i9-9980XE vs Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX

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Aggregate performance score

Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX
2018
24 cores / 48 threads, 250 Watt
19.34
+5.5%
Core i9-9980XE
2018
18 cores / 36 threads, 165 Watt
18.34

Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX outperforms Core i9-9980XE by a small 5% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX and Core i9-9980XE processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking301329
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation6.473.95
Market segmentDesktop processorDesktop processor
SeriesAMD Ryzen ThreadripperIntel Core i9
Power efficiency7.3210.52
Architecture codenameZen+ (2018−2019)Skylake (server) (2017−2018)
Release date2 October 2018 (6 years ago)19 October 2018 (6 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$1,299$1,979

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX has 64% better value for money than i9-9980XE.

Detailed specifications

Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX and Core i9-9980XE 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 cores24 (Tetracosa-Core)18 (Octadeca-Core)
Threads4836
Base clock speed3 GHz3 GHz
Boost clock speed4.2 GHz4.5 GHz
Bus typeno dataDMI 3.0
Bus rate4 × 8 GT/s4 × 8 GT/s
Multiplier3030
L1 cache96K (per core)64 KB (per core)
L2 cache512K (per core)1 MB (per core)
L3 cache64 MB24.75 MB (shared)
Chip lithography12 nm14 nm
Die size213 mm2484 mm2
Maximum core temperatureno data84 °C
Number of transistors19,200 millionno data
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility++
Unlocked multiplier++

Compatibility

Information on Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX and Core i9-9980XE 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 (Uniprocessor)
SocketSocket TR4FCLGA2066
Power consumption (TDP)250 Watt165 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX and Core i9-9980XE. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsno dataIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2, Intel® AVX-512
AES-NI++
AVX++
vProno data+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)no data+
Turbo Boost Technologyno data2.0
Hyper-Threading Technologyno data+
TSX-+
Turbo Boost Max 3.0no data+
Precision Boost 2+no data

Security technologies

Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX and Core i9-9980XE technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

EDBno data+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX and Core i9-9980XE are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX and Core i9-9980XE. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR4 Quad-channelDDR4
Maximum memory size2 TiB128 GB
Max memory channels44
Maximum memory bandwidth93.867 GB/s85.33 GB/s
ECC memory support+-

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card-N/A

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX and Core i9-9980XE.

PCIe versionno data3.0
PCI Express lanesno data44

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 Threadripper 2970WX 19.34
+5.5%
i9-9980XE 18.34

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 Threadripper 2970WX 30718
+5.5%
i9-9980XE 29127

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 Threadripper 2970WX 1240
i9-9980XE 1428
+15.2%

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 Threadripper 2970WX 7195
i9-9980XE 11345
+57.7%

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 Threadripper 2970WX 5241
i9-9980XE 7323
+39.7%

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 Threadripper 2970WX 37522
i9-9980XE 58001
+54.6%

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.

Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX 11073
i9-9980XE 13495
+21.9%

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 Threadripper 2970WX 4.16
i9-9980XE 2.74
+51.8%

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 Threadripper 2970WX 22
i9-9980XE 39
+78.6%

Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core

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

Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX 4376
+17.1%
i9-9980XE 3736

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 Threadripper 2970WX 173
i9-9980XE 198
+14.2%

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 Threadripper 2970WX 1.9
i9-9980XE 2.22
+16.8%

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 Threadripper 2970WX 12.2
i9-9980XE 18.1
+48.4%

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 Threadripper 2970WX 4261
i9-9980XE 6879
+61.4%

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 Threadripper 2970WX 117
i9-9980XE 156
+33.9%

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 Threadripper 2970WX 202
i9-9980XE 207
+2.2%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 19.34 18.34
Physical cores 24 18
Threads 48 36
Chip lithography 12 nm 14 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 250 Watt 165 Watt

Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX has a 5.5% higher aggregate performance score, 33.3% more physical cores and 33.3% more threads, and a 16.7% more advanced lithography process.

i9-9980XE, on the other hand, has 51.5% lower power consumption.

Given the minimal performance differences, no clear winner can be declared between Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX and Core i9-9980XE.


Should you still have questions on choice between Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX and Core i9-9980XE, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX
Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX
Intel Core i9-9980XE
Core i9-9980XE

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Community ratings

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