Ryzen 9 7950X vs i7-2600K

VS

Aggregate performance score

Core i7-2600K
2011
4 cores / 8 threads, 95 Watt
3.46
Ryzen 9 7950X
2022
16 cores / 32 threads, 170 Watt
39.46
+1040%

Ryzen 9 7950X outperforms Core i7-2600K by a whopping 1040% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Core i7-2600K and Ryzen 9 7950X processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking155567
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation0.47no data
Market segmentDesktop processorDesktop processor
SeriesIntel Core i7 (Desktop)no data
Power efficiency3.4521.97
Architecture codenameSandy Bridge (2011−2013)Raphael (Zen 4) (2022)
Release date9 January 2011 (13 years ago)27 September 2022 (2 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$317no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

no data

Detailed specifications

Core i7-2600K and Ryzen 9 7950X 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 cores4 (Quad-Core)16 (Hexadeca-Core)
Threads832
Base clock speed3.4 GHz4.5 GHz
Boost clock speed3.8 GHz5.7 GHz
Bus rate5 GT/sno data
L1 cache64 KB (per core)64K (per core)
L2 cache256K (per core)1 MB (per core)
L3 cache8 MB (shared)64 MB (shared)
Chip lithography32 nm5 nm
Die size216 mm2CCD = 2x 70 sq. mm, I/O = 122 mm2
Maximum core temperature73 °C95 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)no data47 °C
Number of transistors1,160 million13140 Million
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility-+
Unlocked multiplier++

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-2600K and Ryzen 9 7950X 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
SocketLGA1155AM5
Power consumption (TDP)95 Watt170 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-2600K and Ryzen 9 7950X. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVXCCD = 5 nm, I/O = 6 nm, 0.650 - 1.475 V
AES-NI++
AVX++
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)+no data
Turbo Boost Technology+no data
Hyper-Threading Technology+no data
Idle States+no data
Thermal Monitoring+-
Flex Memory Access+no data
FDI+no data
Fast Memory Access+no data
Precision Boost 2no data+

Security technologies

Core i7-2600K and Ryzen 9 7950X technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT-no data
EDB+no data
Identity Protection+-

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-2600K and Ryzen 9 7950X 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 Core i7-2600K and Ryzen 9 7950X. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3DDR5-5200
Maximum memory size32 GBno data
Max memory channels2no data
Maximum memory bandwidth21 GB/sno data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card
Compare
Intel HD Graphics 3000AMD Radeon Graphics (Ryzen 7000) (400 - 2200 MHz)
Quick Sync Video+-
Clear Video HD+no data
Graphics max frequency1.35 GHzno data
InTru 3D+no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i7-2600K and Ryzen 9 7950X integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported2no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-2600K and Ryzen 9 7950X.

PCIe version2.05.0
PCI Express lanes1624

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.

i7-2600K 3.46
Ryzen 9 7950X 39.46
+1040%

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.

i7-2600K 5492
Ryzen 9 7950X 62681
+1041%

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.

i7-2600K 667
Ryzen 9 7950X 2985
+348%

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.

i7-2600K 2293
Ryzen 9 7950X 19448
+748%

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.

i7-2600K 4809
Ryzen 9 7950X 8448
+75.7%

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.

i7-2600K 18608
Ryzen 9 7950X 72098
+287%

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.

i7-2600K 6669
Ryzen 9 7950X 21064
+216%

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.

i7-2600K 10.5
Ryzen 9 7950X 1.96
+436%

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.

i7-2600K 7
Ryzen 9 7950X 69
+915%

Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core

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

i7-2600K 614
Ryzen 9 7950X 5948
+869%

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.

i7-2600K 129
Ryzen 9 7950X 316
+145%

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.

i7-2600K 1.51
Ryzen 9 7950X 3.7
+145%

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.

i7-2600K 3.3
Ryzen 9 7950X 31.6
+858%

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.

i7-2600K 3486
Ryzen 9 7950X 15614
+348%

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.  

i7-2600K 37
Ryzen 9 7950X 270
+640%

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.  

i7-2600K 145
Ryzen 9 7950X 381
+163%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 3.46 39.46
Integrated graphics card 0.66 4.43
Recency 9 January 2011 27 September 2022
Physical cores 4 16
Threads 8 32
Chip lithography 32 nm 5 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 95 Watt 170 Watt

i7-2600K has 78.9% lower power consumption.

Ryzen 9 7950X, on the other hand, has a 1040.5% higher aggregate performance score, 571.2% faster integrated GPU, an age advantage of 11 years, 300% more physical cores and 300% more threads, and a 540% more advanced lithography process.

The Ryzen 9 7950X is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i7-2600K in performance tests.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-2600K and Ryzen 9 7950X, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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Intel Core i7-2600K
Core i7-2600K
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
Ryzen 9 7950X

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Community ratings

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Questions & comments

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