i9-9900KF vs EPYC 7251
Aggregate performance score
Core i9-9900KF outperforms EPYC 7251 by a significant 21% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Contents
Primary details
Comparing processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 1051 | 913 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 1.94 | 5.59 |
| Market segment | Server | Desktop processor |
| Series | AMD EPYC | Intel Core i9 |
| Power efficiency | 3.00 | 4.57 |
| Designer | AMD | Intel |
| Manufacturer | no data | Intel |
| Architecture codename | Naples (2017−2018) | Coffee Lake-R (2018−2019) |
| Release date | 29 June 2017 (8 years ago) | 8 January 2019 (7 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $574 | $488 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
i9-9900KF has 188% better value for money than EPYC 7251.
Performance to price scatter graph
Detailed specifications
Basic parameters of EPYC 7251 and Core i9-9900KF: 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 cores | 8 (Octa-Core) | 8 (Octa-Core) |
| Threads | 16 | 16 |
| Base clock speed | 2.1 GHz | 3.6 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 2.9 GHz | 5 GHz |
| Bus type | no data | DMI 3.0 |
| Bus rate | no data | 4 × 8 GT/s |
| Multiplier | 21 | no data |
| L1 cache | 96K (per core) | 64K (per core) |
| L2 cache | 512K (per core) | 256K (per core) |
| L3 cache | 32 MB (shared) | 16 MB (shared) |
| Chip lithography | 14 nm | 14 nm |
| Die size | 192 mm2 | no data |
| Maximum core temperature | no data | 100 °C |
| Maximum case temperature (TCase) | no data | 72 °C |
| Number of transistors | 4,800 million | no data |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | + |
| Unlocked multiplier | + | + |
Compatibility
Information on EPYC 7251 and Core i9-9900KF 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 configuration | 2 (Multiprocessor) | 1 (Uniprocessor) |
| Socket | TR4 | FCLGA1151 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 120 Watt | 95 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by EPYC 7251 and Core i9-9900KF. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | no data | Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2 |
| AES-NI | + | + |
| AVX | + | + |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | no data | + |
| Turbo Boost Technology | no data | 2.0 |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | no data | + |
| TSX | - | + |
| Idle States | no data | + |
| Thermal Monitoring | - | + |
Security technologies
EPYC 7251 and Core i9-9900KF technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | no data | - |
| EDB | no data | + |
| MPX | - | + |
| Identity Protection | - | + |
| SGX | no data | Yes with Intel® ME |
| OS Guard | no data | + |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by EPYC 7251 and Core i9-9900KF are enumerated here.
| AMD-V | + | - |
| VT-d | no data | + |
| VT-x | no data | + |
| EPT | no data | + |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by EPYC 7251 and Core i9-9900KF. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR4 Eight-channel | DDR4-2666 |
| Maximum memory size | 2 TiB | 128 GB |
| Max memory channels | 8 | 2 |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | 153.652 GB/s | 42.671 GB/s |
| ECC memory support | + | - |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by EPYC 7251 and Core i9-9900KF.
| PCIe version | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| PCI Express lanes | 128 | 16 |
Synthetic benchmarks
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.
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. Other than that, Passmark measures multi-core performance.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 8.53 | 10.30 |
| Recency | 29 June 2017 | 8 January 2019 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 120 Watt | 95 Watt |
i9-9900KF has a 21% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 1 year, and 26% lower power consumption.
The Intel Core i9-9900KF is our recommended choice as it beats the AMD EPYC 7251 in performance tests.
Be aware that EPYC 7251 is a server/workstation processor while Core i9-9900KF is a desktop one.
Other comparisons
We've compiled a selection of CPU comparisons, ranging from closely matched processors to other comparisons that may be of interest.
