Benchmarking Intel Comet Lake-S CPUs with up to 10 cores

10 cores need a whole lot of power!

Since Intel first revealed its new Comet Lake-S processors and its new chipsets at the end of April, we were able to get our hands only on the high-end Intel Core i9-10900K and the Intel Core i5-10600K. Intel’s CPUs are still the best for gaming, but this comes at a very high cost.

Sebastian Bade, 👁 Klaus Hinum (translated by Stanislav Kokhanyuk), Published 05/22/2020 🇩🇪 🇮🇹 ...

Intel Comet Lake-S with a thinner die (source: Intel)

Intel Core i9-10900K: new features (source: Intel)

Comet Lake-S is the name of Intel’s latest generation of processors, which was first revealed on the 30th of April, 2020. It is based on the 14-nm manufacturing process, which has been around for years now. Here, AMD is far ahead. It produces Ryzen 3000 chips using the 7-nm node.

When compared to the 9th generation, the highest-end model offers two more cores. This is the first 10-core consumer chip. Intel has been selling 10-core chips for its HEDT platform for years, though. In the chart below, you can see all new processors in Intel’s mainstream Core series. Intel has kept the letters at the end of processor names to help distinguish different models. For example, the letter T at the end of the CPU name means that the part has a 35-watt TDP, and the names of all overclockable CPUs end with the letter K.

In terms of clock rates, Intel has made some changes when compared to the previous generation. The latest parts feature Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0. It allows the CPU to achieve higher clock rates under certain circumstances. The same can also be said about Intel’s Thermal Velocity Boost technology, which allows the Core i9-10900K to hit up to 5.3 GHz. However, buyers must beware because all Boost specifications are theoretical highest frequencies, which depend on a whole range of factors such as the type of workload, the number of utilised cores, the calculated power draw and the CPU temperature. In our review, we were able to observe the Core i9-10900K hitting 5.3 GHz in Cinebench R15. However, the CPU was not able to maintain such a high clock rate over an extended period. Therefore, it would be unrealistic to assume that the CPU would be able to maintain a 5.3 GHz boost clock over a prolonged period without any overclocking.

When compared to the 9th generation CPUs, the TDP has increased significantly. The Turbo Boost duration has also been increased, which is why the new chips perform significantly better in many benchmarks. All in all, there are two power states: PL1 (Power Level 1) and PL2 (Power Level 2).

Intel has sanded the die to achieve better thermal performance. This also means that the integrated heat spreader is now a little thicker because the processor still has the same dimensions. This is why all the coolers that are compatible with the LGA 1151 socket are also compatible with the new socket. Intel said that a new socket was needed because of higher power requirements. That being said, the new chipsets (Z490, H470, B460, H410) do not support PCI Express 4.0 when used with the new processors.

The overview of the mainstream Comet Lake-S parts

Model	Cores / Threads	Base clock	Turbo 2.0	Turbo 3.0	TVB 1C/xC	All-core boost clock	Memory	Graphics	TDP	Launch price
Core i9-10900K	10/20	3.7 GHz	5.1 GHz	5.2 GHz	5.3 / 4.9 GHz	4.8 GHz	DDR4-2933	UHD 630	125 watts	488 Dollar
Core i9-10900KF	10/20	3.7 GHz	5.1 GHz	5.2 GHz	5.3 / 4.9 GHz	4.8 GHz	DDR4-2933	-	125 watts	472 dollars
Core i9-10900	10/20	2.8 GHz	5.0 GHz	5.1 GHz	5.2 / 4.6 GHz	4.5 GHz	DDR4-2933	UHD 630	65 watts	439 dollars
Core i9-10900F	10/20	2.8 GHz	5.0 GHz	5.1 GHz	5.2 / 4.6 GHz	4.5 GHz	DDR4-2933	-	65 watts	422 dollars
Core i9-10900T	10/20	1.9 GHz	4.5 GHz	4.6 GHz	-	3.7 GHz	DDR4-2933	UHD 630	35 watts	439 dollars

Core i7-10700K	8/16	3.8 GHz	5.0 GHz	5.1 GHz	-	4.7 GHz	DDR4-2933	UHD 630	125 watts	374 dollars
Core i7-10700KF	8/16	3.8 GHz	5.0 GHz	5.1 GHz	-	4.7 GHz	DDR4-2933	-	125 watts	349 dollars
Core i7-10700	8/16	2.9 GHz	4.7 GHz	4.8 GHz	-	4.6 GHz	DDR4-2933	UHD 630	65 watts	323 dollars
Core i7-10700F	8/16	2.9 GHz	4.7 GHz	4.8 GHz	-	4.6 GHz	DDR4-2933	-	65 watts	298 dollars
Core i7-10700T	8/16	2.0 GHz	4.4 GHz	4.5 GHz	-	3.7 GHz	DDR4-2933	UHD 630	35 watts	325 dollars

Core i5-10600K	6/12	4.1 GHz	4.8 GHz	-	-	4.5 GHz	DDR4-2666	UHD 630	125 watts	262 dollars
Core i5-10600KF	6/12	4.1 GHz	4.8 GHz	-	-	4.5 GHz	DDR4-2666	-	125 watts	237 dollars
Core i5-10600	6/12	3.3 GHz	4.8 GHz	-	-	4.4 GHz	DDR4-2666	UHD 630	65 watts	213 dollars
Core i5-10600T	6/12	2.4 GHz	4.0 GHz	-	-	3.7 GHz	DDR4-2666	UHD 630	35 watts	213 dollars
Core i5-10500	6/12	3.1 GHz	4.5 GHz	-	-	4.2 GHz	DDR4-2666	UHD 630	65 watts	192 dollars
Core i5-10500T	6/12	2.3 GHz	3.8 GHz	-	-	3.5 GHz	DDR4-2666	UHD 630	35 watts	192 dollars
Core i5-10400	6/12	2.9 GHz	4.3 GHz	-	-	4.0 GHz	DDR4-2666	UHD 630	65 watts	182 dollars
Core i5-10400F	6/12	2.9 GHz	4.3 GHz	-	-	4.0 GHz	DDR4-2666	-	65 watts	157 dollars
Core i5-10400T	6/12	2.0 GHz	3.6 GHz	-	-	3.2 GHz	DDR4-2666	UHD 630	35 watts	182 dollars

Core i3-10320	4/8	3.8 GHz	4.4 GHz	-	-	4.4 GHz	DDR4-2666	UHD 630	65 watts	154 dollars
Core i3-10300	4/8	3.7 GHz	4.4 GHz	-	-	4.2 GHz	DDR4-2666	UHD 630	65 watts	143 dollars
Core i3-10300T	4/8	3.0 GHz	3.9 GHz	-	-	3.6 GHz	DDR4-2666	UHD 630	35 watts	143 dollars
Core i3-10100	4/8	3.6 GHz	4.3 GHz	-	-	4.1 GHz	DDR4-2666	UHD 630	65 watts	122 dollars
Core i3-10100T	4/8	3.0 GHz	3.8 GHz	-	-	3.5 GHz	DDR4-2666	UHD 630	35 watts	122 dollars

Intel 10th Core Desktop Processors (source: Intel)

Test Bench

We used the following system for our benchmarks:

Raijintek Paean Benchtable
Intel Core i9-10900K, Intel Core i5-10600K
MSI Z490 Unify
Alphacool Eisbaer 280 AiO
Nvidia Titan RTX
Corsair RM 1000X Netzteil
Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB (2x 16GB - DDR4-3200)
Western Digital PC SN720 NVMe SSD 512GB
Microsoft Windows 10 Professional 64-Bit (Version 1909)

Intel supplied us with both CPUs and the RAM. MSI provided us with the motherboard and our case comes from Raijintek Paean. For our cooling solution, we used the Alphacool Eisbaer 280 AiO.

Intel Core i9-10900K and Intel Core i5-10600K

Overview of the MSI Z490 Unify

MSI Z490 Unify VRM cooling (source: MSI)

We received the Z490 Unify motherboard from our partner MSI just in time to review the new Comet Lake-S processors. We are very thankful that MSI lent us this motherboard. The motherboard impresses with its simplicity and completely forgoes RGB lighting, which is something that quite a few users can appreciate. The box contains the motherboard, a couple of cables, Wi-Fi antennas, a quick start guide and a DVD with drivers. The ATX motherboard has three slots for M.2 solid state drives and three PCI Express 3.0 x16 slots. According to MSI, the upper two slots support PCI Express 4.0, but we shall not know for certain whether this is actually the case until the Rocket Lake-S CPUs come out. Comet Lake-S chips still do not support PCIe 4.0. The four RAM slots support DDR4 modules clocked at up to 4800 MHz. Moreover, users can also connect up to six additional SATA drives to the motherboard.

There are 8 USB ports in total, one of which actually operates at USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 speeds (20 GBit/s). Extreme overclockers will be very pleased to see a PS2 port on the motherboard. Users can transfer data over the Ethernet port at 2.5 GBit/s. When it comes to wireless networking, the Z490 Unify is very future-proof, because it supports Wi-Fi 6.

The motherboard features a 16+1-phase power delivery system and two 8-pin power connectors. A massive heatsink with a heat pipe is attached to the voltage regulator modules, which are responsible for maintaining a steady supply of power. In addition, there is a small fan behind the I/O shield, which is meant to cool the VRMs. It is basically inaudible during operation. Fans of the X570 chipset are significantly louder.

CPU Benchmarks

Intel Core i5-10600K vs. Cinebench R15 1T

Intel Core i9-10900K vs. Cinebench R15 1T

The lower base clock of the Intel Core i9-10900K, when compared to the Intel Core i9-9900KS, is offset by its higher boost clock. In our single-core benchmarks, the 10-core CPU took first place, but with a rather slim margin. Here, the 6-core Intel Core i5-10600K is tied with its direct predecessor.

The difference in performance is much easier to see in multi-threaded applications. Here, the Intel Core i9-10900K benefits greatly from two additional cores. The Intel Core i5-10600K is also able to beat its direct predecessor (Intel Core i5-9600K) in thread-heavy applications. Here, Hyper-threading support makes a real difference. However, the 16-core Ryzen 9 3950X, AMD’s flagship mainstream chip, handily beats the Intel Core i9-10900K.

Intel Core i5-10600K

Intel Core i9-10900K

Cinebench R15
CPU Single 64Bit
Intel Core i9-10900K i9-10900K, 3700 MHz	224 Points +9%
Intel Core i9-9900KS i9-9900KS, 4000 MHz	217 Points +6%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X R9 3950X, 3500 MHz	209 Points +2%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X R9 3900X, 3800 MHz	207 Points +1%
Intel Core i5-10600K i5-10600K, 4100 MHz	205 Points
Intel Core i5-9600K i5-9600K, 3700 MHz	193 Points -6%
CPU Multi 64Bit
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X R9 3950X, 3500 MHz	4002 Points +176%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X R9 3900X, 3800 MHz	3104 Points +114%
Intel Core i9-10900K i9-10900K, 3700 MHz	2620 Points +80%
Intel Core i9-9900KS i9-9900KS, 4000 MHz	2154 Points +48%
Intel Core i5-10600K i5-10600K, 4100 MHz	1452 Points
Intel Core i5-9600K i5-9600K, 3700 MHz	1094 Points -25%

Cinebench R20
CPU (Single Core)
Intel Core i9-10900K i9-10900K, 3700 MHz	532 Points +15%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X R9 3950X, 3500 MHz	520 Points +12%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X R9 3900X, 3800 MHz	519 Points +12%
Intel Core i9-9900KS i9-9900KS, 4000 MHz	514 Points +11%
Intel Core i5-10600K i5-10600K, 4100 MHz	464 Points
CPU (Multi Core)
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X R9 3950X, 3500 MHz	9075 Points +164%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X R9 3900X, 3800 MHz	7065 Points +105%
Intel Core i9-10900K i9-10900K, 3700 MHz	6381 Points +85%
Intel Core i9-9900KS i9-9900KS, 4000 MHz	5176 Points +50%
Intel Core i5-10600K i5-10600K, 4100 MHz	3443 Points

Cinebench R11.5
CPU Single 64Bit
Intel Core i9-10900K i9-10900K, 3700 MHz	2.56 Points +17%
Intel Core i9-9900KS i9-9900KS, 4000 MHz	2.46 Points +12%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X R9 3950X, 3500 MHz	2.37 Points +8%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X R9 3900X, 3800 MHz	2.35 Points +7%
Intel Core i5-9600K i5-9600K, 3700 MHz	2.24 Points +2%
Intel Core i5-10600K i5-10600K, 4100 MHz	2.19 Points
CPU Multi 64Bit
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X R9 3950X, 3500 MHz	43.68 Points +177%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X R9 3900X, 3800 MHz	34.31 Points +118%
Intel Core i9-10900K i9-10900K, 3700 MHz	29.03 Points +84%
Intel Core i9-9900KS i9-9900KS, 4000 MHz	23.98 Points +52%
Intel Core i5-10600K i5-10600K, 4100 MHz	15.76 Points
Intel Core i5-9600K i5-9600K, 3700 MHz	10.98 Points -30%

Cinebench R10
Rendering Single CPUs 64Bit
Intel Core i9-9900KS i9-9900KS, 4000 MHz	10759 Points +12%
Intel Core i9-10900K i9-10900K, 3700 MHz	10625 Points +11%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X R9 3950X, 3500 MHz	10580 Points +10%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X R9 3900X, 3800 MHz	10483 Points +9%
Intel Core i5-10600K i5-10600K, 4100 MHz	9594 Points
Intel Core i5-9600K i5-9600K, 3700 MHz	9318 Points -3%
Rendering Multiple CPUs 64Bit
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X R9 3950X, 3500 MHz	86232 Points +66%
Intel Core i9-10900K i9-10900K, 3700 MHz	80495 Points +55%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X R9 3900X, 3800 MHz	77281 Points +49%
Intel Core i9-9900KS i9-9900KS, 4000 MHz	69169 Points +33%
Intel Core i5-10600K i5-10600K, 4100 MHz	51816 Points
Intel Core i5-9600K i5-9600K, 3700 MHz	39494 Points -24%

Blender - v2.79 BMW27 CPU
Intel Core i5-9600K i5-9600K, 3700 MHz	444.4 Seconds * -47%
Intel Core i5-10600K i5-10600K, 4100 MHz	302.4 Seconds *
Intel Core i9-9900KS i9-9900KS, 4000 MHz	205.1 Seconds * +32%
Intel Core i9-10900K i9-10900K, 3700 MHz	167.3 Seconds * +45%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X R9 3900X, 3800 MHz	166.8 Seconds * +45%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X R9 3950X, 3500 MHz	125.8 Seconds * +58%

wPrime 2.10
32m
Intel Core i5-9600K i5-9600K, 3700 MHz	6.033 s * -30%
Intel Core i5-10600K i5-10600K, 4100 MHz	4.648 s *
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X R9 3950X, 3500 MHz	4.112 s * +12%
Intel Core i9-9900KS i9-9900KS, 4000 MHz	3.969 s * +15%
Intel Core i9-10900K i9-10900K, 3700 MHz	3.582 s * +23%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X R9 3900X, 3800 MHz	2.811 s * +40%
1024m
Intel Core i5-9600K i5-9600K, 3700 MHz	176.2 s * -56%
Intel Core i5-10600K i5-10600K, 4100 MHz	113.2 s *
Intel Core i9-9900KS i9-9900KS, 4000 MHz	82 s * +28%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X R9 3900X, 3800 MHz	72.2 s * +36%
Intel Core i9-10900K i9-10900K, 3700 MHz	66.3 s * +41%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X R9 3950X, 3500 MHz	44.86 s * +60%

X264 HD Benchmark 4.0
Pass 1
Intel Core i9-10900K i9-10900K, 3700 MHz	289.5 (289^min - 291^max) fps +15%
Intel Core i9-9900KS i9-9900KS, 4000 MHz	281.5 (281^min - 284^max) fps +12%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X R9 3950X, 3500 MHz	265 (265^min - 266^max) fps +5%
Intel Core i5-10600K i5-10600K, 4100 MHz	251.5 (250^min - 253^max) fps
Intel Core i5-9600K i5-9600K, 3700 MHz	250 (250^min - 250^max) fps -1%
Pass 2
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X R9 3950X, 3500 MHz	168 (168^min - 169^max) fps +90%
Intel Core i9-10900K i9-10900K, 3700 MHz	149 (149^min - 149^max) fps +69%
Intel Core i9-9900KS i9-9900KS, 4000 MHz	129 (129^min - 129^max) fps +46%
Intel Core i5-10600K i5-10600K, 4100 MHz	88.2 (88^min - 88.2^max) fps
Intel Core i5-9600K i5-9600K, 3700 MHz	68.8 (68.3^min - 69^max) fps -22%

WinRAR - Result
Intel Core i9-10900K i9-10900K, 3700 MHz	9739 KB/s +49%
Intel Core i9-9900KS i9-9900KS, 4000 MHz	8550 KB/s +31%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X R9 3900X, 3800 MHz	7539 KB/s +15%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X R9 3950X, 3500 MHz	7409 KB/s +13%
Intel Core i5-10600K i5-10600K, 4100 MHz	6536 KB/s
Intel Core i5-9600K i5-9600K, 3700 MHz	5903 KB/s -10%

TrueCrypt
AES Mean 100MB
Intel Core i9-10900K i9-10900K, 3700 MHz	14.6 GB/s +83%
Intel Core i9-9900KS i9-9900KS, 4000 MHz	12.2 GB/s +53%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X R9 3950X, 3500 MHz	10.8 GB/s +35%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X R9 3900X, 3800 MHz	10.6 GB/s +33%
Intel Core i5-10600K i5-10600K, 4100 MHz	8 GB/s
Intel Core i5-9600K i5-9600K, 3700 MHz	5.6 GB/s -30%
Twofish Mean 100MB
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X R9 3950X, 3500 MHz	3.6 GB/s +157%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X R9 3900X, 3800 MHz	2.9 GB/s +107%
Intel Core i9-10900K i9-10900K, 3700 MHz	2.6 GB/s +86%
Intel Core i9-9900KS i9-9900KS, 4000 MHz	2.1 GB/s +50%
Intel Core i5-10600K i5-10600K, 4100 MHz	1.4 GB/s
Intel Core i5-9600K i5-9600K, 3700 MHz	0.629 GB/s -55%
Serpent Mean 100MB
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X R9 3950X, 3500 MHz	2.3 GB/s +180%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X R9 3900X, 3800 MHz	1.7 GB/s +107%
Intel Core i9-10900K i9-10900K, 3700 MHz	1.5 GB/s +83%
Intel Core i9-9900KS i9-9900KS, 4000 MHz	1.2 GB/s +46%
Intel Core i5-10600K i5-10600K, 4100 MHz	0.82 GB/s
Intel Core i5-9600K i5-9600K, 3700 MHz	0.43 GB/s -48%

Geekbench 5.5
Multi-Core
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X R9 3950X, 3500 MHz	12363 Points +71%
Intel Core i9-10900K i9-10900K, 3700 MHz	11414 Points +57%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X R9 3900X, 3800 MHz	10498 Points +45%
Intel Core i5-10600K i5-10600K, 4100 MHz	7248 Points
Intel Core i5-9600K i5-9600K, 3700 MHz	5855 Points -19%
Single-Core
Intel Core i9-10900K i9-10900K, 3700 MHz	1449 Points +13%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X R9 3950X, 3500 MHz	1306 Points +2%
Intel Core i5-10600K i5-10600K, 4100 MHz	1286 Points
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X R9 3900X, 3800 MHz	1250 Points -3%
Intel Core i5-9600K i5-9600K, 3700 MHz	1217 Points -5%

Geekbench 5.0
5.0 Multi-Core
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X R9 3950X, 3500 MHz	12976 Points +79%
Intel Core i9-10900K i9-10900K, 3700 MHz	11407 Points +58%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X R9 3900X, 3800 MHz	11135 Points +54%
Intel Core i5-10600K i5-10600K, 4100 MHz	7237 Points
5.0 Single-Core
Intel Core i9-10900K i9-10900K, 3700 MHz	1440 Points +12%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X R9 3950X, 3500 MHz	1315 Points +3%
Intel Core i5-10600K i5-10600K, 4100 MHz	1281 Points
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X R9 3900X, 3800 MHz	1247 Points -3%

Geekbench 4.4
64 Bit Single-Core Score
Intel Core i9-10900K i9-10900K, 3700 MHz	6348 Points +9%
Intel Core i9-9900KS i9-9900KS, 4000 MHz	6308 Points +8%
Intel Core i5-9600K i5-9600K, 3700 MHz	5916 Points +2%
Intel Core i5-10600K i5-10600K, 4100 MHz	5821 Points
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X R9 3950X, 3500 MHz	5749 Points -1%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X R9 3900X, 3800 MHz	5575 Points -4%
64 Bit Multi-Core Score
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X R9 3950X, 3500 MHz	48962 Points +72%
Intel Core i9-10900K i9-10900K, 3700 MHz	43058 Points +52%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X R9 3900X, 3800 MHz	42241 Points +49%
Intel Core i9-9900KS i9-9900KS, 4000 MHz	35586 Points +25%
Intel Core i5-10600K i5-10600K, 4100 MHz	28391 Points
Intel Core i5-9600K i5-9600K, 3700 MHz	23810 Points -16%

3DMark 11 - 1280x720 Performance Physics
Intel Core i9-10900K i9-10900K, 3700 MHz	22140 Points +39%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X R9 3950X, 3500 MHz	21016 Points +32%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X R9 3900X, 3800 MHz	18585 Points +16%
Intel Core i9-9900KS i9-9900KS, 4000 MHz	18531 Points +16%
Intel Core i5-10600K i5-10600K, 4100 MHz	15961 Points
Intel Core i5-9600K i5-9600K, 3700 MHz	11938 Points -25%

7-Zip 18.03
7z b 4
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X R9 3950X, 3500 MHz	99467 MIPS +146%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X R9 3900X, 3800 MHz	76732 MIPS +90%
Intel Core i9-10900K i9-10900K, 3700 MHz	70968 MIPS +76%
Intel Core i9-9900KS i9-9900KS, 4000 MHz	56406 MIPS +40%
Intel Core i5-10600K i5-10600K, 4100 MHz	40379 MIPS
7z b 4 -mmt1
Intel Core i9-10900K i9-10900K, 3700 MHz	5954 MIPS +13%
Intel Core i9-9900KS i9-9900KS, 4000 MHz	5794 MIPS +10%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X R9 3950X, 3500 MHz	5340 MIPS +1%
Intel Core i5-10600K i5-10600K, 4100 MHz	5289 MIPS
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X R9 3900X, 3800 MHz	5185 MIPS -2%

HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2 - 4k Preset
Intel Core i9-10900K i9-10900K, 3700 MHz	21 fps +72%
Intel Core i9-9900KS i9-9900KS, 4000 MHz	17.2 fps +41%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X R9 3950X, 3500 MHz	15.8 fps +30%
Intel Core i5-10600K i5-10600K, 4100 MHz	12.2 fps
Intel Core i5-9600K i5-9600K, 3700 MHz	8.02 fps -34%

R Benchmark 2.5 - Overall mean
Intel Core i5-10600K i5-10600K, 4100 MHz	0.593 sec *
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X R9 3900X, 3800 MHz	0.542 sec * +9%
Intel Core i9-10900K i9-10900K, 3700 MHz	0.528 sec * +11%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X R9 3950X, 3500 MHz	0.524 sec * +12%

LibreOffice - 20 Documents To PDF
Intel Core i9-10900K i9-10900K, 3700 MHz	76 s * -65%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X R9 3900X, 3800 MHz	56.5 s * -23%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X R9 3950X, 3500 MHz	53.6 s * -16%
Intel Core i5-10600K i5-10600K, 4100 MHz	46.06 s *

WebXPRT 3 - Overall
Intel Core i9-10900K i9-10900K, 3700 MHz	255 Points +7%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X R9 3950X, 3500 MHz	239 Points 0%
Intel Core i5-10600K i5-10600K, 4100 MHz	239 Points

Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total
Intel Core i5-10600K i5-10600K, 4100 MHz	760 ms *
Intel Core i9-10900K i9-10900K, 3700 MHz	709 ms * +7%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X R9 3950X, 3500 MHz	706 ms * +7%

3DMark
3840x2160 Fire Strike Ultra Physics
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X R9 3950X, 3500 MHz	31881 Points +60%
Intel Core i9-10900K i9-10900K, 3700 MHz	29374 Points +47%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X R9 3900X, 3800 MHz	27656 Points +39%
Intel Core i9-9900KS i9-9900KS, 4000 MHz	26419 Points +32%
Intel Core i5-10600K i5-10600K, 4100 MHz	19942 Points
Intel Core i5-9600K i5-9600K, 3700 MHz	13739 Points -31%
1920x1080 Fire Strike Physics
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X R9 3950X, 3500 MHz	32004 Points +60%
Intel Core i9-10900K i9-10900K, 3700 MHz	29805 Points +49%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X R9 3900X, 3800 MHz	28453 Points +42%
Intel Core i9-9900KS i9-9900KS, 4000 MHz	26016 Points +30%
Intel Core i5-10600K i5-10600K, 4100 MHz	20040 Points
Intel Core i5-9600K i5-9600K, 3700 MHz	13701 Points -32%
2560x1440 Time Spy CPU
Intel Core i9-10900K i9-10900K, 3700 MHz	14326 Points +73%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X R9 3950X, 3500 MHz	12404 Points +50%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X R9 3900X, 3800 MHz	11700 Points +41%
Intel Core i9-9900KS i9-9900KS, 4000 MHz	11375 Points +37%
Intel Core i5-10600K i5-10600K, 4100 MHz	8290 Points
Intel Core i5-9600K i5-9600K, 3700 MHz	6071 Points -27%

* ... smaller is better

Comet Lake-S vs. Cinebench R15 Loop

Our first look at the stability of the new Intel parts comes from running the multi-core version of Cinebench R15 in a continuous loop. The all-in-one liquid cooler from Alphacool has no trouble keeping the CPUs cool in our open-air test bench. The benchmark results are relatively stable and there are no drops in performance to speak of. The results of the Intel Core i5-10600K are a bit more closely bunched together.

Intel Core i5-10600K Intel Core i5-10600K, Intel Core i5-10600K: Ø1408 (1402.92-1413.73)

Intel Core i9-10900K Intel Core i9-10900K, Intel Core i9-10900K: Ø2598 (2576.32-2623.98)

AMD Ryzen 9 3900X AMD Ryzen 9 3900X, AMD Ryzen 9 3900X: Ø3013 (2997.15-3049.71)

AMD Ryzen 9 3950X AMD Ryzen 9 3950X, AMD Ryzen 9 3950X: Ø3967 (3957.65-3990.42)

Intel Core i5-9600K, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K, Intel Core i5-9600K: Ø998 (983.72-1005.76)

Intel Core i9-9900KS, Nvidia Titan RTX Intel Core i9-9900KS, Intel Core i9-9900KS: Ø1952 (1736.19-2159.71)

Productivity Benchmarks

Here, both chips perform equally well. In daily use, you will not be able to tell whether you are using the Intel Core i5-10600K or the Intel Core i9-10900K. There are no clear winners or losers in the synthetic benchmarks.

PCMark 10 | PCMark 8 | SPECviewperf 12 | SPECviewperf 13

PCMark 10 - Score
Intel Core i9-9900KS NVIDIA Titan RTX	8112 Points +11%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX	7869 Points +8%
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX	7641 Points +5%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX	7309 Points 0%
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX	7279 Points
Intel Core i5-9600K AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	6261 Points -14%

PCMark 8
Work Score Accelerated v2
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX	5388 Points +5%
Intel Core i9-9900KS NVIDIA Titan RTX	5349 Points +4%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX	5240 Points +2%
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX	5148 Points
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX	5115 Points -1%
Intel Core i5-9600K AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4983 Points -3%
Creative Score Accelerated v2
Intel Core i9-9900KS NVIDIA Titan RTX	10910 Points +5%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX	10402 Points +1%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX	10383 Points 0%
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX	10349 Points
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX	10245 Points -1%
Intel Core i5-9600K AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	8057 Points -22%
Home Score Accelerated v2
Intel Core i9-9900KS NVIDIA Titan RTX	5820 Points +12%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX	5404 Points +4%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX	5345 Points +3%
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX	5212 Points
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX	5185 Points -1%
Intel Core i5-9600K AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4740 Points -9%

SPECviewperf 12
1900x1060 Solidworks (sw-03)
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX	172.2 fps +9%
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX	158.2 fps
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX	157.6 fps 0%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX	153.8 fps -3%
Intel Core i9-9900KS NVIDIA Titan RTX	144.9 fps -8%
Intel Core i5-9600K AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	79.3 fps -50%
1900x1060 Siemens NX (snx-02)
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX	264.9 fps +2%
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX	263.3 fps +2%
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX	259.1 fps
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX	254.8 fps -2%
Intel Core i9-9900KS NVIDIA Titan RTX	250.1 fps -3%
Intel Core i5-9600K AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	28.51 fps -89%
1900x1060 Showcase (showcase-01)
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX	196.1 fps
Intel Core i9-9900KS NVIDIA Titan RTX	194.9 fps -1%
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX	192.4 fps -2%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX	190.9 fps -3%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX	188.3 fps -4%
Intel Core i5-9600K AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	115.3 fps -41%
1900x1060 Medical (medical-01)
Intel Core i9-9900KS NVIDIA Titan RTX	94.8 fps 0%
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX	94.6 fps
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX	94.5 fps 0%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX	88.1 fps -7%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX	86.4 fps -9%
Intel Core i5-9600K AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	50.1 fps -47%
1900x1060 Maya (maya-04)
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX	188.7 fps +11%
Intel Core i9-9900KS NVIDIA Titan RTX	184.6 fps +9%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX	172.2 fps +2%
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX	169.4 fps
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX	153.8 fps -9%
Intel Core i5-9600K AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	80.3 fps -53%
1900x1060 Energy (energy-01)
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX	28.77 fps
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX	28.72 fps 0%
Intel Core i9-9900KS NVIDIA Titan RTX	28.69 fps 0%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX	28.18 fps -2%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX	27.81 fps -3%
Intel Core i5-9600K AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	12.64 fps -56%
1900x1060 Creo (creo-01)
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX	157.2 fps +10%
Intel Core i9-9900KS NVIDIA Titan RTX	154.5 fps +8%
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX	142.7 fps
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX	134.8 fps -6%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX	133.9 fps -6%
Intel Core i5-9600K AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	60.8 fps -57%
1900x1060 Catia (catia-04)
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX	225.2 fps +5%
Intel Core i9-9900KS NVIDIA Titan RTX	224 fps +4%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX	218.4 fps +1%
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX	215.5 fps
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX	214.3 fps -1%
Intel Core i5-9600K AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	157.1 fps -27%
1900x1060 3ds Max (3dsmax-05)
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX	297.4 fps 0%
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX	296.9 fps
Intel Core i9-9900KS NVIDIA Titan RTX	284.5 fps -4%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX	283 fps -5%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX	274.5 fps -8%
Intel Core i5-9600K AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	128.9 fps -57%

SPECviewperf 13
Solidworks (sw-04)
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX	166.2 fps +8%
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX	153.9 fps
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX	153.2 fps 0%
Intel Core i9-9900KS NVIDIA Titan RTX	152.8 fps -1%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX	149.9 fps -3%
Intel Core i5-9600K AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	97 fps -37%
Siemens NX (snx-03)
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX	477.8 fps +2%
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX	472.9 fps +1%
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX	469.1 fps
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX	460 fps -2%
Intel Core i9-9900KS NVIDIA Titan RTX	450.6 fps -4%
Intel Core i5-9600K AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	51.4 fps -89%
Showcase (showcase-02)
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX	195.1 fps
Intel Core i9-9900KS NVIDIA Titan RTX	194.1 fps -1%
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX	194.1 fps -1%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX	191.8 fps -2%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX	186.8 fps -4%
Intel Core i5-9600K AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	115.4 fps -41%
Medical (medical-02)
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX	90.3 fps +1%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX	90 fps 0%
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX	89.7 fps
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX	88.7 fps -1%
Intel Core i9-9900KS NVIDIA Titan RTX	88.5 fps -1%
Intel Core i5-9600K AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	38.09 fps -58%
Maya (maya-05)
Intel Core i9-9900KS NVIDIA Titan RTX	407.9 fps +5%
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX	405.9 fps +5%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX	394.9 fps +2%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX	394.9 fps +2%
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX	387.5 fps
Intel Core i5-9600K AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	196.1 fps -49%
Energy (energy-02)
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX	53.3 fps
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX	53.2 fps 0%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX	52.4 fps -2%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX	52.3 fps -2%
Intel Core i9-9900KS NVIDIA Titan RTX	52.3 fps -2%
Intel Core i5-9600K AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	15.2 fps -71%
Creo (creo-02)
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX	339.2 fps +2%
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX	336.3 fps +1%
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX	331.7 fps
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX	328.8 fps -1%
Intel Core i9-9900KS NVIDIA Titan RTX	327.9 fps -1%
Intel Core i5-9600K AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	109.5 fps -67%
Catia (catia-05)
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX	362.1 fps +6%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX	355.2 fps +4%
Intel Core i9-9900KS NVIDIA Titan RTX	346.2 fps +1%
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX	341.7 fps
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX	339.4 fps -1%
Intel Core i5-9600K AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	233.5 fps -32%
3ds Max (3dsmax-06)
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX	294.4 fps
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX	292.5 fps -1%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX	285.1 fps -3%
Intel Core i9-9900KS NVIDIA Titan RTX	280.4 fps -5%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX	274.5 fps -7%
Intel Core i5-9600K AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	130.4 fps -56%

Still the Fastest Gaming CPU

Intel still offers the world’s fastest gaming CPU. The Intel Core i9-10900K can achieve very high frame rates as long as it is not GPU-bound. However, once you introduce a GPU bottleneck by increasing the resolution or graphics settings the performance advantage that it has evaporates. Nevertheless, the Intel Core i9-10900K is still the CPU of choice for those who need or want the highest frame rates possible. The Intel Core i5-10600K falls slightly behind the highest-end model, but it is still an exceptional gaming CPU. Both Intel chips deliver better gaming performance with an Nvidia Titan RTX than the two Ryzen 9 CPUs from AMD.

Performance Rating - Percent
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G	98.9 pt
Intel Core i9-9900KS, Nvidia Titan RTX NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-9900KS	92.9 pt
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K	91.3 pt
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3900X, Corsair MP600	83.2 pt
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3950X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5	81.5 pt

Borderlands 3
1280x720 Very Low Overall Quality (DX11)
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G	191.1 fps +15%
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K	166 fps
Intel Core i9-9900KS, Nvidia Titan RTX NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-9900KS	164 fps -1%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3900X, Corsair MP600	159 fps -4%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3950X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5	155 fps -7%
1920x1080 Badass Overall Quality (DX11)
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G	117 fps +3%
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K	114 fps
Intel Core i9-9900KS, Nvidia Titan RTX NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-9900KS	112 fps -2%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3900X, Corsair MP600	109 fps -4%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3950X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5	107 fps -6%

Metro Exodus
1280x720 Low Quality AF:4x
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G	220 (124.13^min - 328.3^max) fps +5%
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K	210 fps
Intel Core i9-9900KS, Nvidia Titan RTX NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-9900KS	180.9 (102^min - 280^max) fps -14%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3900X, Corsair MP600	159 (93.09^min - 238.27^max) fps -24%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3950X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5	151 (88.4^min - 229.52^max) fps -28%
1920x1080 Ultra Quality AF:16x
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G	109 (54.08^min - 184.88^max) fps 0%
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K	109 (55.97^min - 176.52^max) fps
Intel Core i9-9900KS, Nvidia Titan RTX NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-9900KS	101.8 (54^min - 161^max) fps -7%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3900X, Corsair MP600	98.8 (49.5^min - 151.52^max) fps -9%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3950X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5	97.1 (47.45^min - 144.72^max) fps -11%

Far Cry New Dawn
1280x720 Low Preset
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G	151 (114^min - 207^max) fps +3%
Intel Core i9-9900KS, Nvidia Titan RTX NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-9900KS	147 (112^min - 209^max) fps 0%
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K	147 (112^min - 212^max) fps
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3900X, Corsair MP600	135 (103^min - 194^max) fps -8%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3950X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5	122 (94^min - 177^max) fps -17%
1920x1080 Ultra Preset
Intel Core i9-9900KS, Nvidia Titan RTX NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-9900KS	116 (82^min - 183^max) fps +6%
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K	109 (77^min - 171^max) fps
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G	98 (70^min - 139^max) fps -10%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3950X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5	94 (68^min - 147^max) fps -14%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3900X, Corsair MP600	92 (64^min - 140^max) fps -16%

Forza Horizon 4
1280x720 Very Low Preset
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G	246 fps +11%
Intel Core i9-9900KS, Nvidia Titan RTX NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-9900KS	232 fps +5%
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K	222 fps
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3950X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5	209 fps -6%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3900X, Corsair MP600	190 fps -14%
1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:2xMS
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G	193 fps +3%
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K	187 fps
Intel Core i9-9900KS, Nvidia Titan RTX NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-9900KS	185 fps -1%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3950X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5	173 fps -7%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3900X, Corsair MP600	158 fps -16%

Far Cry 5
1280x720 Low Preset AA:T
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G	193 (151^min - 263^max) fps +23%
Intel Core i9-9900KS, Nvidia Titan RTX NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-9900KS	184 (145^min - 244^max) fps +17%
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K	157 (125^min - 208^max) fps
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3900X, Corsair MP600	154 (120^min - 201^max) fps -2%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3950X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5	141 (115^min - 182^max) fps -10%
1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:T
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G	149 (110^min - 200^max) fps +18%
Intel Core i9-9900KS, Nvidia Titan RTX NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-9900KS	131 (97^min - 172^max) fps +4%
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K	126 (86^min - 173^max) fps
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3900X, Corsair MP600	120 (94^min - 159^max) fps -5%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3950X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5	112 (86^min - 146^max) fps -11%

X-Plane 11.11
1280x720 low (fps_test=1)
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G	149 fps +12%
Intel Core i9-9900KS, Nvidia Titan RTX NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-9900KS	148 fps +11%
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K	133 fps
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3900X, Corsair MP600	127 fps -5%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3950X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5	125 fps -6%
1920x1080 high (fps_test=3)
Intel Core i9-9900KS, Nvidia Titan RTX NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-9900KS	109 fps +13%
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G	106 fps +10%
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K	96.8 fps
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3900X, Corsair MP600	92.8 fps -4%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3950X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5	91.2 fps -6%

Final Fantasy XV Benchmark
1280x720 Lite Quality
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G	221 (135^min - 247^max) fps +10%
Intel Core i9-9900KS, Nvidia Titan RTX NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-9900KS	219 (138^min - 247^max) fps +9%
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K	201 (101^min - 247^max) fps
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3950X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5	187 (115^min - 243^max) fps -7%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3900X, Corsair MP600	179 fps -11%
1920x1080 High Quality
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G	142 (88^min - 220^max) fps +1%
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K	140 (80^min - 214^max) fps
Intel Core i9-9900KS, Nvidia Titan RTX NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-9900KS	127 (70^min - 206^max) fps -9%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3950X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5	122 (84^min - 184^max) fps -13%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3900X, Corsair MP600	120 fps -14%

Dota 2 Reborn
1280x720 min (0/3) fastest
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G	198.8 (172^min) fps +16%
Intel Core i9-9900KS, Nvidia Titan RTX NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-9900KS	183 (161.1^min) fps +7%
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K	171.6 (149.6^min) fps
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3900X, Corsair MP600	162.1 (142.4^min) fps -6%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3950X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5	160.5 (139.7^min) fps -6%
1920x1080 ultra (3/3) best looking
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G	172.2 (143^min) fps +16%
Intel Core i9-9900KS, Nvidia Titan RTX NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-9900KS	154.5 (135.2^min) fps +4%
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K	148.1 (128.3^min) fps
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3900X, Corsair MP600	136 (119.1^min) fps -8%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3950X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5	130.8 (115^min) fps -12%

The Witcher 3
1024x768 Low Graphics & Postprocessing
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G	518 (463^min - 597^max) fps +25%
Intel Core i9-9900KS, Nvidia Titan RTX NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-9900KS	426 (398^min - 477^max) fps +3%
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K	413 (379^min - 462^max) fps
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3900X, Corsair MP600	388 (341^min - 450^max) fps -6%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3950X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5	344 (318^min - 389^max) fps -17%
1920x1080 Ultra Graphics & Postprocessing (HBAO+)
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K	140 (126^min - 155^max) fps
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G	139 (129^min - 151^max) fps -1%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3900X, Corsair MP600	138 (125^min - 151^max) fps -1%
Intel Core i9-9900KS, Nvidia Titan RTX NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-9900KS	130 (111^min - 140^max) fps -7%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3950X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5	126 (108^min - 141^max) fps -10%

Intel Core i9-10900K + Nvidia Titan RTX

	low	med.	high	ultra	QHD	4K
The Witcher 3 (2015)	518	400	265	139		103
Dota 2 Reborn (2015)	198.8	181	174.2	172.2		158.9
Final Fantasy XV Benchmark (2018)	221	187	142			65.4
X-Plane 11.11 (2018)	149	130	106			91.9
Far Cry 5 (2018)	193	169	159	149	137	83
Shadow of the Tomb Raider (2018)	204	180	173	165	122	67
Forza Horizon 4 (2018)	246	218	216	193	164	117
Far Cry New Dawn (2019)	151	120	113	98	97	85
Metro Exodus (2019)	220	175	136	109	86.4	55.1
Borderlands 3 (2019)	191.1	166.7	139	117	85	46.5

Intel Core i5-10600K + Nvidia Titan RTX

	low	med.	high	ultra	QHD	4K
The Witcher 3 (2015)	413	371	258	140		101
Dota 2 Reborn (2015)	171.6	160.6	155.2	148.1		146.1
Final Fantasy XV Benchmark (2018)	201	176	140			64.5
X-Plane 11.11 (2018)	133	118	96.8			83.7
Far Cry 5 (2018)	157	139	132	126	121	81
Shadow of the Tomb Raider (2018)	178	161	156	149	122	66
Forza Horizon 4 (2018)	222	200	200	187	164	117
Far Cry New Dawn (2019)	147	125	120	109	113	83
Metro Exodus (2019)	210	164	135	109	86.3	53.9
Borderlands 3 (2019)	166	143	130	114	86	47.9

Energy Consumption - 10 Cores Exact Their Toll

The Intel Core i5-10600K during the stress test

The Intel Core i9-10900K during the stress test

The energy consumption is what most people talk about when they talk about the new Comet Lake-S processors. The Intel Core i9-10900K can draw up to 250 watts for 56 seconds. The power consumption of the Core i9-10900K in the multi-core Cinebench R15 continuous loop amounts to approximately 269 watts. This result means that Intel’s 10-core chip draws more power than AMD’s 16-core processor in the same benchmark. Here, the energy consumption of the mid-range Core i5-10600K is much lower, amounting to 173 watts.

In the Prime95 stress test, the 10-core chip drew 275 watts and the 6-core part consumed 204 watts. Here, Intel outdid itself. The Core i9-10900K draws more power than the Core i9-9900KS, but this should not come as a surprise to anyone.

Under load, even an all-in-one liquid cooler from Alphacool struggles to keep the Intel Core i9-10900K cool enough. The ten-core chip reached 88 °C (190.4°F) in our stress test. The Core i5-10600K ( 158°F) is easier to cool. During the stress test, it only got up to about 70 °C.

Please Note:

Because the power consumption varied greatly on the MSI Z490 Unify, we used the Gigabyte Aorus Z490 Master to measure the power draw.

Power Consumption | Temperatures

Power Consumption
1920x1080 The Witcher 3 ultra (external Monitor)
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3950X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5 (Idle: 95 W)	423.6 (400^min - 442^max) Watt * -9%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3900X, Corsair MP600 (Idle: 87.4 W)	419.1 Watt * -8%
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G (Idle: 52.3 W)	396.2 (380^min - 475^max) Watt * -2%
Intel Core i9-9900KS, Nvidia Titan RTX NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-9900KS (Idle: 48.6 W)	387.6 (381^min - 461^max) Watt * -0%
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K (Idle: 52.2 W)	386.9 (380^min - 404^max) Watt *
Intel Core i5-9600K, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 RX Vega 64, i5-9600K	363.7 (403^min) Watt * +6%
Prime95 V2810 Stress (external Monitor)
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G (Idle: 52.3 W)	275.7 (254^min - 385^max) Watt * -35%
Intel Core i9-9900KS, Nvidia Titan RTX NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-9900KS (Idle: 48.6 W)	259.6 (231^min - 317^max) Watt * -27%
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K (Idle: 52.2 W)	204.4 (191^min - 261^max) Watt *
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3950X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5 (Idle: 95 W)	198.8 (185^min - 240^max) Watt * +3%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3900X, Corsair MP600 (Idle: 87.4 W)	193.6 Watt * +5%
Intel Core i5-9600K, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 RX Vega 64, i5-9600K	145.9 (143^min - 155^max) Watt * +29%
Cinebench R15 Multi (external Monitor)
Intel Core i9-9900KS, Nvidia Titan RTX NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-9900KS (Idle: 48.6 W)	295.4 (291^min - 298^max) Watt * -71%
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G (Idle: 52.3 W)	268.5 (265^min - 270^max) Watt * -56%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3950X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5 (Idle: 95 W)	219.5 (218^min - 225^max) Watt * -27%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3900X, Corsair MP600 (Idle: 87.4 W)	214.6 Watt * -24%
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K (Idle: 52.2 W)	172.5 (170^min - 176^max) Watt *
Intel Core i5-9600K, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 RX Vega 64, i5-9600K	134 (132^min - 135^max) Watt * +22%

Temperatures - CPU Temperature Prime95
Intel Core i9-10900K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i9-10900K, WDC PC SN720 SDAQNTW-512G	88 °C +26%
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3950X, Intel Optane 905P 480GB 2.5	83.8 °C +20%
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X NVIDIA Titan RTX, R9 3900X, Corsair MP600	74 °C +6%
Intel Core i5-10600K NVIDIA Titan RTX, i5-10600K	70 °C

* ... smaller is better

System power consumption (idle) - Core i5-10600K

System power consumption (Prime95) - Core i5-10600K

System power consumption (Cinebench-R15 multi-core loop) - Core i5-10600K

System power consumption (when gaming - The Witcher 3 on the highest settings) - Core i5-10600K

Stress test with Prime95 - Core i5-10600K

System power consumption (idle) - Core i9-10900K

System power consumption (Prime95) - Core i9-10900K

System power consumption (Cinebench-R15 multi-core loop) - 10900K

System power consumption (when gaming - The Witcher 3 on the highest settings) - Core i9-10900K

Stress test with Prime95 - Core i9-10900K

Overclocking - Not Recommend

Despite the fact that the Intel CPUs are built for maximum performance, we made a few overclocking attempts. All “K” chips offer an unlocked multiplier, which greatly simplifies the overclocking process. In our case, we were able to achieve a stable 5.3-GHz overclock with the Intel Core i9-10900K. However, with this overclock, our system drew 336 watts in the Cinebench R15 multi-core loop, which is 67 watts more than what the stock configuration consumed. When overclocking the Intel Core i5-10600K we saw very similar results. Here, we were able to achieve a 5.0-GHz all-core overclock, with the power draw jumping from 173 watts to 266 watts in the Cinebench R15 multi-core loop.

Cinebench R15 - Core i5-10600K @ 5.0 GHz

system power consumption (Cinebench R15 multi-core loop) - Core i5-10600K @ 5.0 GHz

Cinebench R20 - Core i5-10600K @ 5.0 GHz

Cinebench R15 - Core i9-10900K @ 5.3 GHz

system power consumption (Cinebench R15 multi-core loop) - Core i9-10900K @ 5.3 GHz

Cinebench R20 - Core i9-10900K @ 5.3 GHz

Intel Core i9-10900K

Pros

+ great gaming performance

+ great productivity performance

+ low power draw at idle

Cons

- high energy consumption under load

- needs very good cooling

- no PCI Express 4.0

Intel Core i5-10600K

Pros

+ great gaming performance

+ great performance in productivity applications

+ low power draw in idle operation

+ 6 cores and 12 threads

Cons

- high energy consumption under load

- no PCI-Express 4.0

Verdict — Still the world’s fastest gaming CPU

Intel Core i9-10900K and Intel Core i5-10600K - Provided courtesy of: Intel Germany

With Comet Lake-S CPUs, Intel brings 10-core chips to the mainstream for the first time. However, those who would like to upgrade will have to get a new motherboard, because the LGA 1151 socket has been replaced with LGA 1200. There are four new chipsets, with the Z490 being the top offering.

Both the Intel Core i9-10900K and the Intel Core i5-10600K did very well in our review. The Core i9-10900K is Intel’s flagship chip on the new socket. It offers a very high level of performance in video games. Thanks to 10 physical cores, the processor performs very well in multi-threaded applications, which gives it an edge over the Intel Core i9-9900KS. However, Intel’s chip fails to outperform its AMD counterparts in many thread-heavy workloads.

The Intel Core i9-10900K is the fastest gaming CPU. However, this is a pyrrhic victory for Intel, because its 10-core CPU draws 250 watts during its 56-second Turbo Boost period.

All in all, Intel brought 32 new processors to the market. We were also able to take a look at the Core i5-10600K, which is Intel’s mid-range offering. It has 6 cores and supports Hyper-threading, which was previously reserved only to high-end models. When compared to the Intel Core i5-9600K, the Core i5-10600K offers a greater level of performance. The mid-range Comet Lake-S chip did very well in our gaming benchmarks as well.

There is a major drawback, though, which has to do with the fact that new CPUs consume a lot of power. Moreover, Intel still uses the 14-nm node to make these chips, which is starting to show its age. We shall see whether Rocket Lake-S chips will be built using the same process or not.

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Editor of the original article: Sebastian Bade - Senior Tech Writer - 560 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2012

I was already interested in technology from an early age, and I was able to study for my dream job as an IT Systems Electronics Engineer. Subsequently, I started 12 years of military service, during which I learned a lot about technology and constantly kept my knowledge up to date with the latest developments. As I like to share my knowledge, I found Notebookcheck was a very good opportunity for this. In addition, I also work a lot with water cooling and network security.

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Reviews > Benchmarking Intel Comet Lake-S CPUs with up to 10 cores

Sebastian Bade, 2020-05-22 (Update: 2020-07-29)

The overview of the mainstream Comet Lake-S parts

Test Bench

Overview of the MSI Z490 Unify

CPU Benchmarks

Intel Core i5-10600K

Intel Core i9-10900K

Comet Lake-S vs. Cinebench R15 Loop

Productivity Benchmarks

Still the Fastest Gaming CPU

Intel Core i9-10900K + Nvidia Titan RTX

Intel Core i5-10600K + Nvidia Titan RTX

Energy Consumption - 10 Cores Exact Their Toll

Overclocking - Not Recommend

Intel Core i9-10900K

Pros

Cons

Intel Core i5-10600K

Pros

Cons

Verdict — Still the world’s fastest gaming CPU

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