i7-5960X vs Ryzen 5 3500X

Aggregate performance score

Ryzen 5 3500X
2019
6 cores / 6 threads, 65 Watt
8.28
+3.2%
Core i7-5960X
2014
8 cores / 16 threads, 140 Watt
8.02

Ryzen 5 3500X outperforms Core i7-5960X by a minimal 3% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Ryzen 5 3500X and Core i7-5960X processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking905929
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluationno data0.75
Market segmentDesktop processorDesktop processor
SeriesAMD Ryzen 5Core i7 (Desktop)
Power efficiency12.065.42
Architecture codenameMatisse (2019−2020)Haswell-E (2014)
Release date24 September 2019 (5 years ago)1 September 2014 (10 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)no data$999

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

no data

Detailed specifications

Ryzen 5 3500X and Core i7-5960X 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 cores6 (Hexa-Core)8 (Octa-Core)
Threads616
Base clock speed3.6 GHz3 GHz
Boost clock speed4.1 GHz3.5 GHz
Bus rateno data0 GT/s
L1 cache96K (per core)64K (per core)
L2 cache512K (per core)256K (per core)
L3 cache32 MB (shared)20 MB (shared)
Chip lithography7 nm, 12 nm22 nm
Die sizeno data356 mm2
Maximum core temperatureno data67 °C
Number of transistors4,800 million2,600 million
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility+-
Unlocked multiplier++

Compatibility

Information on Ryzen 5 3500X and Core i7-5960X 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
SocketAM4FCLGA2011
Power consumption (TDP)65 Watt140 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Ryzen 5 3500X and Core i7-5960X. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsno dataIntel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2
AES-NI++
AVX++
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)no data+
Turbo Boost Technologyno data2.0
Hyper-Threading Technologyno data+
TSX-+
Idle Statesno data+
Thermal Monitoring-+
Smart Responseno data+
Demand Based Switchingno data-
Precision Boost 2+no data

Security technologies

Ryzen 5 3500X and Core i7-5960X technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXTno data+
EDBno data+
Identity Protection-+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Ryzen 5 3500X and Core i7-5960X are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Ryzen 5 3500X and Core i7-5960X. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR4 Dual-channelDDR4
Maximum memory size128 GB64 GB
Max memory channels24
Maximum memory bandwidth51.196 GB/s68 GB/s

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Ryzen 5 3500X and Core i7-5960X.

PCIe versionno data3.0
PCI Express lanesno data40

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 5 3500X 8.28
+3.2%
i7-5960X 8.02

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 5 3500X 13160
+3.3%
i7-5960X 12744

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 5 3500X 1580
+19.5%
i7-5960X 1322

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 5 3500X 5942
i7-5960X 7496
+26.2%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 8.28 8.02
Recency 24 September 2019 1 September 2014
Physical cores 6 8
Threads 6 16
Chip lithography 7 nm 22 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 65 Watt 140 Watt

Ryzen 5 3500X has a 3.2% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 5 years, a 214.3% more advanced lithography process, and 115.4% lower power consumption.

i7-5960X, on the other hand, has 33.3% more physical cores and 166.7% more threads.

Given the minimal performance differences, no clear winner can be declared between Ryzen 5 3500X and Core i7-5960X.


Should you still have questions on choice between Ryzen 5 3500X and Core i7-5960X, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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AMD Ryzen 5 3500X
Ryzen 5 3500X
Intel Core i7-5960X
Core i7-5960X

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Community ratings

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Questions & comments

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