i7-6950X vs i9-9980HK

Aggregate performance score

Core i9-9980HK
2019
8 cores / 16 threads, 45 Watt
8.88
Core i7-6950X
2016
10 cores / 20 threads, 140 Watt
10.92
+23%

Core i7-6950X outperforms Core i9-9980HK by a significant 23% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Core i9-9980HK and Core i7-6950X processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking857708
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluationno data0.82
Market segmentLaptopDesktop processor
SeriesIntel Core i9Intel Core i7 (Desktop)
Power efficiency18.687.38
Architecture codenameCoffee Lake-HR (2019)Broadwell-E (2016)
Release date23 April 2019 (5 years ago)31 May 2016 (8 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$583$1,723

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

no data

Detailed specifications

Core i9-9980HK and Core i7-6950X 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)10 (Deca-Core)
Threads1620
Base clock speed2.4 GHz3 GHz
Boost clock speed5 GHz4 GHz
Bus typeDMI 3.0no data
Bus rate4 × 8 GT/s9.6 GT/s / QPI
Multiplier24no data
L1 cache64K (per core)32K (per core)
L2 cache256K (per core)256K (per core)
L3 cache16 MB (shared)25 MB (shared)
Chip lithography14 nm14 nm
Die size149 mm2246 mm2
Maximum core temperature100 °Cno data
Maximum case temperature (TCase)72 °C72 °C
Number of transistorsno data3,800 million
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility+-
Unlocked multiplier++

Compatibility

Information on Core i9-9980HK and Core i7-6950X 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
SocketFCBGA1440FCLGA2011
Power consumption (TDP)45 Watt140 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i9-9980HK and Core i7-6950X. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2no data
AES-NI++
AVX++
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
Speed Shift+no data
My WiFi+no data
Turbo Boost Technology2.02.0
Hyper-Threading Technology++
TSX+-
Idle States++
Thermal Monitoring+-
Flex Memory Access+no data
Smart Responseno data+
Turbo Boost Max 3.0no data+

Security technologies

Core i9-9980HK and Core i7-6950X technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT++
EDB++
Secure Key+no data
MPX+-
Identity Protection+-
SGXYes with Intel® MEno data
OS Guard+no data

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i9-9980HK and Core i7-6950X are enumerated here.

AMD-V+-
VT-d++
VT-x++
EPT++

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i9-9980HK and Core i7-6950X. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR4DDR4
Maximum memory size128 GB128 GB
Max memory channels24
Maximum memory bandwidth42.671 GB/sno data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardIntel UHD Graphics 630no data
Max video memory64 GBno data
Quick Sync Video+-
Clear Video+no data
Clear Video HD+no data
Graphics max frequency1.25 GHzno data
InTru 3D+no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i9-9980HK and Core i7-6950X integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported3no data
eDP+no data
DisplayPort+-
HDMI+-
DVI+no data

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Core i9-9980HK and Core i7-6950X integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

4K resolution support+no data
Max resolution over HDMI 1.44096 x 2304@30Hzno data
Max resolution over eDP4096 x 2304@60Hzno data
Max resolution over DisplayPort4096 x 2304@60Hzno data
Max resolution over VGAN/Ano data

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Core i9-9980HK and Core i7-6950X integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectX12no data
OpenGL4.5no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i9-9980HK and Core i7-6950X.

PCIe version3.03.0
PCI Express lanes1640

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.

i9-9980HK 8.88
i7-6950X 10.92
+23%

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.

i9-9980HK 14113
i7-6950X 17353
+23%

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.

i9-9980HK 1409
+7.1%
i7-6950X 1316

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.

i9-9980HK 6230
i7-6950X 8589
+37.9%

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.

i9-9980HK 7970
+27.9%
i7-6950X 6231

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.

i9-9980HK 44455
+10.1%
i7-6950X 40378

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.

i9-9980HK 13208
+23.9%
i7-6950X 10658

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.

i9-9980HK 4.36
i7-6950X 3.5
+24.6%

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.

i9-9980HK 17
i7-6950X 20
+16.3%

Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core

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

i9-9980HK 1624
i7-6950X 1859
+14.5%

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.

i9-9980HK 201
+29.3%
i7-6950X 156

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.

i9-9980HK 2.28
+20%
i7-6950X 1.9

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.

i9-9980HK 10.2
i7-6950X 10.5
+2.9%

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.  

i9-9980HK 94
i7-6950X 101
+7.7%

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.  

i9-9980HK 238
+21.5%
i7-6950X 196

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.

i9-9980HK 7351
i7-6950X 8450
+15%

Geekbench 3 32-bit multi-core

i9-9980HK 31724
+1.9%
i7-6950X 31129

Geekbench 3 32-bit single-core

i9-9980HK 4871
+43.8%
i7-6950X 3387

Geekbench 4.0 64-bit multi-core

i9-9980HK 30099
+12.5%
i7-6950X 26761

Geekbench 4.0 64-bit single-core

i9-9980HK 6002
+48.2%
i7-6950X 4049

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 8.88 10.92
Recency 23 April 2019 31 May 2016
Physical cores 8 10
Threads 16 20
Power consumption (TDP) 45 Watt 140 Watt

i9-9980HK has an age advantage of 2 years, and 211.1% lower power consumption.

i7-6950X, on the other hand, has a 23% higher aggregate performance score, and 25% more physical cores and 25% more threads.

The Core i7-6950X is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i9-9980HK in performance tests.

Be aware that Core i9-9980HK is a notebook processor while Core i7-6950X is a desktop one.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core i9-9980HK and Core i7-6950X, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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Intel Core i9-9980HK
Core i9-9980HK
Intel Core i7-6950X
Core i7-6950X

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Community ratings

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Questions & comments

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