AMD Ryzen 5 7600X vs Intel Core i9-9900K Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data presents a surprisingly lopsided contest. Out of the head-to-head comparisons recorded, the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X takes 15 wins, while the Intel Core i9-9900K manages only 2. The average benchmark scores reflect this overall gap: the AMD part scores 27,636 against the Intel part's 27,097, a modest 2.0% advantage in aggregate. However, the individual test deltas tell a much more dramatic story than the average suggests.

The single largest margin comes from the PassMark find prime numbers test. Here, the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X scores 205 against the Intel Core i9-9900K's 47, a staggering 336.2% advantage. This is a workload that is highly sensitive to per-core instruction throughput, and the Zen 4 architecture simply overwhelms the older Coffee Lake design. Similarly, the PassMark data encryption test shows the AMD part at 18,543 versus 6,430, a 188.4% difference. The Ryzen 5 7600X more than triples the Intel processor's score in this cryptographic workload.

The PassMark physics test is another standout, with the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X scoring 1,824 against 934 for the Intel Core i9-9900K, a 95.3% lead. This near-doubling of performance is notable because physics workloads often scale with thread count, and the Intel part actually has more cores and threads. The Intel Core i9-9900K has 8 cores and 16 threads, while the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X has 6 cores and 12 threads, yet the AMD processor still wins decisively in this test.

Multi-threaded synthetic workloads also favor the AMD chip. In PassMark multithread, the Ryzen 5 7600X scores 28,390 against 18,153, a 56.4% advantage. The GeekBench multicore test shows 13,858 versus 9,276, a 49.4% lead. The Cinebench R15 multicore test shows 2,517 against 1,545, a 62.9% advantage. The pattern is consistent: even when the Intel part has more physical cores, the AMD part's architectural efficiency and higher clock speeds close the gap and then some.

Single-threaded performance is where the gap becomes most apparent in raw terms. The PassMark single thread test shows the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X at 4,135 versus 2,919 for the Intel Core i9-9900K, a 41.7% lead. GeekBench single core shows 2,603 versus 1,681, a 54.8% advantage. Cinebench R15 single core shows 314 versus 217, a 44.7% lead. The Ryzen 5 7600X's 5.30 GHz boost clock against the Intel part's 5.00 GHz, combined with the Zen 4 instruction pipeline, creates a substantial per-thread performance advantage.

The Intel Core i9-9900K does secure two wins, both in Cinebench R23. In the multicore version, the Intel part scores 15,333 against 15,236, a 0.6% margin. In the single-core version, Intel scores 2,164 against 1,965, a 9.2% advantage. These are narrow victories, and the R23 single-core win is the only single-threaded test where Intel beats AMD in the recorded data. Still, it represents a real data point: in this specific rendering workload, the older Intel architecture retains an edge.

The closest contest among AMD's wins is PassMark random string sorting, where the Ryzen 5 7600X scores 37,726 against 36,238, a 4.1% margin. This suggests the memory subsystem and cache hierarchy differences matter less in this workload, or that the Intel part's larger L3 cache per core compensates somewhat. The PassMark data compression test shows a 12.1% lead for AMD, with scores of 317,862 versus 283,506.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X is the clear choice for workloads that emphasize instruction throughput per clock. The PassMark integer math test shows 84,749 versus 66,134, a 28.1% advantage. Floating-point math shows 51,025 against 41,036, a 24.3% lead. Extended instructions show 24,216 versus 18,965, a 27.7% advantage. These are the building blocks of general-purpose computing, and the AMD part simply executes more work per cycle.

For cryptographic workloads, the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X dominates entirely. The PassMark data encryption test shows a 188.4% advantage, and data compression shows a 12.12.1% lead, and data encryption shows 18,543 versus 6,430. The Ryzen 5 7600X also wins the PassMark find prime numbers test with a 336.2% lead and the PassMark physics test with a 95.3% advantage. If the workload involves cryptography, the data indicates the AMD part is the safer bet by a wide margin.

The Intel Core i9-9900K wins in the specific Cinebench R23 rendering workload. The R23 multicore score of 15,333 against 15,236, a 0.6% margin, and the R23 single-core score of 2,164 against 1,965, a 9.2% advantage. This indicates that in rendering workloads that resemble Cinebench R23's particular mix, the Intel part remains competitive, and in single-core rendering, it holds a narrow but real lead.

The Intel Core i9-9900K also retains the core count advantage with 8 cores and 16 threads, which matters in workloads where the benchmark data shows the AMD part's efficiency cannot fully compensate. However, the recorded benchmarks show that in most multi-threaded tests, the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X wins anyway, so the Intel part's core advantage only translates to a win in Cinebench R23 multicore, and only by 0.6%.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X is built on the Zen 4 architecture, codenamed Raphael, and belongs to the 7000 series. It is fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC and contains 6,570 million transistors on a 71 mm² die. The Intel Core i9-9900K uses the Coffee Lake architecture, specifically Coffee Lake-R, fabricated on Intel's 14 nm process with a 180.3 mm² die size. The process node difference is significant: 5 nm versus 14 nm accounts for much of the efficiency and clock speed differences.

The transistor count difference is also notable. The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X contains 6,570 million transistors, while the Intel Core i9-9900K has no recorded transistor count in the database. The die sizes tell a contrasting story: the AMD part is much smaller at 71 mm², while the Intel part is 180.3 mm². The smaller die with more transistors indicates the density advantage of the 5 nm process.

Cache hierarchies differ substantially. Both parts have 64 KB of L1 cache per core. The L2 cache differs: the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X has 1 MB per core, while the Intel Core i9-9900K has 256 KB per core. The L3 cache also differs: the AMD part has 32 MB shared, while the Intel part has 16 MB shared. The AMD part has twice the L3 cache and four times the L2 cache per core.

Memory support differs completely. The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus and a recorded memory bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s. The Intel Core i9-9900K supports DDR4 memory, also dual-channel, with a recorded memory bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s. The AMD part's memory bandwidth is nearly double that of the Intel part. ECC memory support is present on the AMD part but not on the Intel part.

The PCIe interfaces differ. The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X supports PCIe Gen 5 with 24 lanes from the CPU. The Intel Core i9-9900K supports PCIe Gen 3 with 16 lanes from the CPU. This affects expansion options and bandwidth for GPUs and storage. The sockets are incompatible: the AMD part uses AMD Socket AM5, while the Intel part uses Intel Socket 1151.

Integrated graphics differ. The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X includes Radeon Graphics, while the Intel Core i9-9900K includes UHD Graphics 630. Both are desktop market segment parts with unlocked multipliers. The AMD part has a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. The Intel part has a base clock of 3.60 GHz and boost clock of 5.00 GHz. The TDP ratings are 105 W for the AMD part and 95 W for the Intel part.

The production status differs as well. The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X is active and was released on 2022-09-26. The Intel Core i9-9900K is end-of-life and was released on 2018-10-18. The part numbers are 100-000000593 for AMD and SRG19SRELS Intel.

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X has a launch MSRP of $299. The Intel Core i9-9900K has a launch MSRP of $488.

FAQ

Q: Which processor wins more head-to-head benchmarks?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X wins 15 of the recorded head-to-head comparisons, while the Intel Core i9-9900K wins 2.

Q: What is the largest performance gap between the two?

A: The PassMark find prime numbers test shows the largest gap, with the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X scoring 205 against the Intel Core i9-9900K's 47, a 336.2% advantage for AMD.

Q: Does the Intel Core i9-9900K win any benchmarks?

A: Yes, the Intel Core i9-9900K wins Cinebench R23 multicore with a score of 15,333 against 15,236, a 0.6% margin, and Cinebench R23 single-core with a score of 2,164 against 1,965, a 9.2% margin.

Q: How do their average benchmark scores compare?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X has an average benchmark score of 27,636, while the Intel Core i9-9900K has an average benchmark score of 27,097. Both parts have a percentile ranking of 79 among all CPUs.

Q: What are the core and thread counts?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X has 6 cores and 12 threads. The Intel Core i9-9900K has 8 cores and 16 threads.

Q: How does memory bandwidth compare?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X supports DDR5 with a recorded memory bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s. The Intel Core i9-9900K supports DDR4 with a recorded memory bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s.

Specification Differences

The two processors differ across nearly every core specification. The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X has 6 cores and 12 threads, while the Intel Core i9-9900K has 8 cores and 16 threads. The base clocks are 4.70 GHz for the AMD part and 3.60 GHz for the Intel part. The boost clocks are 5.30 GHz versus 5.00 GHz. The TDP is 105 W for the AMD part and 95 W for the Intel part.

The sockets are different: AMD Socket AM5 versus Intel Socket 1151. The process nodes are 5 nm from TSMC for the AMD part and 14 nm from Intel for the Intel part. The die sizes are 71 mm² for the AMD part and 180.3 mm² for the Intel part. The transistor count is 6,570 million for the AMD part and not recorded for the Intel part.

Cache configurations differ. L1 cache is 64 KB per core for both. L2 cache is 1 MB per core for the AMD part and 256 KB per core for the Intel part. L3 cache is 32 MB shared for the AMD part and 16 MB shared for the Intel part.

Memory support differs: DDR5 for the AMD part and DDR4 for the Intel part. Memory bandwidth is 83.2 GB/s versus 42.7 GB/s. ECC memory is supported on the AMD part but not on the Intel part. PCIe support is Gen 5 with 24 lanes on the AMD part and Gen 3 with 16 lanes on the Intel part.

Integrated graphics differ: Radeon Graphics on the AMD part and UHD Graphics 630 on the Intel part. The production status is active for the AMD part and end-of-life for the Intel part. The release dates are 2022-09-26 for the AMD part and 2018-10-18 for the Intel part. The launch MSRP is $299 for the AMD part and $488 for the Intel part.