Intel Core i7-11700K vs AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
Intel Core i7-11700K
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The Intel Core i7-11700K is a high-end desktop CPU based on the Rocket Lake architecture. The CPU offers 8 cores and 16 threads clocked at 3.6 - 4.9 GHz. The TDP is rated at 125 Watt (PL1, power limit sustained load) but the PL2 is set to around 250 Watt for short term boosts (up to 56 seconds).
The Sunny Cove processor cores (known from the Ice Lake mobile CPUs) offer larger caches and an improved IPC (up to 19%). Furthermore, the chip also includes (partly) integrated WiFi 6E and Thunderbolt 4. The platform supports PCIe 4.0 and Intel DL Boost for AI acceleration.
The faster Rocket Lake-S CPUs also integrate a new Intel UHD Graphics 750 that is based on the current Intel Xe architecture (e.g. mobile Tiger Lake).
The CPU is manufactured on an old 14 nm process like the Comet Lake predecessors.
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
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The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X is a high-end 12-core, hyperthreaded (SMT) Vermeer series desktop processor that can process 24 threads simultaneously. Introduced on October 8, 2020, the Ryzen 9 5900X is the fastest 12-core processor and is specified at 105 watts TDP. The top model, the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, offers even more power and at the same time offers another 4 cores and 8 threads.
The Ryzen 9 5900X clocks with 3.7 GHz base clock and reaches up to 4.8 GHz on one core in turbo mode. However, when all 12 cores are loaded, up to 4.5 GHz is still possible.
The performance of the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X is consistently excellent in all applications and significantly better than the AMD Ryzen 9 3900X. AMD has been able to significantly improve its single thread performance in particular and even beats the Intel Core i9-10900K in this discipline. The multi-thread performance could also be improved. In an in-house duel, the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X can even take on an AMD Threadripper 2950X.
The internal structure of the processor has not changed fundamentally at first glance. The CCX structure has changed a bit compared to Zen2, because now a CCX consists of up to 8 CPU cores. So each individual core can access the complete L3 cache (32 MByte). Furthermore the CCX modules are connected to each other via the same I/O die, which we already know from Zen2. According to AMD, the Infinity-Fabric should now reach clock rates of up to 2 GHz, which in turn allows a RAM clock of 4.000 MHz without performance loss.
For the manufacturing processes, AMD also relies on TSCM for the Vermeer processors for the 7nm production of the CPU cores, although the I/O die is still supplied in 12nm by Globalfoundries.
In games, the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X is convincing thanks to the significantly improved IPC. With the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X, streaming can be done simultaneously with gaming. But if you only want to play games, you are well advised to take a closer look at the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X or the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X.
Model | Intel Core i7-11700K | AMD Ryzen 9 5900X | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Codename | Rocket Lake | Vermeer (Zen3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Series | Intel Rocket Lake | AMD Vermeer (Ryzen 5000) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Series: Vermeer (Ryzen 5000) Vermeer (Zen3) |
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Clock | 3600 - 5000 MHz | 3700 - 4800 MHz | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
L1 Cache | 640 KB | 768 KB | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
L2 Cache | 4 MB | 6 MB | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
L3 Cache | 16 MB | 64 MB | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cores / Threads | 8 / 16 | 12 / 24 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TDP | 125 Watt | 105 Watt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Technology | 14 nm | 7 nm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
max. Temp. | 100 °C | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Socket | LGA1200 | AM4 (1331) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Features | DDR4-3200 RAM, PCIe 4, 8 GT/s bus, DL Boost, GNA, vPro, MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX, AVX2, AVX-512, BMI2, ABM, FMA, ADX, VMX, SMX, SMEP, SMAP, MPX, EIST, TM1, TM2, HT, Turbo, SST, AES-NI, RDRAND, RDSEED, SHA | MMX(+), SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, SSE4A, x86-64, AMD-V, AES, AVX, AVX2, FMA3, SHA, Precision Boost 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
iGPU | Intel UHD Graphics Xe 750 32EUs (Rocket Lake) (350 - 1300 MHz) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Architecture | x86 | x86 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Announced | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Manufacturer | ark.intel.com | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Die Size | 2x 80.7 + 125 (I/O) mm2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
$549 U.S. |
Benchmarks
Average Benchmarks Intel Core i7-11700K → 100% n=34
Average Benchmarks AMD Ryzen 9 5900X → 125% n=34

* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance
1 This benchmark is not used for the average calculation