AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X vs Intel Core i9-7980XE

Comparative analysis of AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X and Intel Core i9-7980XE processors for all known characteristics in the following categories: Essentials, Performance, Memory, Compatibility, Peripherals, Advanced Technologies, Virtualization, 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, CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Video Composition (Frames/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s).

 

Differences

Reasons to consider the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X

  • CPU is newer: launch date 0 year(s) 11 month(s) later
  • Around 5% higher clock speed: 4.4 GHz vs 4.20 GHz
  • A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor: 12 nm vs 14 nm
  • Around 33% more L1 cache; more data can be stored in the L1 cache for quick access later
  • Around 29% more L3 cache; more data can be stored in the L3 cache for quick access later
Launch date 31 August 2018 vs September 2017
Maximum frequency 4.4 GHz vs 4.20 GHz
Manufacturing process technology 12 nm vs 14 nm
L1 cache 1536 KB vs 64 KB (per core)
L3 cache 32 MB vs 25344 KB (shared)

Reasons to consider the Intel Core i9-7980XE

  • 2 more cores, run more applications at once: 18 vs 16
  • 4 more threads: 36 vs 32
  • Around 38% higher maximum core temperature: 94°C vs 68°C
  • 2.3x more L2 cache, more data can be stored in the L2 cache for quick access later
  • Around 9% lower typical power consumption: 165 Watt vs 180 Watt
  • Around 1% better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 2484 vs 2457
  • Around 3% better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 30228 vs 29382
  • Around 11% better performance in Geekbench 4 - Single Core: 1177 vs 1059
  • Around 30% better performance in Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core: 16370 vs 12581
  • Around 36% better performance in 3DMark Fire Strike - Physics Score: 10876 vs 7974
Specifications (specs)
Number of cores 18 vs 16
Number of threads 36 vs 32
Maximum core temperature 94°C vs 68°C
L2 cache 1024 KB (per core) vs 8 MB
Thermal Design Power (TDP) 165 Watt vs 180 Watt
Benchmarks
PassMark - Single thread mark 2484 vs 2457
PassMark - CPU mark 30228 vs 29382
Geekbench 4 - Single Core 1177 vs 1059
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core 16370 vs 12581
3DMark Fire Strike - Physics Score 10876 vs 7974

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X
CPU 2: Intel Core i9-7980XE

PassMark - Single thread mark
CPU 1
CPU 2
2457
2484
PassMark - CPU mark
CPU 1
CPU 2
29382
30228
Geekbench 4 - Single Core
CPU 1
CPU 2
1059
1177
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core
CPU 1
CPU 2
12581
16370
3DMark Fire Strike - Physics Score
CPU 1
CPU 2
7974
10876
Name AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X Intel Core i9-7980XE
PassMark - Single thread mark 2457 2484
PassMark - CPU mark 29382 30228
Geekbench 4 - Single Core 1059 1177
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core 12581 16370
3DMark Fire Strike - Physics Score 7974 10876
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s) 40.947
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s) 484.771
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s) 3.237
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Video Composition (Frames/s) 21.073
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s) 218.231

Compare specifications (specs)

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X Intel Core i9-7980XE

Essentials

Architecture codename Zen+ Skylake
Family AMD Ryzen Processors
Launch date 31 August 2018 September 2017
OPN PIB YD295XA8AFWOF
OPN Tray YD295XA8UGAAF
OS Support Windows 10 - 64-Bit Edition, RHEL x86 64-Bit, Ubuntu x86 64-Bit
Place in performance rating 840 176
Price now $899.99 $2,005.50
Series AMD Ryzen Threadripper Processors Intel® Core™ X-series Processors
Value for money (0-100) 8.50 4.08
Vertical segment Desktop Desktop
Launch price (MSRP) $1,999
Processor Number i9-7980XE
Status Launched

Performance

64 bit support
Base frequency 3.5 GHz 2.60 GHz
Die size 213 mm
L1 cache 1536 KB 64 KB (per core)
L2 cache 8 MB 1024 KB (per core)
L3 cache 32 MB 25344 KB (shared)
Manufacturing process technology 12 nm 14 nm
Maximum core temperature 68°C 94°C
Maximum frequency 4.4 GHz 4.20 GHz
Number of cores 16 18
Number of threads 32 36
Transistor count 9600 million
Unlocked
Bus Speed 8 GT/s DMI3
Number of QPI Links 0

Memory

Max memory channels 4 4
Supported memory frequency 2933 MHz
Supported memory types DDR4 DDR4-2666
Maximum memory size 128 GB

Compatibility

Max number of CPUs in a configuration 1 1
Sockets supported sTR4 FCLGA2066
Thermal Design Power (TDP) 180 Watt 165 Watt
Thermal Solution Not included PCG 2017X
Low Halogen Options Available

Peripherals

PCI Express revision 3.0 3.0
Max number of PCIe lanes 44
Scalability 1S Only

Advanced Technologies

AMD SenseMI
The "Zen" Core Architecture
Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® technology
Instruction set extensions Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2, Intel® AVX-512
Intel 64
Intel® Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX)
Intel® AES New Instructions
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)

Security & Reliability

Execute Disable Bit (EDB)
Intel® Trusted Execution technology (TXT)