i5-11600K vs Ryzen 9 3950X

VS

Aggregate performance score

Ryzen 9 3950X
2019
16 cores / 32 threads, 105 Watt
24.39
+97.8%
Core i5-11600K
2021
6 cores / 12 threads, 125 Watt
12.33

Ryzen 9 3950X outperforms Core i5-11600K by an impressive 98% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Ryzen 9 3950X and Core i5-11600K processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking205619
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation18.00no data
Market segmentDesktop processorDesktop processor
SeriesAMD Ryzen 9no data
Power efficiency21.989.34
Architecture codenameMatisse (Zen 2) (2019−2020)Rocket Lake (2021)
Release date14 November 2019 (5 years ago)16 March 2021 (3 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$799no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

no data

Detailed specifications

Ryzen 9 3950X and Core i5-11600K 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 cores16 (Hexadeca-Core)6 (Hexa-Core)
Threads3212
Base clock speed3.5 GHz3.9 GHz
Boost clock speed4.7 GHz4.9 GHz
Bus rateno data8 GT/s
L1 cache96K (per core)64K (per core)
L2 cache512K (per core)256K (per core)
L3 cache64 MB12 MB (shared)
Chip lithography7 nm, 12 nm14 nm
Die size2 x 72 mm + 125 mm (IO-Die) mm2no data
Maximum core temperatureno data100 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)no data72 °C
Number of transistors19,200 millionno data
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility++
Unlocked multiplier++

Compatibility

Information on Ryzen 9 3950X and Core i5-11600K 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 configuration1 (Uniprocessor)1
SocketAM4FCLGA1200
Power consumption (TDP)105 Watt125 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Ryzen 9 3950X and Core i5-11600K. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions86x MMX(+), SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, SSE4A,-64, AMD-V, AES, AVX, AVX2, FMA3, SHA, Precision Boost 2Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2, Intel® AVX-512
AES-NI++
FMA-+
AVX++
vProno data+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)no data+
Turbo Boost Technologyno data2.0
Hyper-Threading Technologyno data+
TSX-+
Idle Statesno data+
Thermal Monitoring-+
SIPP-+
Turbo Boost Max 3.0no data-
Precision Boost 2+no data
Deep Learning Boost-+

Security technologies

Ryzen 9 3950X and Core i5-11600K technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXTno data+
EDBno data+
Secure Keyno data+
Identity Protection-+
SGXno data-
OS Guardno data+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Ryzen 9 3950X and Core i5-11600K are enumerated here.

AMD-V+-
VT-dno data+
VT-xno data+
EPTno data+

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Ryzen 9 3950X and Core i5-11600K. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR4 Dual-channelDDR4
Maximum memory size128 GB128 GB
Max memory channelsno data2
Maximum memory bandwidth51.196 GB/s50 GB/s
ECC memory support+-

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card-Intel UHD Graphics 750
Max video memory-64 GB
Quick Sync Video-+
Clear Video-+
Clear Video HD-+
Graphics max frequency-1.3 GHz
Execution Units-32
InTru 3D-+

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Ryzen 9 3950X and Core i5-11600K integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported-3

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Ryzen 9 3950X and Core i5-11600K integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

4K resolution support-+
Max resolution over HDMI 1.4-4096x2160@60Hz
Max resolution over eDP-5120 x 3200 @60Hz
Max resolution over DisplayPort-5120 x 3200 @60Hz

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Ryzen 9 3950X and Core i5-11600K integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectX-12.1
OpenGL-4.5

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Ryzen 9 3950X and Core i5-11600K.

PCIe versionno data4.0
PCI Express lanesno data20

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.

Ryzen 9 3950X 24.39
+97.8%
i5-11600K 12.33

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.

Ryzen 9 3950X 38736
+97.7%
i5-11600K 19589

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.

Ryzen 9 3950X 1732
i5-11600K 2226
+28.5%

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.

Ryzen 9 3950X 10801
+24.9%
i5-11600K 8646

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.

Ryzen 9 3950X 6102
i5-11600K 9745
+59.7%

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.

Ryzen 9 3950X 53396
+8.1%
i5-11600K 49408

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.

Ryzen 9 3950X 4.11
+19.7%
i5-11600K 4.92

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.

Ryzen 9 3950X 44
+126%
i5-11600K 19

Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core

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

Ryzen 9 3950X 4002
+129%
i5-11600K 1744

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.

Ryzen 9 3950X 209
i5-11600K 238
+13.9%

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.

Ryzen 9 3950X 2.37
i5-11600K 2.87
+21.1%

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.

Ryzen 9 3950X 10.8
+11.3%
i5-11600K 9.7

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.  

Ryzen 9 3950X 168
+66.7%
i5-11600K 101

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.  

Ryzen 9 3950X 265
i5-11600K 289
+9.1%

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.

Ryzen 9 3950X 7409
i5-11600K 7850
+6%

Geekbench 5.5 Multi-Core

Ryzen 9 3950X 12363
+46.7%
i5-11600K 8430

Blender(-)

Ryzen 9 3950X 126
i5-11600K 267
+112%

Geekbench 5.5 Single-Core

Ryzen 9 3950X 1306
i5-11600K 1723
+31.9%

7-Zip Single

Ryzen 9 3950X 5340
i5-11600K 6062
+13.5%

7-Zip

Ryzen 9 3950X 99467
+121%
i5-11600K 44971

WebXPRT 3

Ryzen 9 3950X 239
i5-11600K 272
+13.6%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 24.39 12.33
Recency 14 November 2019 16 March 2021
Physical cores 16 6
Threads 32 12
Chip lithography 7 nm 14 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 105 Watt 125 Watt

Ryzen 9 3950X has a 97.8% higher aggregate performance score, 166.7% more physical cores and 166.7% more threads, a 100% more advanced lithography process, and 19% lower power consumption.

i5-11600K, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 1 year.

The Ryzen 9 3950X is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i5-11600K in performance tests.


Should you still have questions on choice between Ryzen 9 3950X and Core i5-11600K, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

Vote for your favorite

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite CPU.


AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
Ryzen 9 3950X
Intel Core i5-11600K
Core i5-11600K

Similar processor comparisons

We picked several similar comparisons of processors in the same market segment and performance relatively close to those reviewed on this page.

Community ratings

Here you can see how users rate the processors, as well as rate them yourself.


4.5 713 votes

Rate Ryzen 9 3950X on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
3.5 1417 votes

Rate Core i5-11600K on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about Ryzen 9 3950X or Core i5-11600K, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.