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IntelBX80684I59600K
IntelBX80673I99980X
▲ 9230,284 ▼

6 Cores, 6 Threads @3.7GHz, Coffee Lake.
Release date: Q4 2018.

VS
▲ 54643 ▼

18 Cores, 36 Threads @3.00 GHz, Skylake.
Release date ≈ Q4 2018.

Effective Speed 
+12%
Real World Speed
Performance profile from 323,395 user samples
Benchmark your CPU here
321,194 User Benchmarks
Best Bench: 103% Base clock 3.7 GHz, turbo 5.15 GHz (avg)
Worst Bench: 82% Base clock 3.7 GHz, turbo 4.3 GHz (avg)
Poor: 82% Great: 103%
SPEED RANK: 138th / 1468
Gaming
Gaming 93%
Nuclear submarine
Desktop
Desktop 95%
Nuclear submarine
Workstation
Workstation 77%
Battleship
2,201 User Benchmarks
Best Bench: 93% Base clock 3 GHz, turbo 3.55 GHz (avg)
Worst Bench: 74% Base clock 1.2 GHz, turbo 1.2 GHz (avg)
Poor: 74% Great: 93%
SPEED RANK: 221st / 1468
Gaming
Gaming 83%
Aircraft carrier
Desktop
Desktop 84%
Aircraft carrier
Workstation
Workstation 108%
UFO
Effective Speed
Effective CPU Speed 		93.2 % Faster effective speed.
+12% 		83 %
External Data: 1080p 
+4%
14 Nov19|PCGamer
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X review 		6 % Hitm2 2%, FarC5 23%, StrangeB 1%, TWarW2 24%, MetroEx 7%, MESoW 7%, Divis2 3% SotTR 5%, ACO 7%
10 Mar21|HardwareLUXX
Processor non grata: Rocket Lake-S... 		2 % BFV 13%, MetroEx 29% SotTR 16%, Divis2 16%
Average Score 
+1%
Memory
Avg. Memory Latency 		91 Pts Lower memory latency.
+18% 		77.1 Pts
1-Core
Avg. Single Core Speed 		135 Pts Slightly faster single-core speed.
+7% 		126 Pts
2-Core
Avg. Dual Core Speed 		268 Pts Slightly faster dual-core speed.
+8% 		249 Pts
4-Core
Avg. Quad Core Speed 		525 Pts Faster quad-core speed.
+10% 		476 Pts
8-Core
Avg. Octa Core Speed 		688 Pts 941 Pts Much faster octa-core speed.
+37%
Overclocked Score 
+1%
Memory
OC Memory Latency 		96.5 Pts Lower OC memory latency.
+11% 		87.2 Pts
1-Core
OC Single Core Speed 		153 Pts Slightly faster OC single-core speed.
+8% 		142 Pts
2-Core
OC Dual Core Speed 		306 Pts Slightly faster OC dual-core speed.
+9% 		282 Pts
4-Core
OC Quad Core Speed 		604 Pts Slightly faster OC quad-core speed.
+10% 		550 Pts
8-Core
OC Octa Core Speed 		822 Pts 1098 Pts Much faster OC octa-core speed.
+34%
Value & Sentiment 
+2,761%
Market Share
Based on 68,932,026 CPUs tested
See market share leaders
Market Share
Market Share (trailing 30 days) 		1.09 % Insanely higher market share.
+10,800% 		0.01 %
Value
Value For Money 		115 % Hugely better value.
+88% 		61 %
User Rating
UBM User Rating 		92 % Much more popular.
+70% 		54 %
Price
Price (score) 		$130 Hugely cheaper.
+85% 		$850
Nice To Haves 
+190%
Age
Newest 		72 Months 70+ Months +3%
64-Core
OC Multi Core Speed 		848 Pts 3318 Pts Hugely faster OC 64-core speed.
+291%
64-Core
Avg. Multi Core Speed 		717 Pts 2695 Pts Hugely faster 64-core speed.
+276%
Specifications 
Cache
Cache 		9 MB SmartCache 24.75 MB SmartCache
Instruction Set Extensions
Instruction Set Extensions 		Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2 Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2, Intel® AVX-512
Recommended Price
Recommended Customer Price 		$262.00 - $263.00 N/A
Max Turbo Frequency
Max Turbo Frequency 		4.60 GHz 4.40 GHz
Thermal Solution Specification
Thermal Solution Specification 		PCG 2015D (130W) PCG 2017X
Max Memory Size
Max Memory Size (dependent on memory type) 		64 GB 128 GB
Memory Channels
Max # of Memory Channels 		2 4
Hyper-Threading Tech
Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology ‡ 		No Yes
Max # of PCI Express Lanes
Max # of PCI Express Lanes 		16 44

More specs » More specs »
Conclusion 
Average Bench 93.2%
Average Bench 83%

The hex-core i5-9600K is third in Intel’s line-up of 9th generation Coffee Lake CPUs. It has a TDP of 95W and requires an aftermarket cooler (such as the $20 GAMMAXX 400). The 9600K was designed to be overclocked. Once this is enabled in the BIOS (requires a Z-series motherboard), the 9600K runs 10% faster. In terms of performance, the i5-9600K is almost unbeatable for desktop users and it has sufficient multi-core performance to handle all but the most demanding workstation tasks. For CPU encoding (Cinebench, Blender, Handbrake etc.) the Ryzen 3000 series offers great 64-core performance. For example the overclocked Ryzen 3600 is approximately 13% worse for gaming, desktop and normal consumer workloads but it is 27% faster for 64-core processing. CPU encoding is akin to using hair clippers on a lawn, encoding tasks are far better performed by dedicated hardware such an NVENC or QuickSync. At stock clocks the i5-9600K is around 8% slower than Intel’s flagship i9-9900K but when both are overclocked, the 9600K closes the gaming gap to within two or three percent. Considering that the 9900K is the fastest gaming processor available, and almost twice the price of the 9600K, this is no small feat. The i5-9600K is aimed squarely at gamers who are not willing to compromise on performance but don't want to pay more than they need to. [Oct '18 CPUPro]

MORE DETAILS

The refreshed i9-7980XE (which in my opinion is one of my favourite CPU from Intel even with slightly bloated pricing), comes with soldered TIM which can transfer heat from die to IHS better but overclocking enthusiasts disappoints as the solder itself transfer lower heat than metallic thermal paste such as Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut and can complicate relidding. [Dec '19 ColdSpy]

MORE DETAILS

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