Intel Core i9-10900K vs AMD Ryzen 9 3900X CPU Benchmarks Leaked

Intel Core i9-10900K 10 Core CPU Benchmarked Once Again But This Time, On Z490 Motherboard – Almost on Par With a 12 Core AMD Ryzen 9 3900X CPU

Featured in the Comet Lake-S mainstream desktop family, the 10th Generation Core i9-10900K is the flagship CPU for 2020. It’s still based on the same Skylake architecture that we have received in countless revisions such as Kaby Lake, Coffee Lake, and Coffee Lake-Refresh. The process is also the same 14nm but a more refined version allowing for a slight clock speed bump and addition of more cores.

Intel Comet Lake-S Mainstream Desktop CPU SKUs Listed

Intel Core i9-10900K 10 Core CPU Specifications

Coming to the specifications, the Core i9-10900K features 10 cores, 20 threads a total cache of 20 MB and a 125W TDP. The chip has a base frequency of 3.7 GHz and a boost frequency of 5.1 GHz. However, using Intel’s Turbo Boost Max 3.0 technology, the chip can boost up to 5.2 GHz on a single-core and what’s even better is the 4.9 GHz all-core boost. Some of the features of this particular chip include:

  • Up to 4.8 GHz All-Core Turbo
  • Up to 5.3 / 4.9 GHz Thermal Velocity Boost Single / All-core Turbo
  • Up to 5.2 GHz Intel Turbo Boost Max 3.0
  • Up to 10C and 20T
  • Up to DDR4-2933 MHz dual-channel
  • Enhanced Core & Memory Overclocking
  • Active Core Group Tuning

The latest benchmarks dug up by _Rogame show that the Intel Core i9-10900K manages to score 28940 points in the 3DMark Firestrike benchmark. This test setup includes 2x 8GB DDR4 memory running at 3200 MHz. A similar setup for the AMD Ryzen 9 3900X CPU yields a score of 30,415 points which is 5% ahead of the 10 core Intel CPU. Do note that while Intel has a massive clock advantage against AMD’s Zen 2 architecture, the AMD CPU does pack more cores and threads.

That’s not even close to the most highest-end memory configurations you can run on each of these two respective platforms so expect numbers with better memory kits to be even higher but these benchmarks do provide a nice performance baseline for users who are waiting for the Core i9-10900K. The benchmarks of the Intel Core i9-10900 (non-K) CPU also leaked a few weeks back, you can check them out here.

AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12 Core AM4 ‘7nm Zen 2’ Desktop CPU On Sale For Just $419 US

Core i9-10900K vs AMD Ryzen 9 3900X in 3DMark Benchmarks: (Image CC: _Rogame #1 & #2):

From the earlier benchmarks, one can conclude some pros for Intel’s and AMD’s current generation lineup which are listed below:

Intel’s 10th Gen Core Desktop CPU Pros:

  • Higher single-threaded performance
  • Higher Clock Speeds
  • Better Overclocking Capabilities
  • Solid Memory Support

AMD’s 3rd Gen Ryzen Desktop CPU Pros:

  • Higher multi-threaded performance
  • More cores/threads/cache
  • 7nm architecture (new features)
  • Impressive value out of the box
  • Single-threaded performance right on par with Intel
  • Run cooler and have lower power consumption

Intel 10th Gen Core Comet Lake Desktop CPU Family:

CPU Name Cores / Threads Base Clock Single-Core Boost Clock Turbo Boost Max 3.0 (Single-Core) All Core Boost Clock Cache TDP Price
Intel Core i9-10900K 10/20 3.7 GHz 5.1 GHz
5.3 GHz (Velocity)
5.2 GHz 4.8 GHz
4.9 GHz (Velocity)
20 MB 125W TBD
Intel Core i9-10900KF 10/20 3.7 GHz 5.1 GHz
5.3 GHz (Velocity)
5.2 GHz 4.8 GHz
4.9 GHz (Velocity)
20 MB 125W TBD
Intel Core i9-10900 10/20 2.8 GHz 5.0 GHz
5.2 GHz (Velocity)
5.1 GHz 4.5 GHz
4.6 GHz (Velocity)
20 MB 65W TBD
Intel Core i9-10900F 10/20 2.8 GHz 5.0 GHz
5.2 GHz (Velocity)
5.1 GHz 4.5 GHz
4.6 GHz (Velocity)
20 MB 65W
Intel Core i9-10900T 10/20 2.0 GHz 4.5 GHz TBD TBD 20 MB 35W TBD
Intel Core i7-10700K 8/16 3.8 GHz 5.0 GHz 5.1 GHz 4.7 GHz 16 MB 125W TBD
Intel Core i7-10700KF 8/16 3.8 GHz 5.0 GHz 5.1 GHz 4.7 GHz 16 MB 125W
Intel Core i7-10700 8/16 2.9 GHz 4.7 GHz 4.6 GHz 4.8 GHz 16 MB 65W TBD
Intel Core i7-10700F 8/16 2.9 GHz 4.7 GHz 4.6 GHz 4.8 GHz 16 MB 65W
Intel Core i7-10700T 8/16 2.0 GHz 4.4 GHz TBD TBD 16 MB 35W TBD
Intel Core i5-10600K 6/12 4.1 GHz 4.8 GHz N/A 4.5 GHz 12 MB 125W TBD
Intel Core i5-10600KF 6/12 4.1 GHz 4.8 GHz N/A 4.5 GHz 12 MB 125W
Intel Core i5-10600 6/12 3.3 GHz 4.8 GHz N/A 4.4 GHz 12 MB 65W TBD
Intel Core i5-10600T 6/12 2.4 GHz 4.0 GHz N/A TBD 12 MB 35W TBD
Intel Core i5-10500 6/12 3.1 GHz 4.5 GHz N/A 4.2 GHz 12 MB 65W TBD
Intel Core i5-10500T 6/12 2.3 GHz 3.7 GHz N/A TBD 12 MB 35W TBD
Intel Core i5-10400 6/12 2.9 GHz 4.3 GHz N/A 4.0 GHz 12 MB 65W TBD
Intel Core i5-10400F 6/12 2.9 GHz 4.3 GHz N/A 4.0 GHz 12 MB 65W
Intel Core i3-10350K 4/8 TBD TBD N/A TBD 8 MB 125W TBD
Intel Core i3-10320 4/8 3.8 GHz 4.6 GHz N/A 4.4 GHz 8 MB 65W TBD
Intel Core i3-10300 4/8 3.7 GHz 4.4 GHz N/A 4.2 GHz 8 MB 65W TBD
Intel Core i3-10100 4/8 3.6 GHz 4.3 GHz N/A 4.1 GHz 8 MB 65W TBD
Intel Core i3-10100T 4/8 2.3 GHz 3.6 GHz N/A TBD 8 MB 35W TBD
Intel Pentium G6400 2/4 3.8 GHz 3.8 GHz N/A TBD 4 MB 65W TBD
Intel Pentium G6400T 2/4 3.2 GHz 3.2 GHz N/A TBD 4 MB 35W TBD
Intel Celeron G5900 2/2 3.2 GHz 3.2 GHz N/A TBD 2 MB 65W TBD
Intel Celeron G5900T 2/2 3.0 GHz 3.0 GHz N/A TBD 2 MB 35W TBD

Once again, the power consumption and thermal figures will be much higher on Intel’s 14nm part whereas AMD’s 7nm architecture is much ahead in terms of thermals and power efficiency right now. Industry insiders and motherboard vendors themselves have stated that the Z490 boards are designed specifically for the higher power input of the Comet Lake-S lineup and they have noticed the chips breaking past the 300W barrier.

Several motherboard manufacturers revealed that the ten-core break the 300-watt mark at maximum load. Not surprisingly, the 9900KS already exceeded the 250-watt mark in scenarios of this kind. via Computebase

Pricing would play a major role in deciding the fate of the 10th Generation Comet Lake-S CPU family. With Zen 3 expected this year and AMD eating up market share in all segments, Intel really needs to rethink their CPU strategy and we hope that they can hit their process roadmap goals on time if they really want to hit AMD back. Intel’s 10th Gen Comet Lake-S desktop family and the respective Z490 motherboards are slated for launch in April 2020.

The new 10th Generation processor lineup is rumored to bring significantly lower price points at each CPU segment than the ones we have been getting so far from Intel. This is once again a much need push to reclaim some sort of relevance in the mainstream desktop segment where AMD’s Ryzen has disrupted the market share and the mind share-alike.

Which option would you prefer if you’re going to upgrade/build a PC in the coming months?

Products mentioned in this post

Ryzen 9 3900X

Ryzen 9 3900X
USD 419.99