AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X vs Intel Core i7-13700K

The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X (November 2019, 7 nm Zen 2 "Castle Peak") features 24 cores, 48 threads, 12 MB L2, and 128 MB L3 cache.

It targets professional workstation users. The Intel Core i7-13700K (October 2022, 10 nm Raptor Lake S) has 16 hybrid cores (24 threads), 24 MB L2, and 30 MB L3 cache, as well as Intel UHD Graphics 770.

It targets gamers and power users. In single-core performance, the Intel Core i7-13700K outperforms the Threadripper 3960X in most benchmarks, though the Threadripper is stronger in an older test. For multi-core performance, the Intel processor usually shows higher values, while the AMD processor shows higher values in a newer multi-core benchmark.

For gaming, the Intel Core i7-13700K offers advantages due to its newer architecture, higher single-core performance, and 90 GB/s memory bandwidth (Threadripper: 51 GB/s). It supports PCIe 5.0, while the Threadripper supports PCIe 4.0. Both CPUs exhibit high power consumption and TDP under load.

The Threadripper 3960X has a more expensive workstation platform. The Core i7-13700K offers better price-performance for most application areas and lower platform costs. In summary, the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X is suitable for specialized workloads requiring an extremely high core count.

The Intel Core i7-13700K is more versatile, offers stronger performance in most scenarios and for gaming, and is the better choice for balanced usage.