▷ Ryzen 9 3900x vs core i9

If you live in a pineapple under the sea, you will still think that Intel is the only answer if you want to have the best equipment today. However, that reality is no longer so clear, since with the departure of AMD Ryzen 3000 , the Texan company has put its fist on the table. Today we are going to see the battle between the Titans, Ryzen 9 3900X vs Core i9-9900k.

Both graphics represent the latest stepping stone for desktop-class processors, and both have peak performance. We have to comment that the Ryzen 9 3900X is the most powerful current model, but only for a few months. The Ryzen 9 3950X is coming soon , which has even more cores, more threads, and much more power.

Although there are more powerful and capable processors, those already belong to the luxury league, so we will leave it for another time. Now, as far as we are concerned: the Ryzen 9 3900X vs Core i9-9900k.

Since the Intel Core i9 is the one with the longest champion crown, we'll start by talking about the AMD Ryzen 9 3900X .

Index of contents

AMD Ryzen 9 3900X

As we have anticipated, the Ryzen 9 3900X is the current king of the Ryzen 3000 line. It is a 12-core, 24-wire processor that is ready for all kinds of challenges. If you've been aware of the news, you may have heard, but we remind you anyway.

AMD has been working to vastly improve its new processors. Now they have better IPC (Instructions Per Cycle) , better performance in single-core and much better in multi-core. No wonder, then, that this chart is expected to become one of the MVPs of this next generation.

It has the new architecture (Zen 2), but remains on the same socket (AM4), as promised by the hardware company. In addition, their frequencies reach quite high figures, which is why they are expected to be suitable for both gaming and content creation.

To learn more about the specifications:

• Architecture: Zen 2 Compatible Socket: AM4 Heatsink: Yes (Wraith Prism with RGB LED) Integrated Graphics: No Number of CPU Cores: 12 Number of Threads: 24 Base Clock Rate: 3.8 GHz Boost Clock Rate: 4.6 GHz Cache Total L2: 6 MB Total L3 Cache: 64 MB Transistor Size: 7nm Recommended RAM Frequency: DDR4-3200 TDP / Default TDP: 105W Approximate price: € 500

This processor does not have integrated graphics, but at these power levels it would be quite rare not to have a discrete graphics. In return, it does have a good power sink to decently cool the high temperatures that the component can reach.

The new generation Ryzen 3000 comes with interesting new features. Among them we can differentiate: native support for higher frequencies of RAM and PCIe Gen 4 and larger caches. But is this enough to unseat the king of desktop processors?

Intel Core i9-9900k

For several years, Intel has maintained the regime because its processors were the most powerful and the Intel Core i9-9900k is proof of this. However, today we will put that claim to the test once again.

The Intel Core i9-9900k is famous and popular with the most demanding users. For example, in many already assembled computers that you can buy, the best processor to include is usually the i9-9900k. We can see this in the new msi models, pc components and other websites that offer these same services.

It is a processor with good multi-core power, but, above all, with excellent single core performance. This makes it a great component for both extreme gaming and content design and editing.

Here is a list of its main characteristics:

• Architecture: Coffee Lake S Compatible Socket: FCLGA 1151 Heatsink: No Integrated Graphics: Yes (Intel® UHD Graphics 630) Number of CPU Cores: 8 Number of Threads: 16 Base Clock Rate: 3.6 GHz Boost Clock Rate: 5.0 GHz Total L2 cache: 2 MB Total L3 cache: 16 MB (Smart Cache) Transistor size: 14nm Recommended RAM frequency: DDR4-2666 Default TDP / TDP: 95W Approximate price: € 490

The Intel Core i9-9900k belongs to the Coffee Lake line, but it does not abandon the LGA 1151 socket like its predecessors. It lacks a heatsink, since it expects the user to use a better one, but it comes with an integrated graphics, which is strange.

Being more veteran makes it lack cutting-edge technologies such as PCIe Gen 4 or support for higher RAM frequencies, but it does not mean that it still remains a powerful and powerful processor.

Next, we will see the face-to-face comparison of both processors.

Ryzen 9 3900X vs Core i9-9900k

They often say that comparisons are odious, but in this case they are necessary. In the world of technology, we have to constantly be comparing the new with the old, because that way we know what the improvement is. That is why, so here we have two contenders from the high-end processor.

It is true that, in this confrontation, the generational differences are very notable, so the initial verdict is quite clear. Starting with the innermost, the size of transistors used by Intel is "quite a bit larger" than the ones used by AMD . The red team uses 7nm ones, while Intel is relegated to using 14nm transistors and no news on when they will make the jump to 10nm.

Removing the sections where we cannot compare both processors, the Ryzen 9 3900X presents higher or higher figures in almost all areas. For example, we have more cores and threads, more cache on all three tiers, or newer technologies.

Of the latter, we have to highlight PCIe Gen 4 , as it is a new standard that we hope will be installed in the coming years. So far, only a few processors support this technology, and it offers us considerably faster data transfer speeds than the current PCIe Gen 3.

For its part, the Intel processor fights back and gives us some small benefits such as lower consumption or higher boost frequencies.

Unlike what happened to us in the comparisons between graphs, here we have a very difficult difference to hide. In terms of numbers and technologies alone, the Ryzen 9 3900X is far superior to its Intel counterpart. Not surprisingly, is AMD able to take advantage of this advantage or are they just empty numbers?

Synthetic Benchmarks: Ryzen 9 3900X vs Core i9-9900k

We have done numerous tests on these processors and the data is quite interesting. Despite the fact that the balance is on the side of the AMD Ryzen 9, the Intel Core i9 offers battle in different fields. Next we will see the set of results and we will comment on them by groups.

Firstly, in the AIDA64 test we see how the AMD processor achieves considerably higher figures. Both in reading and writing, the Ryzen 9 takes advantage and allows us greater bandwidths. In both tests we achieved around 5% and 10% improvement over the Core i9.

On the other hand, in terms of latency, the old component shows its good optimization and gets much better times with a speed-up of around 40%.

If we talk about tests on processors, we all come to mind Cinebench . As it could not be otherwise, we have tested this program in its two aspects and in single and multi-core and the results are very positive for AMD .

At Cinebench R15 we see the results we would expect, that is, superiority of the Intel Core in single-core and superiority of the Ryzen in multi-core. However, AMD is getting closer in single-core performance, while in turn increasing the advantage they have over the competition in multi-core.

However, in Cinebench R20 the tables turn. Incredibly, the Ryzen processor with the DDR4 3600 MHz RAM configuration achieves a slightly higher score than Intel, something that has not happened for a long time. On the other hand, the multi-core data remains the same, with a clear advantage from the red team.

At Wprime we see similar results to what we got with Cinebench R20. AMD has eliminated its main weaknesses, making this processor a good single-core opponent without losing its multi-core power.

Finally, in these last tests we see a mixture of results. In some, the Ryzen 9 3900X takes the lead, but in others, the Core i9-9900k remains the leader.

What we can see is a pattern. Every time the Intel processor gets better results, the Ryzen 9 is hot on its heels. In contrast, almost always when the AMD processor is ahead, it is several levels above its competition. We can see this in Blender, 3DMark Fire Strike or Time Spy.

However, let's look at this from a point of view that interests many users: frames.

Gaming Benchmarks (fps): Ryzen 9 3900X vs Core i9-9900k

As for benchmarks on video games, the data is much more balanced. As in other comparatives, in some video games one processor dominates the other, while in others the opposite occurs.

Next we will see the case of six specific games in 1080p, 1440p and 4K resolutions with everything in ultra. The equipment that we have used to make the tests has been the following:

• Motherboard: Asus Crosshair VIII Hero RAM Memory: 16GB G.Skill Trident Z RGB Royal DDR4 3600MHz Hard Drive : Corsair MP500 + NVME PCI Express 4.0 Graphics Card: Nvidia RTX 2060 Founders Edition Power Supply: Corsair AX860i

If you look, the games above are more AMD-friendly , while the ones below work better on Intel . The frames are fairly even, so we don't have a clear winner in this section.

In bottom-line games, the Intel average an extra 5-20 fps over the AMD (depending on resolution). On the other hand, in those in the upper row we have a clearer advantage of AMD with about 2-15 fps more than in its Intel counterpart.

In the gaming section, we can see that AMD has recovered a lot of ground, since its processors work much better in single-core and they demonstrate it with different games.

As a curiosity, we have the Ryzen 7 3700X, which is capable of surpassing these two titans on occasions. This just shows us that muscle in specs doesn't always give you better frames.

Consumption and Temperatures

As for consumption and temperatures, things are quite balanced. As you will see below, the AMD processor has higher consumption in Stand By and when we put it to work it far exceeds its opponent.

In both cases, the power consumed by AMD is much higher, so you will need a more generous power supply. Depending on the components with which you put them together, we recommend a source between 550 V and 750 V. There are websites like this where you can calculate what your ideal voltage would be based on the parts you assemble.

We lack data with overclocked processors since, so far, we cannot overclock the new Ryzen .

As for temperatures, we have a pleasant surprise.

Ryzen 9 3900X processors show a significantly higher standby temperature. However, by subjecting them to load we obtain much higher than average results at just 58ºC. This gives us good vibes when we think that we can possibly overclock these processors in the future.

For its part, the Intel processor follows quite common lines with low temperatures at rest and certainly high when we put it to work.

Remember that this is highly linked to the type of refrigeration you use, how you use it and how efficient it is. In our case, we have used the stock heatsink and have tried to use one with a similar structure for the i9-9900k.

Final conclusions about the king of the high-end

Little can we say that you are not waiting for it, since we believe that the Ryzen 9 3900X is a quite superior processor. It is true that, mainly, it owes it to its most advanced architecture and technologies, but to Caesar what is Caesar's.

Both for gaming and content creation, this processor will almost certainly become one of the best. Priced fairly well, the Ryzen 9 3900X has plenty of cards to become the king of this generation, at least as long as the Ryzen 9 3950X is n't out .

In a few months the new Ryzen 9 3950X will come out, which we have talked about in some news. It paints to be the most powerful processor of this generation, although we will have to see how it works in general lines and more for its price.

For its part, the Intel Core i9-9900k offers incredible performance and, although it is older, it offers competition to the new applicant. We believe, however, that its time is up and, for a similar price, it will be replaced by the competition.

We recommend reading the best processors on the market

With the birth of Zen , we saw great potential that seemed like it could expand exponentially. With Zen 2 we have seen a glimpse of the great power they can achieve. Who knows where else we will go, but we can say that AMD has marked it with these processors and so far without critical vulnerabilities as Intel has had.

And you, what do you think about the new Ryzen 3000 ? Would you buy a Ryzen 9 3900X for its € 500 ? Tell us your ideas below.