Ryzen 5 5500U vs i7-5960X

Aggregate performance score

Core i7-5960X
2014
8 cores / 16 threads, 140 Watt
8.03
Ryzen 5 5500U
2021
6 cores / 12 threads, 25 Watt
8.19
+2%

Ryzen 5 5500U outperforms Core i7-5960X by a minimal 2% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Core i7-5960X and Ryzen 5 5500U processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking931919
Place by popularitynot in top-10014
Cost-effectiveness evaluation0.78no data
Market segmentDesktop processorLaptop
SeriesCore i7 (Desktop)AMD Lucienne (Zen 2, Ryzen 5000)
Power efficiency5.4331.00
Architecture codenameHaswell-E (2014)Lucienne-U (Zen 2) (2021)
Release date1 September 2014 (10 years ago)12 January 2021 (3 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$999no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

no data

Detailed specifications

Core i7-5960X and Ryzen 5 5500U 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 cores8 (Octa-Core)6 (Hexa-Core)
Threads1612
Base clock speed3 GHz2.1 GHz
Boost clock speed3.5 GHz4 GHz
Bus rate0 GT/sno data
Multiplierno data21
L1 cache64K (per core)64K (per core)
L2 cache256K (per core)512K (per core)
L3 cache20 MB (shared)8 MB (shared)
Chip lithography22 nm7 nm
Die size356 mm2156 mm2
Maximum core temperature67 °C105 °C
Number of transistors2,600 million9,800 million
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility-+
Unlocked multiplier+-

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-5960X and Ryzen 5 5500U 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
SocketFCLGA2011FP6
Power consumption (TDP)140 Watt25 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-5960X and Ryzen 5 5500U. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4A, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX, AVX2, BMI2, ABM, FMA, ADX, SMEP, SMAP, SMT, CPB, AES-NI, RDRAND, RDSEED, SHA, SME
AES-NI++
FMA-+
AVX++
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)+no data
Turbo Boost Technology2.0no data
Hyper-Threading Technology+no data
TSX+-
Idle States+no data
Thermal Monitoring+-
Smart Response+no data
Demand Based Switching-no data

Security technologies

Core i7-5960X and Ryzen 5 5500U 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 i7-5960X and Ryzen 5 5500U 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 i7-5960X and Ryzen 5 5500U. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR4DDR4
Maximum memory size64 GB64 GB
Max memory channels4no data
Maximum memory bandwidth68 GB/sno data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardno dataAMD Radeon RX Vega 7 ( - 1800 MHz)

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-5960X and Ryzen 5 5500U.

PCIe version3.03.0
PCI Express lanes4012

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.

i7-5960X 8.03
Ryzen 5 5500U 8.19
+2%

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.

i7-5960X 12748
Ryzen 5 5500U 13017
+2.1%

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.

i7-5960X 1322
+2.8%
Ryzen 5 5500U 1286

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.

i7-5960X 7496
+65.5%
Ryzen 5 5500U 4529

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.

i7-5960X 5193
Ryzen 5 5500U 5313
+2.3%

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.

i7-5960X 33929
+23.7%
Ryzen 5 5500U 27437

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.

i7-5960X 9924
+8.1%
Ryzen 5 5500U 9185

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.

i7-5960X 4.25
+46.4%
Ryzen 5 5500U 6.22

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.

i7-5960X 15
+31.9%
Ryzen 5 5500U 11

Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core

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

i7-5960X 1387
+11.2%
Ryzen 5 5500U 1247

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.

i7-5960X 139
Ryzen 5 5500U 177
+27.3%

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.

i7-5960X 1.53
Ryzen 5 5500U 1.99
+30.1%

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.

i7-5960X 8.2
+90.7%
Ryzen 5 5500U 4.3

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.  

i7-5960X 82
+81.6%
Ryzen 5 5500U 45

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.  

i7-5960X 191
+17.7%
Ryzen 5 5500U 162

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.

i7-5960X 7049
+78.7%
Ryzen 5 5500U 3945

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 8.03 8.19
Recency 1 September 2014 12 January 2021
Physical cores 8 6
Threads 16 12
Chip lithography 22 nm 7 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 140 Watt 25 Watt

i7-5960X has 33.3% more physical cores and 33.3% more threads.

Ryzen 5 5500U, on the other hand, has a 2% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 6 years, a 214.3% more advanced lithography process, and 460% lower power consumption.

Given the minimal performance differences, no clear winner can be declared between Core i7-5960X and Ryzen 5 5500U.

Note that Core i7-5960X is a desktop processor while Ryzen 5 5500U is a notebook one.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-5960X and Ryzen 5 5500U, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

Vote for your favorite

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Intel Core i7-5960X
Core i7-5960X
AMD Ryzen 5 5500U
Ryzen 5 5500U

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