AMD Ryzen 9 3950X vs Intel Core i7-8700K

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


AMD Ryzen 9 3950X CPU1 vs CPU2 Intel Core i7-8700K
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X Intel Core i7-8700K

CPU comparison

AMD Ryzen 9 3950X or Intel Core i7-8700K - which processor is faster? In this comparison we look at the differences and analyze which of these two CPUs is better. We compare the technical data and benchmark results.

The AMD Ryzen 9 3950X has 16 cores with 32 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 4.70 GHz. Up to 128 GB of memory is supported in 2 memory channels. The AMD Ryzen 9 3950X was released in Q3/2019.

The Intel Core i7-8700K has 6 cores with 12 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 4.70 GHz. The CPU supports up to 128 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The Intel Core i7-8700K was released in Q4/2017.
AMD Ryzen 9 (34) Family Intel Core i7 (293)
AMD Ryzen 3000 (15) CPU group Intel Core i 8000 (20)
3 Generation 8
Matisse (Zen 2) Architecture Coffee Lake S
Desktop / Server Segment Desktop / Server
-- Predecessor Intel Core i7-7700K
AMD Ryzen 9 5950X Successor Intel Core i7-9700K

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The AMD Ryzen 9 3950X is a 16 core processor with a clock frequency of 3.50 GHz (4.70 GHz). The Intel Core i7-8700K has 6 CPU cores with a clock frequency of 3.70 GHz (4.70 GHz).

AMD Ryzen 9 3950X Characteristic Intel Core i7-8700K
16 Cores 6
32 Threads 12
normal Core architecture normal
Yes Hyperthreading Yes
Yes Overclocking ? Yes
3.50 GHz Frequency 3.70 GHz
4.70 GHz Turbo Frequency (1 Core) 4.70 GHz
4.00 GHz Turbo Frequency (All Cores) 4.30 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 Ryzen 9 3950X Characteristic Intel Core i7-8700K
-- AI hardware --
-- AI specifications --

Internal Graphics

The integrated graphics unit of a processor is not only responsible for the pure image output on the system, but can also significantly increase the efficiency of the system with the support of modern video codecs.

no iGPU GPU Intel UHD Graphics 630
GPU frequency 0.35 GHz
-- GPU (Turbo) 1.20 GHz
-- GPU Generation 9.5
Technology 14 nm
Max. displays 3
-- Compute units 24
-- Shader 192
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
-- Max. GPU Memory 64 GB
-- DirectX Version 12

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 Intel UHD Graphics 630
No Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) Decode / Encode
No Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) Decode / Encode
No Codec h264 Decode / Encode
No Codec VP9 Decode / Encode
No Codec VP8 Decode / Encode
No Codec AV1 No
No Codec AVC Decode / Encode
No Codec VC-1 Decode
No Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

The AMD Ryzen 9 3950X supports a maximum of 128 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The Intel Core i7-8700K can connect up to 128 GB of memory in 2 memory channels.

AMD Ryzen 9 3950X Characteristic Intel Core i7-8700K
DDR4-3200 Memory DDR4-2666
128 GB Max. Memory 128 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
51.2 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 42.7 GB/s
Yes ECC No
-- L2 Cache --
64.00 MB L3 Cache 12.00 MB
4.0 PCIe version 3.0
20 PCIe lanes 16
39.4 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth 15.8 GB/s

Thermal Management

The TDP (Thermal Design Power) of a processor specifies the required cooling solution. The AMD Ryzen 9 3950X has a TDP of 105 W, that of the Intel Core i7-8700K is 95 W.

AMD Ryzen 9 3950X Characteristic Intel Core i7-8700K
105 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 95 W
142 W TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
95 °C Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The AMD Ryzen 9 3950X has a 64.00 MB cache, while the Intel Core i7-8700K cache has a total of 12.00 MB.

AMD Ryzen 9 3950X Characteristic Intel Core i7-8700K
7 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
AM4 (PGA 1331) Socket LGA 1151-2
AMD-V, SVM Virtualization VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d
Yes AES-NI Yes
Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux Operating systems Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux
Q3/2019 Release date Q4/2017
650 $ Release price 370 $
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the AMD Ryzen 9 3950X to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.3 stars (3 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the Intel Core i7-8700K to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.8 stars (4 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 7 CPU benchmarks
⌀ Multi core performance in 10 CPU benchmarks

Cinebench 2024 (Single-Core)

The Cinebench 2024 benchmark is based on the Redshift rendering engine, which is also used in Maxon's 3D program Cinema 4D. The benchmark runs are each 10 minutes long to test whether the processor is limited by its heat generation.
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
16C 32T @ 4.70 GHz
74 (100%)
Intel Core i7-8700K Intel Core i7-8700K
6C 12T @ 4.70 GHz
72 (97%)

Cinebench 2024 (Multi-Core)

The Multi-Core test of the Cinebench 2024 benchmark uses all cpu cores to render using the Redshift rendering engine, which is also used in Maxons Cinema 4D. The benchmark run is 10 minutes long to test whether the processor is limited by its heat generation.
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
16C 32T @ 4.70 GHz
1325 (100%)
Intel Core i7-8700K Intel Core i7-8700K
6C 12T @ 4.70 GHz
467 (35%)

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 Ryzen 9 3950X AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
16C 32T @ 4.70 GHz
1371 (100%)
Intel Core i7-8700K Intel Core i7-8700K
6C 12T @ 4.70 GHz
1209 (88%)

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 Ryzen 9 3950X AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
16C 32T @ 4.00 GHz
24050 (100%)
Intel Core i7-8700K Intel Core i7-8700K
6C 12T @ 4.30 GHz
8960 (37%)

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 Ryzen 9 3950X AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
16C 32T @ 4.70 GHz
1408 (100%)
Intel Core i7-8700K Intel Core i7-8700K
6C 12T @ 4.70 GHz
1242 (88%)

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 Ryzen 9 3950X AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
16C 32T @ 4.00 GHz
14322 (100%)
Intel Core i7-8700K Intel Core i7-8700K
6C 12T @ 4.30 GHz
6693 (47%)

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 Ryzen 9 3950X AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
16C 32T @ 4.70 GHz
1697 (100%)
Intel Core i7-8700K Intel Core i7-8700K
6C 12T @ 4.70 GHz
1486 (88%)

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 Ryzen 9 3950X AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
16C 32T @ 4.00 GHz
11830 (100%)
Intel Core i7-8700K Intel Core i7-8700K
6C 12T @ 4.30 GHz
6750 (57%)

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 Ryzen 9 3950X AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
16C 32T @ 4.70 GHz
531 (100%)
Intel Core i7-8700K Intel Core i7-8700K
6C 12T @ 4.70 GHz
487 (92%)

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 Ryzen 9 3950X AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
16C 32T @ 4.00 GHz
9148 (100%)
Intel Core i7-8700K Intel Core i7-8700K
6C 12T @ 4.30 GHz
3689 (40%)

Blender 3.1 Benchmark

In the Blender Benchmark 3.1, the scenes "monster", "junkshop" and "classroom" are rendered and the time required by the system is measured. In our benchmark we test the CPU and not the graphics card. Blender 3.1 was presented as a standalone version in March 2022.
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
16C 32T @ 4.00 GHz
384 (100%)
Intel Core i7-8700K Intel Core i7-8700K
6C 12T @ 4.30 GHz
126 (33%)

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 Ryzen 9 3950X AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
16C 32T @ 4.00 GHz
39079 (100%)
Intel Core i7-8700K Intel Core i7-8700K
6C 12T @ 4.30 GHz
13770 (35%)

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 Ryzen 9 3950X AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
16C 32T @ 4.00 GHz
85.4 (37%)
Intel Core i7-8700K Intel Core i7-8700K
6C 12T @ 4.30 GHz
232.4 (100%)

CPU-Z Benchmark 17 (Single-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 Ryzen 9 3950X AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
16C 32T @ 4.00 GHz
523 (100%)
Intel Core i7-8700K Intel Core i7-8700K
6C 12T @ 4.30 GHz
510 (98%)

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 Ryzen 9 3950X AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
16C 32T @ 3.50 GHz
10761 (100%)
Intel Core i7-8700K Intel Core i7-8700K
6C 12T @ 3.70 GHz
3709 (34%)

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 Ryzen 9 3950X AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
16C 32T @ 4.70 GHz
217 (100%)
Intel Core i7-8700K Intel Core i7-8700K
6C 12T @ 4.70 GHz
208 (96%)

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 Ryzen 9 3950X AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
16C 32T @ 4.00 GHz
3897 (100%)
Intel Core i7-8700K Intel Core i7-8700K
6C 12T @ 4.30 GHz
1447 (37%)

iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)

The theoretical computing performance of the internal graphics unit of the processor with simple accuracy (32 bit) in GFLOPS. GFLOPS indicates how many billion floating point operations the iGPU can perform per second.
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
@ 0.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-8700K Intel Core i7-8700K
Intel UHD Graphics 630 @ 1.20 GHz
461 (100%)

Devices using this processor

AMD Ryzen 9 3950X Intel Core i7-8700K
Memory PC High End Gaming PC AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
Kiebel Gamer-PC Loki [184903]
PC mit Intel Core i7-8700K

News and articles for the AMD Ryzen 9 3950X and the Intel Core i7-8700K


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