EPYC 7601 Intel Core i9-7960X

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the AMD EPYC 7601 and the Intel Core i9-7960X and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.

We compare the AMD EPYC 7601 32 core processor released in Q3/2017 with the Intel Core i9-7960X which has 16 CPU cores and was introduced in Q4/2017.
AMD EPYC (111) Family Intel Core i9 (78)
AMD EPYC 7001 (12) CPU group Intel Core i 7000X (9)
1 Generation 7
Naples (Zen) Architecture Skylake X
Desktop / Server Segment Desktop / Server
-- Predecessor --
-- Successor Intel Core i9-9960X

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The AMD EPYC 7601 is a 32 core processor with a clock frequency of 2.20 GHz (3.20 GHz). The processor can compute 64 threads at the same time. The Intel Core i9-7960X clocks with 2.80 GHz (4.20 GHz), has 16 CPU cores and can calculate 32 threads in parallel.

AMD EPYC 7601 Characteristic Intel Core i9-7960X
32 Cores 16
64 Threads 32
normal Core architecture normal
Yes Hyperthreading Yes
No Overclocking ? Yes
2.20 GHz Frequency 2.80 GHz
3.20 GHz Turbo Frequency (1 Core) 4.20 GHz
2.70 GHz Turbo Frequency (All Cores) 3.60 GHz

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Processors with the support of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors. Algorithms for ML improve their performance the more data they have collected via software. ML tasks can be processed up to 10,000 times faster than with a classic processor.

AMD EPYC 7601 Characteristic Intel Core i9-7960X
-- AI hardware --
-- AI specifications --

Internal Graphics

Graphics (iGPU) integrated into the processor not only enable image output without having to rely on a dedicated graphics solution, but can also efficiently accelerate video playback.

no iGPU GPU no iGPU
GPU frequency --
-- GPU (Turbo) --
-- GPU Generation --
Technology
Max. displays
-- Compute units --
-- Shader --
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
-- Max. GPU Memory --
-- DirectX Version --

Hardware codec support

A photo or video codec that is accelerated in hardware can greatly accelerate the working speed of a processor and extend the battery life of notebooks or smartphones when playing videos.

no iGPU GPU no iGPU
No Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) No
No Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) No
No Codec h264 No
No Codec VP9 No
No Codec VP8 No
No Codec AV1 No
No Codec AVC No
No Codec VC-1 No
No Codec JPEG No

Memory & PCIe

Up to GB of memory in a maximum of 8 memory channels is supported by the AMD EPYC 7601, while the Intel Core i9-7960X supports a maximum of 128 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 85.4 GB/s enabled.

AMD EPYC 7601 Characteristic Intel Core i9-7960X
DDR4-2666 Memory DDR4-2666
Max. Memory 128 GB
8 (Octa Channel) Memory channels 4 (Quad Channel)
170.6 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 85.4 GB/s
Yes ECC No
-- L2 Cache --
64.00 MB L3 Cache 22.00 MB
3.0 PCIe version 3.0
128 PCIe lanes 44
126.1 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth 43.3 GB/s

Thermal Management

The AMD EPYC 7601 has a TDP of 180 W. The TDP of the Intel Core i9-7960X is 165 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

AMD EPYC 7601 Characteristic Intel Core i9-7960X
180 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 165 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The AMD EPYC 7601 has 64.00 MB cache and is manufactured in 14 nm. The cache of Intel Core i9-7960X is at 22.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 14 nm.

AMD EPYC 7601 Characteristic Intel Core i9-7960X
14 nm Technology 14 nm
Chiplet Chip design Monolithic
x86-64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) x86-64 (64 bit)
SSE4a, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, FMA3 ISA extensions SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, AVX-512
SP3 Socket LGA 2066
AMD-V, SVM Virtualization VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d
Yes AES-NI Yes
Windows 10, Linux Operating systems Windows 10, Linux
Q3/2017 Release date Q4/2017
4000 $ Release price 1699 $
show more data show more data


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Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 3 CPU benchmarks
⌀ Multi core performance in 4 CPU benchmarks

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Single-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
AMD EPYC 7601 AMD EPYC 7601
32C 64T @ 3.20 GHz
903 (81%)
Intel Core i9-7960X Intel Core i9-7960X
16C 32T @ 4.20 GHz
1121 (100%)

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
AMD EPYC 7601 AMD EPYC 7601
32C 64T @ 2.70 GHz
6904 (51%)
Intel Core i9-7960X Intel Core i9-7960X
16C 32T @ 3.60 GHz
13468 (100%)

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The single-core benchmark only evaluates the performance of the fastest CPU core, the number of CPU cores in a processor is irrelevant here.
AMD EPYC 7601 AMD EPYC 7601
32C 64T @ 3.20 GHz
921 (66%)
Intel Core i9-7960X Intel Core i9-7960X
16C 32T @ 4.20 GHz
1394 (100%)

Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The multi-core benchmark evaluates the performance of all of the processor's CPU cores. Virtual thread improvements such as AMD SMT or Intel's Hyper-Threading have a positive impact on the benchmark result.
AMD EPYC 7601 AMD EPYC 7601
32C 64T @ 2.70 GHz
7914 (67%)
Intel Core i9-7960X Intel Core i9-7960X
16C 32T @ 3.60 GHz
11810 (100%)

Estimated results for PassMark CPU Mark

Some of the CPUs listed below have been benchmarked by CPU-monkey. However the majority of CPUs have not been tested and the results have been estimated by a CPU-monkey’s secret proprietary formula. As such they do not accurately reflect the actual Passmark CPU mark values and are not endorsed by PassMark Software Pty Ltd.
AMD EPYC 7601 AMD EPYC 7601
32C 64T @ 2.70 GHz
42247 (100%)
Intel Core i9-7960X Intel Core i9-7960X
16C 32T @ 3.60 GHz
27022 (64%)

Cinebench R15 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R15 is the successor of Cinebench 11.5 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
AMD EPYC 7601 AMD EPYC 7601
32C 64T @ 3.20 GHz
141 (77%)
Intel Core i9-7960X Intel Core i9-7960X
16C 32T @ 4.20 GHz
184 (100%)

Cinebench R15 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R15 is the successor of Cinebench 11.5 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
AMD EPYC 7601 AMD EPYC 7601
32C 64T @ 2.70 GHz
4068 (100%)
Intel Core i9-7960X Intel Core i9-7960X
16C 32T @ 3.60 GHz
3161 (78%)

Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
AMD EPYC 7601 AMD EPYC 7601
32C 64T @ 3.20 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i9-7960X Intel Core i9-7960X
16C 32T @ 4.20 GHz
1103 (100%)

Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
AMD EPYC 7601 AMD EPYC 7601
32C 64T @ 2.70 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i9-7960X Intel Core i9-7960X
16C 32T @ 3.60 GHz
22189 (100%)

Cinebench R20 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R20 is the successor of Cinebench R15 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
AMD EPYC 7601 AMD EPYC 7601
32C 64T @ 3.20 GHz
307 (100%)
Intel Core i9-7960X Intel Core i9-7960X
16C 32T @ 4.20 GHz
0 (0%)

Cinebench R20 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R20 is the successor of Cinebench R15 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
AMD EPYC 7601 AMD EPYC 7601
32C 64T @ 2.70 GHz
7445 (100%)
Intel Core i9-7960X Intel Core i9-7960X
16C 32T @ 3.60 GHz
0 (0%)

Blender 2.81 (bmw27)

Blender is a free 3D graphics software for rendering (creating) 3D bodies, which can also be textured and animated in the software. The Blender benchmark creates predefined scenes and measures the time (s) required for the entire scene. The shorter the time required, the better. We selected bmw27 as the benchmark scene.
AMD EPYC 7601 AMD EPYC 7601
32C 64T @ 2.70 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i9-7960X Intel Core i9-7960X
16C 32T @ 3.60 GHz
111.4 (100%)

CPU-Z Benchmark 17 (Multi-Core)

The CPU-Z benchmark measures a processor's performance by measuring the time it takes the system to complete all benchmark calculations. The faster the benchmark is completed, the higher the score.
AMD EPYC 7601 AMD EPYC 7601
32C 64T @ 2.20 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i9-7960X Intel Core i9-7960X
16C 32T @ 2.80 GHz
8088 (100%)

Devices using this processor

AMD EPYC 7601 Intel Core i9-7960X
Unknown Unknown

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