AMD Ryzen 5 3500X vs Intel Core i9-9900

Comparative analysis of AMD Ryzen 5 3500X and Intel Core i9-9900 processors for all known characteristics in the following categories: Essentials, Performance, Memory, Compatibility, Advanced Technologies, Virtualization, Graphics, Graphics interfaces, Graphics image quality, Graphics API support, Peripherals, Security & Reliability. Benchmark processor performance analysis: PassMark - Single thread mark, PassMark - CPU mark, Geekbench 4 - Single Core, Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core, 3DMark Fire Strike - Physics Score.

AMD Ryzen 5 3500X

Intel Core i9-9900

Differences

Reasons to consider the AMD Ryzen 5 3500X

CPU is newer: launch date 6 month(s) later
A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor: 7 nm vs 14 nm
Around 50% more L2 cache; more data can be stored in the L2 cache for quick access later
2x more L3 cache, more data can be stored in the L3 cache for quick access later

Launch date	Nov 2019 vs 23 April 2019
Manufacturing process technology	7 nm vs 14 nm
L2 cache	3 MB vs 2 MB
L3 cache	32 MB vs 16 MB

Reasons to consider the Intel Core i9-9900

2 more cores, run more applications at once: 8 vs 6
10 more threads: 16 vs 6
Around 22% higher clock speed: 5.00 GHz vs 4.1 GHz
Around 33% more L1 cache; more data can be stored in the L1 cache for quick access later
Around 13% better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 2837 vs 2506
Around 26% better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 16562 vs 13179
Around 7% better performance in Geekbench 4 - Single Core: 1263 vs 1175
Around 50% better performance in Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core: 7913 vs 5292
Around 75% better performance in 3DMark Fire Strike - Physics Score: 6750 vs 3860

Specifications (specs)
Number of cores	8 vs 6
Number of threads	16 vs 6
Maximum frequency	5.00 GHz vs 4.1 GHz
L1 cache	512 KB vs 384 KB
Benchmarks
PassMark - Single thread mark	2837 vs 2506
PassMark - CPU mark	16562 vs 13179
Geekbench 4 - Single Core	1263 vs 1175
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core	7913 vs 5292
3DMark Fire Strike - Physics Score	6750 vs 3860

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: AMD Ryzen 5 3500X
CPU 2: Intel Core i9-9900

PassMark - Single thread mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

2506

2837

PassMark - CPU mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

13179

16562

Geekbench 4 - Single Core

CPU 1

CPU 2

1175

1263

Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core

CPU 1

CPU 2

5292

7913

3DMark Fire Strike - Physics Score

CPU 1

CPU 2

3860

6750

Name	AMD Ryzen 5 3500X	Intel Core i9-9900
PassMark - Single thread mark	2506	2837
PassMark - CPU mark	13179	16562
Geekbench 4 - Single Core	1175	1263
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core	5292	7913
3DMark Fire Strike - Physics Score	3860	6750

Compare specifications (specs)

	AMD Ryzen 5 3500X	Intel Core i9-9900
Essentials
Architecture codename	Zen 2	Coffee Lake
Launch date	Nov 2019	23 April 2019
Launch price (MSRP)	$170	$439, $449
Place in performance rating	1221	961
Vertical segment	Desktop	Desktop
Family		Core i9
Processor Number		i9-9900
Performance
64 bit support
Base frequency	3.6 GHz	3.10 GHz
Front-side bus (FSB)	100 MHz
L1 cache	384 KB	512 KB
L2 cache	3 MB	2 MB
L3 cache	32 MB	16 MB
Manufacturing process technology	7 nm	14 nm
Maximum frequency	4.1 GHz	5.00 GHz
Number of cores	6	8
Number of threads	6	16
Bus Speed		8 GT/s DMI3
Maximum core temperature		100 °C
Memory
Max memory channels	2	2
Maximum memory size	128 GB	128 GB
Supported memory types	DDR4-3200	DDR4-2666
ECC memory support
Maximum memory bandwidth		41.6 GB/s
Compatibility
Max number of CPUs in a configuration	1	1
Sockets supported	AM4	FCLGA1151
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	65 Watt	65 Watt
Thermal Solution		PCG 2015C (65W)
Advanced Technologies
Fused Multiply-Add 3 (FMA3)
Intel® Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX)
Intel® Advanced Vector Extensions 2 (AVX2)
Intel® AES New Instructions
Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® technology
Idle States
Instruction set extensions		Intel SSE4.1, Intel SSE4.2, Intel AVX2
Intel 64
Intel® Hyper-Threading technology
Intel® Optane™ Memory Supported
Intel® Stable Image Platform Program (SIPP)
Intel® TSX-NI
Intel® Turbo Boost technology
Intel® vPro™ Platform Eligibility
Thermal Monitoring
Virtualization
AMD Virtualization (AMD-V™)
Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x)
Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d)
Intel® VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT)
Graphics
Device ID		0x3E98
Graphics base frequency		350 MHz
Graphics max dynamic frequency		1.20 GHz
Intel® Clear Video HD technology
Intel® Clear Video technology
Intel® InTru™ 3D technology
Intel® Quick Sync Video
Max video memory		64 GB
Processor graphics		Intel UHD Graphics 630
Graphics interfaces
Number of displays supported		3
Graphics image quality
4K resolution support
Max resolution over DisplayPort		4096x2304@60Hz
Max resolution over eDP		4096x2304@60Hz
Max resolution over HDMI 1.4		4096x2304@24Hz
Graphics API support
DirectX		12
OpenGL		4.5
Peripherals
Max number of PCIe lanes		16
PCI Express revision		3.0
PCIe configurations		1x16, 2x8, 1x8+2x4
Scalability		1S Only
Security & Reliability
Execute Disable Bit (EDB)
Intel® Identity Protection technology
Intel® Memory Protection Extensions (Intel® MPX)
Intel® OS Guard
Intel® Secure Key technology
Intel® Software Guard Extensions (Intel® SGX)
Intel® Trusted Execution technology (TXT)