i7-10700K vs i9-10980XE

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Aggregate performance score

Core i9-10980XE
2019
18 cores / 36 threads, 165 Watt
20.57
+74.3%
Core i7-10700K
2020
8 cores / 16 threads, 125 Watt
11.80

Core i9-10980XE outperforms Core i7-10700K by an impressive 74% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Core i9-10980XE and Core i7-10700K processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking272661
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation11.7314.73
Market segmentDesktop processorDesktop processor
Power efficiency11.808.93
Architecture codenameCascade Lake-X (2019)Comet Lake (2020)
Release date19 October 2019 (5 years ago)30 April 2020 (4 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$979$400

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

i7-10700K has 26% better value for money than i9-10980XE.

Detailed specifications

Core i9-10980XE and Core i7-10700K 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 cores18 (Octadeca-Core)8 (Octa-Core)
Threads3616
Base clock speed3 GHz3.8 GHz
Boost clock speed4.8 GHz5.1 GHz
Bus rate8 GT/s DMI3 MHz8 GT/s
L1 cache64K (per core)64K (per core)
L2 cache1 MB (per core)256K (per core)
L3 cache24.75 MB (shared)16 MB (shared)
Chip lithography14 nm14 nm
Maximum core temperature86 °C100 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)no data72 °C
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility++
Unlocked multiplier++

Compatibility

Information on Core i9-10980XE and Core i7-10700K 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
SocketFCLGA2066FCLGA1200
Power consumption (TDP)165 Watt125 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i9-10980XE and Core i7-10700K. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2, Intel® AVX-512Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2
AES-NI++
FMA-+
AVX++
vPro++
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
Turbo Boost Technology2.02.0
Hyper-Threading Technology++
TSX+-
Idle Statesno data+
Thermal Monitoring-+
SIPP-+
Turbo Boost Max 3.0++
Deep Learning Boost+-

Security technologies

Core i9-10980XE and Core i7-10700K technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT++
EDB++
Secure Keyno data+
Identity Protection-+
SGXno dataYes with Intel® ME
OS Guardno data+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i9-10980XE and Core i7-10700K are enumerated here.

AMD-V+-
VT-d++
VT-x++
EPTno data+

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i9-10980XE and Core i7-10700K. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR4DDR4
Maximum memory size256 GB128 GB
Max memory channels42
Maximum memory bandwidth94 GB/s45.8 GB/s

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardno dataIntel UHD Graphics 630
Max video memoryno data64 GB
Quick Sync Video-+
Clear Videono data+
Clear Video HDno data+
Graphics max frequencyno data1.2 GHz
InTru 3Dno data+

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i9-10980XE and Core i7-10700K integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supportedno data3

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Core i9-10980XE and Core i7-10700K integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

4K resolution supportno data+
Max resolution over HDMI 1.4no data4096 x 2160@30Hz
Max resolution over eDPno data4096 x 2304@60Hz
Max resolution over DisplayPortno data4096 x 2304@60Hz

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Core i9-10980XE and Core i7-10700K integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectXno data12
OpenGLno data4.5

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i9-10980XE and Core i7-10700K.

PCIe version3.03.0
PCI Express lanes4816

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.

i9-10980XE 20.57
+74.3%
i7-10700K 11.80

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.

i9-10980XE 32670
+74.3%
i7-10700K 18746

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.

i9-10980XE 1600
i7-10700K 1725
+7.8%

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.

i9-10980XE 12197
+48.9%
i7-10700K 8192

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.

i9-10980XE 7847
i7-10700K 7910
+0.8%

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.

i9-10980XE 59479
+17.4%
i7-10700K 50670

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.

i9-10980XE 2.81
+13.2%
i7-10700K 3.18

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.

i9-10980XE 38
+73%
i7-10700K 22

Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core

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

i9-10980XE 3744
+84.7%
i7-10700K 2027

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.

i9-10980XE 208
i7-10700K 208

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.

i9-10980XE 2.36
i7-10700K 2.38
+0.8%

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.

i9-10980XE 18.2
+62.5%
i7-10700K 11.2

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.

i9-10980XE 7172
i7-10700K 8469
+18.1%

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.  

i9-10980XE 158
+30.2%
i7-10700K 121

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.  

i9-10980XE 215
i7-10700K 269
+25.1%

Geekbench 5.5 Multi-Core

i9-10980XE 16480
+84.6%
i7-10700K 8925

Blender(-)

i9-10980XE 130
i7-10700K 217
+67.2%

Geekbench 5.5 Single-Core

i9-10980XE 1260
i7-10700K 1374
+9%

7-Zip Single

i9-10980XE 5371
i7-10700K 5647
+5.1%

7-Zip

i9-10980XE 93077
+72.2%
i7-10700K 54050

WebXPRT 3

i9-10980XE 239
i7-10700K 245
+2.5%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 20.57 11.80
Recency 19 October 2019 30 April 2020
Physical cores 18 8
Threads 36 16
Power consumption (TDP) 165 Watt 125 Watt

i9-10980XE has a 74.3% higher aggregate performance score, and 125% more physical cores and 125% more threads.

i7-10700K, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 6 months, and 32% lower power consumption.

The Core i9-10980XE is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i7-10700K in performance tests.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core i9-10980XE and Core i7-10700K, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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Intel Core i9-10980XE
Core i9-10980XE
Intel Core i7-10700K
Core i7-10700K

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