Core i7-6950X vs Core i9-7900X

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Aggregated performance score

Core i9-7900X
2017
10 cores / 20 threads
13.69
+21.4%
Core i7-6950X
2016
10 cores / 20 threads
11.28

Core i9-7900X outperforms Core i7-6950X by 21% based on our aggregated benchmark results.

General info

Comparing Core i9-7900X and Core i7-6950X processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in performance ranking480618
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Value for money8.133.93
Market segmentDesktop processorDesktop processor
SeriesCore i9 (Desktop)Intel Core i7 (Desktop)
Architecture codenameSkylake (server) (2017−2019)Broadwell-E (2016)
Release date30 May 2017 (6 years old)31 May 2016 (7 years old)
Launch price (MSRP)$999$1,723
Current price$577 (0.6x MSRP)$507 (0.3x MSRP)

Value for money

Performance per price, higher is better.

i9-7900X has 107% better value for money than i7-6950X.

Technical specs

Core i9-7900X and Core i7-6950X basic parameters such as number of cores, number of threads, base frequency and turbo boost clock, lithography, cache size and multiplier lock state. These parameters indirectly say of CPU speed, though for more precise assessment you have to consider their test results.

Physical cores10 (Deca-Core)10 (Deca-Core)
Threads2020
Base clock speed3.3 GHz3 GHz
Boost clock speed4.5 GHz4 GHz
Bus support4 × 8 GT/s9.6 GT/s / QPI
L1 cache640 KB32K (per core)
L2 cache10 MB256K (per core)
L3 cache13.75 MB25 MB (shared)
Chip lithography14 nm14 nm
Die sizeno data246 mm2
Maximum core temperature95 °C67°
Maximum case temperature (TCase)72 °C72 °C
Number of transistorsno data3,800 million
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility+-
Unlocked multiplierYesYes

Compatibility

Information on Core i9-7900X and Core i7-6950X compatibility with other computer components: motherboard (look for socket type), power supply unit (look for power consumption) etc. Useful when planning a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. Note that power consumption of some processors can well exceed their nominal TDP, even without overclocking. Some can even double their declared thermals given that the motherboard allows to tune the CPU power parameters.

Number of CPUs in a configuration11
SocketSocket R4FCLGA2011
Power consumption (TDP)140 Watt140 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i9-7900X and Core i7-6950X. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2, Intel® AVX-512no data
AES-NI++
AVX++
vPro+no data
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
Turbo Boost Technology2.02.0
Hyper-Threading Technology++
TSX+no data
Idle Statesno data+
Smart Responseno data+
Turbo Boost Max 3.0++
StatusDiscontinuedDiscontinued

Security technologies

Core i9-7900X and Core i7-6950X technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXTno data+
EDB++

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i9-7900X and Core i7-6950X are enumerated here.

AMD-V+no data
VT-d++
VT-x++
EPTno data+

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i9-7900X and Core i7-6950X. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR4DDR4
Maximum memory size128 GB128 GB
Max memory channels44
Maximum memory bandwidth85 GB/sno data
ECC memory support--

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardN/Ano data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i9-7900X and Core i7-6950X.

PCIe version3.03.0
PCI Express lanes4440

Synthetic benchmark performance

Various benchmark results of the processors in comparison. Overall score is measured in points in 0-100 range, higher is better.


Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark performance rating. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

i9-7900X 13.69
+21.4%
i7-6950X 11.28

Core i9-7900X outperforms Core i7-6950X by 21% based on our aggregated benchmark results.


Passmark

Passmark CPU Mark is a widespread benchmark, consisting of 8 different types of workload, including integer and floating point math, extended instructions, compression, encryption and physics calculation. There is also one separate single-threaded scenario measuring single-core performance.

Benchmark coverage: 68%

i9-7900X 21175
+21.4%
i7-6950X 17436

Core i9-7900X outperforms Core i7-6950X by 21% in Passmark.

GeekBench 5 Single-Core

GeekBench 5 Single-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses only a single CPU core.

Benchmark coverage: 42%

i9-7900X 1426
+9.9%
i7-6950X 1297

Core i9-7900X outperforms Core i7-6950X by 10% in GeekBench 5 Single-Core.

GeekBench 5 Multi-Core

GeekBench 5 Multi-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses all available CPU cores.

Benchmark coverage: 42%

i9-7900X 8837
+4.4%
i7-6950X 8462

Core i9-7900X outperforms Core i7-6950X by 4% in GeekBench 5 Multi-Core.

Cinebench 10 32-bit single-core

Cinebench R10 is an ancient ray tracing benchmark for processors by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. Its single core version uses just one CPU thread to render a futuristic looking motorcycle.

Benchmark coverage: 20%

i9-7900X 7287
+16.9%
i7-6950X 6231

Core i9-7900X outperforms Core i7-6950X by 17% in Cinebench 10 32-bit single-core.

Cinebench 10 32-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 10 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R10 using all the processor threads. Possible number of threads is limited by 16 in this version.

Benchmark coverage: 19%

i9-7900X 49738
+23.2%
i7-6950X 40378

Core i9-7900X outperforms Core i7-6950X by 23% in Cinebench 10 32-bit multi-core.

3DMark06 CPU

3DMark06 is a discontinued DirectX 9 benchmark suite from Futuremark. Its CPU part contains two scenarios, one dedicated to artificial intelligence pathfinding, another to game physics using PhysX package.

Benchmark coverage: 19%

i9-7900X 12678
+19%
i7-6950X 10658

Core i9-7900X outperforms Core i7-6950X by 19% in 3DMark06 CPU.

wPrime 32

wPrime 32M is a math multi-thread processor test, which calculates square roots of first 32 million integer numbers. Its result is measured in seconds, so that the less is benchmark result, the faster the processor.

Benchmark coverage: 18%

i9-7900X 2.91
+20.3%
i7-6950X 3.5

Core i7-6950X outperforms Core i9-7900X by 20% in wPrime 32.

Cinebench 11.5 64-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 11.5 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R11.5 which uses all the processor threads. A maximum of 64 threads is supported in this version.

Benchmark coverage: 17%

i9-7900X 24
+19.4%
i7-6950X 20

Core i9-7900X outperforms Core i7-6950X by 19% in Cinebench 11.5 64-bit multi-core.

Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 15 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R15 which uses all the processor threads.

Benchmark coverage: 15%

i9-7900X 2148
+15.5%
i7-6950X 1859

Core i9-7900X outperforms Core i7-6950X by 16% in Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core.

Cinebench 15 64-bit single-core

Cinebench R15 (standing for Release 15) is a benchmark made by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. It was superseded by later versions of Cinebench, which use more modern variants of Cinema 4D engine. The Single Core version (sometimes called Single-Thread) only uses a single processor thread to render a room full of reflective spheres and light sources.

Benchmark coverage: 15%

i9-7900X 193
+23.9%
i7-6950X 156

Core i9-7900X outperforms Core i7-6950X by 24% in Cinebench 15 64-bit single-core.

Cinebench 11.5 64-bit single-core

Cinebench R11.5 is an old benchmark by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. It was superseded by later versions of Cinebench, which use more modern variants of Cinema 4D engine. The Single Core version loads a single thread with ray tracing to render a glossy room full of crystal spheres and light sources.

Benchmark coverage: 14%

i9-7900X 2.2
+15.8%
i7-6950X 1.9

Core i9-7900X outperforms Core i7-6950X by 16% in Cinebench 11.5 64-bit single-core.

TrueCrypt AES

TrueCrypt is a discontinued piece of software that was widely used for on-the-fly-encryption of disk partitions, now superseded by VeraCrypt. It contains several embedded performance tests, one of them being TrueCrypt AES, which measures data encryption speed using AES algorithm. Result is encryption speed in gigabytes per second.

Benchmark coverage: 13%

i9-7900X 12.1
+15.2%
i7-6950X 10.5

Core i9-7900X outperforms Core i7-6950X by 15% in TrueCrypt AES.

WinRAR 4.0

WinRAR 4.0 is an outdated version of a popular file archiver. It contains an internal speed test, using 'Best' setting of RAR compression on large chunks of randomly generated data. Its results are measured in kilobytes per second.

Benchmark coverage: 13%

i9-7900X 5918
i7-6950X 8450
+42.8%

Core i7-6950X outperforms Core i9-7900X by 43% in WinRAR 4.0.

x264 encoding pass 1

x264 version 4.0 is a video encoding benchmark uses MPEG 4 x264 compression method to compress a sample HD (720p) video. Pass 1 is a faster variant that produces a constant bit rate output file. Its result is measured in frames per second, which means how many frames of the source video file were encoded per second.  

Benchmark coverage: 13%

i9-7900X 217
+10.7%
i7-6950X 196

Core i9-7900X outperforms Core i7-6950X by 11% in x264 encoding pass 1.

x264 encoding pass 2

x264 Pass 2 is a slower variant of x264 video compression that produces a variable bit rate output file, which results in better quality since the higher bit rate is used when it is needed more. Benchmark result is still measured in frames per second.  

Benchmark coverage: 13%

i9-7900X 121
+19.8%
i7-6950X 101

Core i9-7900X outperforms Core i7-6950X by 20% in x264 encoding pass 2.

Geekbench 2

Benchmark coverage: 5%

i9-7900X 26145
+18.2%
i7-6950X 22114

Core i9-7900X outperforms Core i7-6950X by 18% in Geekbench 2.

Geekbench 4.0 64-bit multi-core

Benchmark coverage: 2%

i9-7900X 27533
+2.9%
i7-6950X 26761

Core i9-7900X outperforms Core i7-6950X by 3% in Geekbench 4.0 64-bit multi-core.

Geekbench 4.0 64-bit single-core

Benchmark coverage: 2%

i9-7900X 4987
+23.2%
i7-6950X 4049

Core i9-7900X outperforms Core i7-6950X by 23% in Geekbench 4.0 64-bit single-core.

Gaming performance

Advantages and disadvantages


Performance score 13.69 11.28
Recency 30 May 2017 31 May 2016
Cost $999 $1723

The Core i9-7900X is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i7-6950X in performance tests.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core i9-7900X and Core i7-6950X, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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Intel Core i9-7900X
Core i9-7900X
Intel Core i7-6950X
Core i7-6950X

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User Ratings

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Questions and comments

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