Intel's Core i9-9900KS fails to kill AMD Ryzen 7 3800X in Geekbench comparison

Intel’s i9-9900KS chip is a special edition variant of the powerful Core i9-9900K that has been overclocked to a base rate of 4 GHz and can reach 5 GHz on all of its eight cores. So it seems somewhat shocking that it has been outpaced in a multi-core benchmark by an AMD Ryzen 7 3800X in the alleged Geekbench comparison, especially as it has been previously labeled as a "Ryzen killer".

It’s important to keep in mind the occasional falsified nature of Geekbench records, but this is still an interesting snapshot for comparison purposes. The supposed i9-9900KS pulls out a score of 6,129 points in the single-core test, easily overpowering the AMD chip’s 5,783. But it appears Intel’s multi-core powerhouse disappoints in the second benchmark, raking up 34,003 points compared to the Ryzen 7 3800X’s result of 36,748 points.

Naturally, there are many other variables at play here, including the system involved in each set of benchmark testing. The Intel Core i9-9900KS was placed in a Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Master motherboard and had RAM clocking in at 1067 MHz. The Matisse processor from AMD was part of a system utilizing an Asus ROG Crosshair VI Extreme (X370) with RAM chugging along at 1,730 MHz. The Geekbench results do create a fascinating comparison if not a controlled one, though.

There’s still plenty of time (Q4 launch is expected) for Intel to tweak the i9-9900KS CPU and test it on more powerful systems, as it will need to offer desktop PC enthusiasts something special in terms of benchmark results if it’s going to succeed in an already crowded and competitive market. The Ryzen 7 3800X costs US$399.99 on Newegg and it’s likely Intel’s 8-core effort will be much more expensive – the regular i9-9900K costs around US$485 from the same retailer.