AMD Ryzen 7 4700GE vs Intel Core i7-6950X Comparison

The AMD Ryzen 7 4700GE and Intel Core i7-6950X represent two very different philosophies separated by four years of silicon evolution. The data shows that the 35W AMD part, built on TSMC's 7nm process, dominates the 140W Intel processor across every Cinebench iteration, despite the Intel chip offering two additional cores and 25MB of shared L3 cache. The benchmark results are unambiguous: the Ryzen 7 4700GE wins all six head-to-head comparisons, with a consistent 12% advantage in multi-threaded workloads and an 11.8-12.1% edge in single-threaded tests.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most striking outcome is the multi-core sweep. In Cinebench R15 multicore, the Ryzen 7 4700GE scores 1685 against the Core i7-6950X's 1504, a 12% victory despite the Intel chip's 10-core/20-thread configuration versus AMD's 8-core/16-thread layout. The pattern repeats in Cinebench R20, where the 4700GE posts 7023 versus 6268, and in Cinebench R23, where it reaches 16722 versus 14926. Each of those multi-core deltas sits at exactly 12%, indicating a consistent architectural efficiency gap rather than a workload-specific quirk.

Single-core performance tells a similar story, with the margins being slightly larger in relative terms. The 4700GE's 237 in Cinebench R15 single-core beats the i7-6950X's 212 by 11.8%. In Cinebench R20, the gap widens to 12.1%, with scores of 991 and 884 respectively. The R23 single-core test shows 2360 for the AMD part versus 2107 for Intel, another 12% delta. This consistency across three generations of Cinebench suggests the Zen 2 architecture's IPC advantage is the primary driver, not just clock speed.

The average benchmark score reinforces the picture: the 4700GE averages 4836 across its benchmark suite, while the i7-6950X averages 4734. Both processors land at the 59th percentile among all CPUs, placing them in the same performance tier overall. However, the nearest rival data contextualizes these numbers differently. The 4700GE sits within 0.9% of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 4750G (4879) and is 0.2% ahead of the Ryzen 7 5800HS (4827). The i7-6950X, meanwhile, is 0.1% behind the Intel Core i9-9900KS (4738) and 0.5% ahead of the Core i9-10900E (4708). The data indicates that while both CPUs occupy similar percentile ranks, the AMD part achieves that standing with half the core count and a quarter of the TDP.

FAQ

Q: Which processor wins in multi-threaded Cinebench tests?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 4700GE wins all three multi-core Cinebench tests (R15, R20, R23), beating the Intel Core i7-6950X by exactly 12% in each case.

Q: Does the Intel Core i7-6950X have more cores?

A: Yes, the i7-6950X has 10 cores and 20 threads, while the Ryzen 7 4700GE has 8 cores and 16 threads.

Q: What is the largest single-core performance gap between the two?

A: The largest single-core delta is 12.1% in Cinebench R20, where the 4700GE scores 991 versus the i7-6950X's 884.

Q: How do these CPUs compare to their nearest rivals?

A: The 4700GE is 0.2% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800HS and 0.9% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 4750G. The i7-6950X is 0.1% behind the Intel Core i9-9900KS and 0.5% ahead of the Intel Core i9-10900E.

Q: Are both processors in the same performance percentile?

A: Yes, both the Ryzen 7 4700GE and Core i7-6950X rank at the 59th percentile among all CPUs.

Q: What is the average benchmark score difference?

A: The Ryzen 7 4700GE averages 4836, which is 102 points higher than the i7-6950X's 4734 average.

Where Each One Wins

The Ryzen 7 4700GE wins every benchmark category in this comparison, making the use-case split heavily one-sided. Its advantages are most pronounced in single-threaded workloads, where the 11.8-12.1% deltas indicate superior per-core performance. This makes the 4700GE the better choice for applications that rely heavily on single-thread responsiveness, such as legacy software, certain scripting workloads, and lightly-threaded productivity tasks. The 12% multi-core advantage also means the AMD part handles heavily threaded workloads like 3D rendering and video encoding more effectively, despite having two fewer physical cores.

The Intel Core i7-6950X does retain some theoretical advantages not captured in the benchmark scores. Its quad-channel memory bus provides 76.8 GB/s of bandwidth versus the 4700GE's dual-channel 51.2 GB/s, which could benefit certain memory-bandwidth-sensitive applications. The Intel chip also offers 40 PCIe Gen 3 lanes from the CPU, compared to AMD's Gen 3 implementation with fewer lanes. For users with multiple GPUs or heavy NVMe expansion, the i7-6950X's platform-level I/O capabilities remain relevant. Additionally, the Intel processor has 25MB of shared L3 cache versus 8MB on the AMD part, which can help in specific cache-resident workloads.

The production status also separates these chips for system builders. The 4700GE is listed as Active, meaning it remains a current product. The i7-6950X is End-of-life, indicating it is no longer in production. For new builds, the AMD part is the viable option; the Intel chip would only be relevant for upgrading existing Socket 2011-3 platforms.

Specification Differences

The core and thread counts differ significantly: the i7-6950X offers 10 cores and 20 threads, while the 4700GE provides 8 cores and 16 threads. Base clocks are close at 3.00 GHz for Intel and 3.10 GHz for AMD, but boost clocks diverge sharply — the 4700GE reaches 4.30 GHz, while the i7-6950X tops out at 3.50 GHz. TDP is the most dramatic specification gap: the AMD part draws 35W, while the Intel chip consumes 140W.

Cache hierarchies are structured differently. Both share 64KB of L1 cache per core, but the L2 cache differs: the 4700GE has 512KB per core, while the i7-6950X has 256KB per core. L3 cache totals 8MB on the AMD chip and 25MB shared on the Intel chip. Memory support is DDR4 for both, but the memory bus differs — dual-channel on AMD versus quad-channel on Intel — resulting in 51.2 GB/s versus 76.8 GB/s of memory bandwidth. Neither supports ECC memory.

The socket and platform requirements are entirely different: the 4700GE uses AMD Socket AM4, while the i7-6950X uses Intel Socket 2011-3. Both have unlocked multipliers. The 4700GE includes integrated Radeon Vega 8 graphics, while the i7-6950X has no integrated graphics. The Intel processor's PCIe configuration is listed as Gen 3 with 40 lanes from the CPU, while the AMD part supports PCIe Gen 3 without a specific lane count. Release dates are also far apart: July 2020 for the AMD part versus May 2016 for the Intel chip.

Architecture Differences

The Ryzen 7 4700GE is built on AMD's Zen 2 architecture, codenamed Renoir, and belongs to the 4000 series Ryzen 7 generation. It uses a 7nm process node manufactured by TSMC, packing 9,800 million transistors into a 156 mm² die. The Intel Core i7-6950X uses the Broadwell architecture, specifically Broadwell-E, part of the Core i7 Extreme generation. It is fabricated on Intel's 14nm process, with 3,400 million transistors on a 246 mm² die. The transistor density difference is stark: the AMD chip crams nearly three times as many transistors into a substantially smaller die.

The manufacturing process explains much of the performance-per-watt gap. The 7nm node allows the 4700GE to deliver higher boost clocks (4.30 GHz) while maintaining a 35W TDP, compared to the 14nm i7-6950X's 3.50 GHz boost at 140W. The Zen 2 architecture brings a modern design with higher IPC, which is reflected in the consistent 12% benchmark advantage across all multi-threaded tests and 11.8-12.1% in single-threaded tests.

The Intel Broadwell-E architecture, while older, offers certain structural advantages. Its 25MB shared L3 cache is more than three times larger than the 4700GE's 8MB, and the quad-channel memory controller provides higher theoretical bandwidth. The 40 PCIe lanes represent a more expansive I/O configuration. However, the architecture lacks the per-core efficiency of Zen 2, and its higher TDP requires more substantial cooling solutions. The 4700GE integrates Radeon Vega 8 graphics, a feature entirely absent from the i7-6950X, which requires a discrete GPU for any display output. The AMD part also has a smaller L2 cache per core (512KB versus 256KB), which contributes to its superior single-thread performance in the benchmark results.