AMD Ryzen 5 3600 vs Intel Core i9-9960X

Comparative analysis of AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and Intel Core i9-9960X processors for all known characteristics in the following categories: Essentials, Performance, Memory, Compatibility, Advanced Technologies, Virtualization, 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 3600

Intel Core i9-9960X

Differences

Reasons to consider the AMD Ryzen 5 3600

CPU is newer: launch date 4 month(s) later
A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor: 7 nm vs 14 nm
2.5x lower typical power consumption: 65 Watt vs 165 Watt
Around 3% better performance in Geekbench 4 - Single Core: 1196 vs 1158

Specifications (specs)
Launch date	March 2019 vs October 2018
Manufacturing process technology	7 nm vs 14 nm
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	65 Watt vs 165 Watt
Benchmarks
Geekbench 4 - Single Core	1196 vs 1158

Reasons to consider the Intel Core i9-9960X

8 more cores, run more applications at once: 16 vs 8
16 more threads: 32 vs 16
Around 33% more L1 cache; more data can be stored in the L1 cache for quick access later
4x more L2 cache, more data can be stored in the L2 cache for quick access later
Around 38% more L3 cache; more data can be stored in the L3 cache for quick access later
Around 2% better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 2617 vs 2568
Around 72% better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 30618 vs 17768
2.1x better performance in Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core: 14294 vs 6759
2.8x better performance in 3DMark Fire Strike - Physics Score: 13076 vs 4635

Specifications (specs)
Number of cores	16 vs 8
Number of threads	32 vs 16
L1 cache	64K (per core) vs 96K (per core)
L2 cache	1 MB (per core) vs 512K (per core)
L3 cache	22 MB (shared) vs 16 MB (shared)
Benchmarks
PassMark - Single thread mark	2617 vs 2568
PassMark - CPU mark	30618 vs 17768
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core	14294 vs 6759
3DMark Fire Strike - Physics Score	13076 vs 4635

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: AMD Ryzen 5 3600
CPU 2: Intel Core i9-9960X

PassMark - Single thread mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

2568

2617

PassMark - CPU mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

17768

30618

Geekbench 4 - Single Core

CPU 1

CPU 2

1196

1158

Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core

CPU 1

CPU 2

6759

14294

3DMark Fire Strike - Physics Score

CPU 1

CPU 2

4635

13076

Name	AMD Ryzen 5 3600	Intel Core i9-9960X
PassMark - Single thread mark	2568	2617
PassMark - CPU mark	17768	30618
Geekbench 4 - Single Core	1196	1158
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core	6759	14294
3DMark Fire Strike - Physics Score	4635	13076

Compare specifications (specs)

	AMD Ryzen 5 3600	Intel Core i9-9960X
Essentials
Architecture codename	Zen 2	Skylake
Launch date	March 2019	October 2018
Place in performance rating	1107	619
Vertical segment	Desktop	Desktop
Processor Number		i9-9960X
Series		Intel® Core™ X-series Processors
Status		Launched
Performance
64 bit support
Base frequency	3.6 GHz	3.10 GHz
L1 cache	96K (per core)	64K (per core)
L2 cache	512K (per core)	1 MB (per core)
L3 cache	16 MB (shared)	22 MB (shared)
Manufacturing process technology	7 nm	14 nm
Maximum frequency	4.4 GHz	4.40 GHz
Number of cores	8	16
Number of threads	16	32
Transistor count	4800 million
Unlocked
Bus Speed		8 GT/s DMI3
Maximum core temperature		85°C
Number of QPI Links		0
Memory
Supported memory types	DDR4	DDR4-2666
Max memory channels		4
Maximum memory size		128 GB
Compatibility
Max number of CPUs in a configuration	1	1
Sockets supported	AM4	FCLGA2066
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	65 Watt	165 Watt
Thermal Solution		PCG 2017X
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
Instruction set extensions		Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2, Intel® AVX-512
Intel 64
Intel® Hyper-Threading technology
Intel® Optane™ Memory Supported
Intel® Turbo Boost technology
Number of AVX-512 FMA Units		2
Virtualization
AMD Virtualization (AMD-V™)
Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x)
Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d)
Peripherals
Max number of PCIe lanes		44
PCI Express revision		3.0
Scalability		1S Only
Security & Reliability
Execute Disable Bit (EDB)
Intel® Trusted Execution technology (TXT)