AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X vs Intel Core i5-2500

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X CPU1 vs CPU2 Intel Core i5-2500
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X Intel Core i5-2500

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X and the Intel Core i5-2500 and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.

We compare the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X 24 core processor released in Q4/2019 with the Intel Core i5-2500 which has 4 CPU cores and was introduced in Q1/2011.
AMD Ryzen Threadripper (13) Family Intel Core i5 (331)
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3000 (3) CPU group Intel Core i 2000 (28)
3 Generation 2
Castle Peak (Zen 2) Architecture Sandy Bridge S
Desktop / Server Segment Desktop / Server
-- Predecessor --
-- Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X is a 24 core processor with a clock frequency of 3.80 GHz (4.50 GHz). The processor can compute 48 threads at the same time. The Intel Core i5-2500 clocks with 3.30 GHz (3.70 GHz), has 4 CPU cores and can calculate 4 threads in parallel.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X Characteristic Intel Core i5-2500
24 Cores 4
48 Threads 4
normal Core architecture normal
Yes Hyperthreading No
Yes Overclocking ? No
3.80 GHz Frequency 3.30 GHz
4.50 GHz Turbo Frequency (1 Core) 3.70 GHz
4.00 GHz Turbo Frequency (All Cores) --

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 Threadripper 3960X Characteristic Intel Core i5-2500
-- 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 Intel HD Graphics 2000
GPU frequency 0.85 GHz
-- GPU (Turbo) 1.10 GHz
-- GPU Generation 6
Technology 32 nm
Max. displays 2
-- Compute units 6
-- Shader 48
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
-- Max. GPU Memory 2 GB
-- DirectX Version 10.1

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 HD Graphics 2000
No Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) No
No Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) No
No Codec h264 Decode / Encode
No Codec VP9 No
No Codec VP8 No
No Codec AV1 No
No Codec AVC Decode / Encode
No Codec VC-1 Decode
No Codec JPEG No

Memory & PCIe

Up to 2048 GB of memory in a maximum of 4 memory channels is supported by the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X, while the Intel Core i5-2500 supports a maximum of 32 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 21.3 GB/s enabled.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X Characteristic Intel Core i5-2500
DDR4-3200 Memory DDR3-1333
2048 GB Max. Memory 32 GB
4 (Quad Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
51.2 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 21.3 GB/s
Yes ECC No
12.00 MB L2 Cache --
128.00 MB L3 Cache 6.00 MB
4.0 PCIe version 2.0
64 PCIe lanes 16
126.0 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth 8.0 GB/s

Thermal Management

The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X has a TDP of 280 W. The TDP of the Intel Core i5-2500 is 95 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X Characteristic Intel Core i5-2500
280 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 95 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
95 °C Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X has 140.00 MB cache and is manufactured in 7 nm. The cache of Intel Core i5-2500 is at 6.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 32 nm.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X Characteristic Intel Core i5-2500
7 nm Technology 32 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, AVX
TRX4 (sTRX4) Socket LGA 1155
AMD-V, SVM Virtualization VT-x, VT-x EPT
Yes AES-NI Yes
Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux Operating systems Windows 10, Linux
Q4/2019 Release date Q1/2011
1435 $ Release price --
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Here you can rate the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 3.0 stars (1 ratings). Rate now:
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Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 3 CPU benchmarks
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X (100%)
Intel Core i5-2500 (50%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 5 CPU benchmarks
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X (100%)
Intel Core i5-2500 (9%)

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 Threadripper 3960X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X
24C 48T @ 4.50 GHz
1270 (100%)
Intel Core i5-2500 Intel Core i5-2500
4C 4T @ 3.70 GHz
697 (55%)

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 Threadripper 3960X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X
24C 48T @ 4.00 GHz
34255 (100%)
Intel Core i5-2500 Intel Core i5-2500
4C 4T @ 3.30 GHz
2531 (7%)

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 Threadripper 3960X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X
24C 48T @ 4.50 GHz
1274 (100%)
Intel Core i5-2500 Intel Core i5-2500
4C 4T @ 3.70 GHz
737 (58%)

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 Threadripper 3960X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X
24C 48T @ 4.00 GHz
21436 (100%)
Intel Core i5-2500 Intel Core i5-2500
4C 4T @ 3.30 GHz
2425 (11%)

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 Threadripper 3960X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X
24C 48T @ 4.50 GHz
1684 (100%)
Intel Core i5-2500 Intel Core i5-2500
4C 4T @ 3.70 GHz
633 (38%)

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 Threadripper 3960X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X
24C 48T @ 4.00 GHz
13875 (100%)
Intel Core i5-2500 Intel Core i5-2500
4C 4T @ 3.30 GHz
1845 (13%)

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 Threadripper 3960X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X
24C 48T @ 4.00 GHz
54800 (100%)
Intel Core i5-2500 Intel Core i5-2500
4C 4T @ 3.30 GHz
4150 (8%)

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 Threadripper 3960X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X
24C 48T @ 3.80 GHz
16082 (100%)
Intel Core i5-2500 Intel Core i5-2500
4C 4T @ 3.30 GHz
1313 (8%)

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 Threadripper 3960X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X
24C 48T @ 4.50 GHz
81 (100%)
Intel Core i5-2500 Intel Core i5-2500
4C 4T @ 3.70 GHz
0 (0%)

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 Threadripper 3960X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X
24C 48T @ 4.50 GHz
2011 (100%)
Intel Core i5-2500 Intel Core i5-2500
4C 4T @ 3.70 GHz
0 (0%)

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 Threadripper 3960X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X
24C 48T @ 4.50 GHz
509 (100%)
Intel Core i5-2500 Intel Core i5-2500
4C 4T @ 3.70 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 Ryzen Threadripper 3960X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X
24C 48T @ 4.00 GHz
13552 (100%)
Intel Core i5-2500 Intel Core i5-2500
4C 4T @ 3.30 GHz
0 (0%)

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 Threadripper 3960X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X
@ 0.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i5-2500 Intel Core i5-2500
Intel HD Graphics 2000 @ 1.10 GHz
106 (100%)

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 Threadripper 3960X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X
24C 48T @ 4.00 GHz
542 (100%)
Intel Core i5-2500 Intel Core i5-2500
4C 4T @ 3.30 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 Ryzen Threadripper 3960X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X
24C 48T @ 4.00 GHz
59.2 (100%)
Intel Core i5-2500 Intel Core i5-2500
4C 4T @ 3.30 GHz
0 (0%)

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 Threadripper 3960X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X
24C 48T @ 4.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i5-2500 Intel Core i5-2500
4C 4T @ 3.30 GHz
340 (100%)

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 Threadripper 3960X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X
24C 48T @ 4.50 GHz
209 (100%)
Intel Core i5-2500 Intel Core i5-2500
4C 4T @ 3.70 GHz
0 (0%)

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 Threadripper 3960X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X
24C 48T @ 4.00 GHz
5933 (100%)
Intel Core i5-2500 Intel Core i5-2500
4C 4T @ 3.30 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X Intel Core i5-2500
Unknown Unknown

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