Intel Core i9-10900K vs AMD Ryzen 9 3900X

Last updated: 2023-09-12

CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Core i9-10900K		AMD Ryzen 9 3900X
CPU comparison Intel Core i9-10900K or AMD Ryzen 9 3900X - 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 Intel Core i9-10900K has 10 cores with 20 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 5.30 GHz. Up to 128 GB of memory is supported in 2 memory channels. The Intel Core i9-10900K was released in Q2/2020. The AMD Ryzen 9 3900X has 12 cores with 24 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 4.60 GHz. The CPU supports up to 128 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The AMD Ryzen 9 3900X was released in Q3/2019.

Intel Core i9	Family	AMD Ryzen 9
Intel Core i 10000	CPU group	AMD Ryzen 3000
10	Generation	3
Comet Lake S	Architecture	Matisse (Zen 2)
Desktop / Server	Segment	Desktop / Server
Intel Core i9-9900K	Predecessor	--
Intel Core i9-11900K	Successor	AMD Ryzen 9 5900X

CPU Cores and Base Frequency The Intel Core i9-10900K has 10 CPU cores and can calculate 20 threads in parallel. The clock frequency of the Intel Core i9-10900K is 3.70 GHz (5.30 GHz) while the AMD Ryzen 9 3900X has 12 CPU cores and 24 threads can calculate simultaneously. The clock frequency of the AMD Ryzen 9 3900X is at --.
10	Cores	12
20	Threads	24
normal	Core architecture	normal
Yes	Hyperthreading	Yes
Yes	Overclocking ?	Yes

3.70 GHz	Frequency	3.80 GHz
5.30 GHz	Turbo Frequency (1 Core)	4.60 GHz
4.90 GHz	Turbo Frequency (All Cores)	4.00 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.
--	AI hardware	--
--	AI specifications	--

Internal Graphics The Intel Core i9-10900K or AMD Ryzen 9 3900X has integrated graphics, called iGPU for short. The iGPU uses the system's main memory as graphics memory and sits on the processor's die.
Intel UHD Graphics 630	GPU	no iGPU
0.35 GHz	GPU frequency
1.20 GHz	GPU (Turbo)
9.5	GPU Generation
14 nm	Technology
3	Max. displays
24	Compute units
192	Shader
64 GB	Max. GPU Memory
12	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.
Decode / Encode	Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit)	No
Decode / Encode	Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit)	No
Decode / Encode	Codec h264	No
Decode / Encode	Codec VP9	No
Decode / Encode	Codec VP8	No
No	Codec AV1	No
Decode / Encode	Codec AVC	No
Decode	Codec VC-1	No
Decode / Encode	Codec JPEG	No

Memory & PCIe The Intel Core i9-10900K can use up to 128 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The maximum memory bandwidth is 45.8 GB/s. The AMD Ryzen 9 3900X supports up to 128 GB of memory in 2 memory channels and achieves a memory bandwidth of up to 51.2 GB/s.
DDR4-2933	Memory	DDR4-3200
128 GB	Max. Memory	128 GB
2 (Dual Channel)	Memory channels	2 (Dual Channel)
45.8 GB/s	Max. Bandwidth	51.2 GB/s
No	ECC	Yes
	L2 Cache	6.00 MB
20.00 MB	L3 Cache	64.00 MB
3.0	PCIe version	4.0
16	PCIe lanes	20
15.8 GB/s	PCIe Bandwidth	39.4 GB/s
Thermal Management The thermal design power (TDP for short) of the Intel Core i9-10900K is 125 W, while the AMD Ryzen 9 3900X has a TDP of 105 W. The TDP specifies the necessary cooling solution that is required to cool the processor sufficiently.
125 W	TDP (PL1 / PBP)	105 W
--	TDP (PL2)	142 W
--	TDP up	--
95 W	TDP down	--
100 °C	Tjunction max.	95 °C
Technical details The Intel Core i9-10900K is manufactured in 14 nm and has 20.00 MB cache. The AMD Ryzen 9 3900X is manufactured in 7 nm and has a 70.00 MB cache.
14 nm	Technology	7 nm
Monolithic	Chip design	Chiplet
x86-64 (64 bit)	Instruction set (ISA)	x86-64 (64 bit)
SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2	ISA extensions	SSE4a, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, FMA3
LGA 1200	Socket	AM4 (PGA 1331)
VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d	Virtualization	AMD-V, SVM
Yes	AES-NI	Yes
Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux	Operating systems	Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux
Q2/2020	Release date	Q3/2019
490 $	Release price	485 $

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Intel Core i9-10900K 10C 20T @ 3.70 GHz (5.30 GHz) buy now on Amazon and save! AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12C 24T @ 3.80 GHz (4.60 GHz) buy now on Amazon and save!

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.


	Intel Core i9-10900K 10C 20T @ 5.30 GHz	80 (100%)
	AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12C 24T @ 4.60 GHz	78 (98%)

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.


	Intel Core i9-10900K 10C 20T @ 5.30 GHz	936 (88%)
	AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12C 24T @ 4.60 GHz	1068 (100%)

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.


	Intel Core i9-10900K 10C 20T @ 5.30 GHz	1382 (100%)
	AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12C 24T @ 4.60 GHz	1302 (94%)

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.


	Intel Core i9-10900K 10C 20T @ 4.90 GHz	15945 (88%)
	AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12C 24T @ 4.00 GHz	18165 (100%)

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.


	Intel Core i9-10900K 10C 20T @ 5.30 GHz	1417 (100%)
	AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12C 24T @ 4.60 GHz	1300 (92%)

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.


	Intel Core i9-10900K 10C 20T @ 4.90 GHz	11344 (91%)
	AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12C 24T @ 4.00 GHz	12454 (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.


	Intel Core i9-10900K 10C 20T @ 5.30 GHz	1743 (100%)
	AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12C 24T @ 4.60 GHz	1714 (98%)

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.


	Intel Core i9-10900K 10C 20T @ 4.90 GHz	8990 (84%)
	AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12C 24T @ 4.00 GHz	10689 (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.


	Intel Core i9-10900K 10C 20T @ 5.30 GHz	645 (100%)
	AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12C 24T @ 4.60 GHz	502 (78%)

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.


	Intel Core i9-10900K 10C 20T @ 4.90 GHz	6419 (92%)
	AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12C 24T @ 4.00 GHz	6954 (100%)

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.


	Intel Core i9-10900K Intel UHD Graphics 630 @ 1.20 GHz	461 (100%)
	AMD Ryzen 9 3900X @ 0.00 GHz	0 (0%)

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.


	Intel Core i9-10900K 10C 20T @ 4.90 GHz	240 (85%)
	AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12C 24T @ 4.00 GHz	281 (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.


	Intel Core i9-10900K 10C 20T @ 4.90 GHz	23706 (72%)
	AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12C 24T @ 4.00 GHz	32755 (100%)

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.


	Intel Core i9-10900K 10C 20T @ 4.90 GHz	126 (100%)
	AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12C 24T @ 4.00 GHz	115.9 (92%)

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.


	Intel Core i9-10900K 10C 20T @ 4.90 GHz	580 (100%)
	AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12C 24T @ 4.00 GHz	536 (92%)

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.


	Intel Core i9-10900K 10C 20T @ 3.70 GHz	7347 (90%)
	AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12C 24T @ 3.80 GHz	8183 (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.


	Intel Core i9-10900K 10C 20T @ 5.30 GHz	232 (100%)
	AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12C 24T @ 4.60 GHz	214 (92%)

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.


	Intel Core i9-10900K 10C 20T @ 4.90 GHz	2668 (84%)
	AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12C 24T @ 4.00 GHz	3168 (100%)

Devices using this processor
Intel Core i9-10900K	AMD Ryzen 9 3900X
Unknown	Unknown

Comparison of the two processors

With the AMD Ryzen 9 3900X, AMD positions a 12 core processor against Intel's mainstream top model, the Intel Core i9-10900K. The latter has 10 cores (20 threads) that can be clocked at up to 4.9 GHz. The maximum turbo is even 5.3 GHz in single-core mode. This sets a record for the clock frequency of desktop processors based on x86-64.

The AMD Ryzen 9 3900X cannot clock its 12 cores (24 threads) quite as high with 4.2 GHz (multi-core) or 4.6 GHz (single-core). However, the 12-core processor based on the Zen-2 architecture has a higher computing power per clock (IPC), so that it achieves a performance similar to the Intel Core i9-10900K under single-core load. For applications that are very much adapted to multi-threading, the AMD processor is approx. 10 percent faster than the Intel Core i9-10900K.

Both processors have an open multiplier and are officially approved for overclocking. However, both processors are clocked quite high ex works, so that hardly any further clock increases are possible with the Intel Core i9-10900K. In addition, the waste heat of the CPUs increases sharply during overclocking. Since Intel's 10-core processor already exceeds 225 watts under full load, very good air or, better, water cooling is required here to get the additional waste heat under control.

Both processors support up to 128 GB of RAM in two memory channels. Intel's processor is officially approved up to DDR4-2933, the AMD Ryzen 9 3900X even up to DDR4-3200. The clock frequency of the main memory can also be increased above the official values. This can be done manually or via D.O.C.P. (AMD) or XMP (Intel) profile and requires a correspondingly approved memory. When it comes to the maximum clock frequencies of the memory, Intel is currently ahead of the game, because most processors manage DDR-4000, while AMD usually ends with DDR4-3600 / DDR4-3800 as long as the BLCK is not increased.

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