UserBenchmark: Intel Core i7-3960X vs i9-9900K

CPU
RANKINGS

TEST
YOUR CPU

ADD TO PC
BUILD

IntelBX80684I99900K

BUY • $410

IntelBX80619I73960X

BUY • $265

BenchYourCPU

Real World Speed

Performance profile from 356,388 user samples

Benchmark your CPU here

354,223 User Benchmarks

Best Bench: 104% Base clock 3.6 GHz, turbo 5.2 GHz (avg)
Worst Bench: 89% Base clock 3.6 GHz, turbo 1.3 GHz (avg)

Poor: 89% Great: 104%

SPEED RANK: 90^th / 1442

Gaming 98%

Nuclear submarine

Desktop 98%

Nuclear submarine

Workstation 97%

Nuclear submarine

2,165 User Benchmarks

Best Bench: 89% Base clock 3.3 GHz
Worst Bench: 66% Base clock 3.3 GHz, turbo 0.85 GHz (avg)

Poor: 66% Great: 89%

SPEED RANK: 270^th / 1442

Gaming 78%

Battleship

Desktop 79%

Battleship

Workstation 67%

Battle cruiser


Effective Speed Effective CPU Speed		97.9 %	Faster effective speed. +26%		77.7 %


Memory Avg. Memory Latency	93.1 Pts	Slightly lower memory latency. +7%	87.1 Pts
1-Core Avg. Single Core Speed	142 Pts	Much faster single-core speed. +47%	96.7 Pts
2-Core Avg. Dual Core Speed	281 Pts	Much faster dual-core speed. +46%	192 Pts
4-Core Avg. Quad Core Speed	551 Pts	Much faster quad-core speed. +49%	369 Pts
8-Core Avg. Octa Core Speed	981 Pts	Much faster octa-core speed. +68%	585 Pts


Memory OC Memory Latency	97.2 Pts	+2%	95.3 Pts
1-Core OC Single Core Speed	153 Pts	Faster OC single-core speed. +30%	118 Pts
2-Core OC Dual Core Speed	305 Pts	Much faster OC dual-core speed. +31%	233 Pts
4-Core OC Quad Core Speed	604 Pts	Much faster OC quad-core speed. +32%	457 Pts
8-Core OC Octa Core Speed	1116 Pts	Much faster OC octa-core speed. +56%	715 Pts

Market Share

Based on 67,741,606 CPUs tested

See market share leaders


Market Share Market Share (trailing 30 days)	1.26 %	Insanely higher market share. +∞%	0 %
Value Value For Money	88 %	Better value. +12%	78.7 %
User Rating UBM User Rating	87 %	Much more popular. +64%	53 %
Price Price (score)	$410		$265	Much cheaper. +35%


Age Newest	66 Months	Much more recent. +56%	151 Months
TDP Thermal Design Power (TDP)	95 Watts	More energy efficient. +27%	130 Watts
Cores CPU Processing Cores	8 cores	Much higher core count. +33%	6 cores
Threads CPU Processing Threads	16 threads	Much higher thread count. +33%	12 threads
Lithography Manufacturing process	14 nm	Much newer manufacturing. +56%	32 nm
Base Clock Base Clock Speed	3.6 GHz	Slightly faster base frequency. +9%	3.3 GHz
Turbo Clock Turbo Clock Speed	5 GHz	Faster turbo frequency. +28%	3.9 GHz
64-Core OC Multi Core Speed	1590 Pts	Much faster OC 64-core speed. +79%	888 Pts
64-Core Avg. Multi Core Speed	1451 Pts	Hugely faster 64-core speed. +99%	728 Pts


Series CPU Architecture	Coffee Lake	Sandy Bridge-E
Socket Motherboard Socket	FCLGA1151	FCLGA2011
Graphics Integrated Graphics	UHD 630	None
Launch Date Launch Date	Q4'18	Q4'11
Cache Cache	16 MB SmartCache	15 MB SmartCache
Instruction Set Extensions Instruction Set Extensions	Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2	SSE4.2, AVX, AES
Lithography Lithography	14 nm	32 nm
Recommended Price Recommended Customer Price	$488.00 - $499.00	N/A
Max Turbo Frequency Max Turbo Frequency	5.00 GHz	3.9 GHz
Bus Speed Bus Speed	8 GT/s DMI3	5 GT/s DMI2
Memory Types Memory Types	DDR4-2666	DDR3 1066/1333/1600
Memory Channels Max # of Memory Channels	2	4
Memory Bandwidth Max Memory Bandwidth	41.6 GB/s	51.2 GB/s
Package Size Package Size	37.5mm x 37.5mm	52.5mm x 45.0mm
Trusted Execution Tech Intel® Trusted Execution Technology ‡	Yes	No
PCI Express Revision PCI Express Revision	3.0	2.0
Max # of PCI Express Lanes Max # of PCI Express Lanes	16	40
	More specs »	More specs »

The Intel i9-9900K is an 8 core, 16 thread, unlocked 9th generation Coffee Lake processor. It has a base / boost clocks of 3.6 / 4.7 GHz and a single-core boost of 5.0 GHz (the highest frequency achieved yet from this class of Intel CPU). It features 16 MB of cache, a 95W TDP and Intel UHD 630 graphics. The 9900K is compatible with the new Z390 chipset, and subject to a BIOS update, is also compatible with the older Z370 chipset. Aimed at users who do not wish to compromise, the i9-9900K offers the best gaming and desktop experience available at any price. Heavy workstation users should consider the Ryzen 9 3900X which is similarly priced. Comparing the overclocked 3900X shows that it is just 10% worse for gaming and desktop (sub octa-core) but around 40% better for 64-core computations. Gamers should consider the 9700K which offers identical overclocked gaming performance at a $100 USD discount. ^{[Oct '18 CPUPro]}

MORE DETAILS

The fact that the near three year old Intel i7-3960X still tops the speed charts reflects just how little competition there is in the CPU market. Intel have dominated for so long that there is simply no economic incentive to push the speed boundaries at anywhere nearly the pace of improvement we saw in previous years. The i7-3960X has 6 cores and 12 threads which is two cores more than the vast majority of Intel's other top end processors. The extra two cores explain why the 3960X still performs so well compared to the majority of the 3960X's newer siblings. This processor will offer little more than a far cheaper i3 to regular desktop users but for server orientated workloads it is still one of the best processors available. ^{[Mar '14 CPUPro]}

MORE DETAILS

Systems with these CPUs

Top Builds that include these CPUs

Custom PC Builder (Start a new build) Build your perfect PC: compare component prices, popularity, speed and value for money

CHOOSE A COMPONENT:

CPU

GPU

SSD

HDD

RAM

MBD

Processor Rankings (Price vs Performance) April 2024 CPU Rankings

We calculate effective speed which measures real world performance for typical users. Effective speed is adjusted by current prices to yield a value for money rating. Our calculated values are checked against thousands of individual user ratings. The customizable table below combines these factors to bring you the definitive list of top CPUs. ^[CPUPro]

Group Test Results

Best user rated - User sentiment trumps benchmarks for this comparison.
Best value for money - Value for money is based on real world performance.
Fastest real world speed - Real World Speed measures performance for typical consumers.

How Fast Is Your CPU? (Bench your build) Size up your PC in less than a minute

Welcome to our PC speed test tool. UserBenchmark will test your PC and compare the results to other users with the same components. You can quickly size up your PC, identify hardware problems and explore the best value for money upgrades.

UserBenchmark of the month

Gaming

Desktop

ProGaming

CPU

GPU

SSD

HDD

RAM

USB

How it works

- Download and run UserBenchmark
- CPU tests include: integer, floating and string
- GPU tests include: six 3D game simulations
- Drive tests include: read, write, sustained write and mixed IO
- RAM tests include: single/multi core bandwidth and latency
- SkillBench (space shooter) tests user input accuracy
- Reports are generated and presented on userbenchmark.com
- Identify the strongest components in your PC
- See speed test results from other users
- Compare your components to the current market leaders
- Explore your best upgrade options with a virtual PC build
- Compare your in-game FPS to other users with your hardware

Frequently Asked Questions

Processors FAQ

AMD vs Intel: Gaming performance 2012-2021

How does IPC compare between AMD's Ryzen and Intel's Kaby Lake?

What is multi core mixed speed?

What is multi core integer speed?

What is multi core floating point speed?

What is single core mixed CPU speed?

What is quad core mixed CPU speed?

What is quad core floating point speed?

What is quad core integer speed?

What is single core floating point speed?

What is single core integer speed?

What is the GeekBench single core score?

What is a CPU?

What is the effective CPU speed index?

What is overclocking?

What is thermal design power (TDP)?

ALL FAQs »

CPU	GPU	SSD
Intel Core i5-13600K $273	Nvidia RTX 4060 $295	Crucial MX500 250GB $40
Intel Core i5-12400F $133	Nvidia RTX 4060-Ti $385	Samsung 850 Evo 120GB $80
Intel Core i5-12600K $179	Nvidia RTX 4070 $539	Samsung 860 Evo 250GB $52

HDD	RAM	USB
Seagate Barracuda 1TB (2016) $39	Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 C16 2x8GB $40	SanDisk Extreme 64GB $72
WD Blue 1TB (2012) $37	Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 2x8GB $43	SanDisk Extreme 32GB $28
Seagate Barracuda 2TB (2016) $51	G.SKILL Trident Z DDR4 3200 C14 4x16GB $351	SanDisk Ultra Fit 32GB $16

MORE DETAILS

MORE DETAILS

CHOOSE A COMPONENT:

Group Test Results

UserBenchmark of the month

How it works

Frequently Asked Questions

Best User Rated

Feedback