AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X vs Intel Core i9-10920X Comparison

The comparison between the Intel Core i9-10920X and the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X presents a clear split: the AMD part dominates in Cinebench workloads, while the Intel part takes a decisive lead in Geekbench. The average benchmark scores are close, with the Intel chip at 6347 and the AMD chip at 6231, a difference of 1.9% in favor of Intel. Both processors occupy the 62nd percentile among all CPUs, indicating they are positioned at a similar overall performance tier despite their divergent architectural approaches.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most striking result in the head-to-head data is the Geekbench multicore test, where the Intel Core i9-10920X scores 11165 against the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X’s 7989. That is a 39.8% advantage for Intel, a massive margin that suggests the Intel processor handles this particular workload with significantly greater efficiency. The single-core Geekbench result is even more lopsided: Intel scores 1673 versus AMD’s 1183, a 41.4% lead. These are the two wins for Intel, and they are substantial ones.

However, the Cinebench suite tells a completely different story. Across all three versions of Cinebench (R15, R20, and R23), the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X wins every single test, both multicore and singlecore. The margins are remarkably consistent, hovering around 6.7% in every case. In Cinebench R23 multicore, AMD scores 23440 while Intel manages 21861, a 1579-point gap. The singlecore R23 result shows AMD at 3309 versus Intel’s 3086. The same pattern holds in R20: AMD leads 9844 to 9181 in multicore and 1389 to 1296 in singlecore. Even in the older R15 test, AMD wins 2362 to 2203 in multicore and 333 to 311 in singlecore. The delta of -6.7% for Intel is identical across all six Cinebench tests, indicating a consistent architectural efficiency difference in these rendering workloads.

The win count reflects this split: AMD takes 6 of the 8 head-to-head benchmarks, while Intel takes 2. Yet the magnitude of Intel’s Geekbench wins is far larger than the magnitude of AMD’s Cinebench wins. Intel’s 39.8% and 41.4% victories are roughly six times larger than AMD’s 6.7% margins. This creates an interesting analytical situation where the overall average score slightly favors Intel, but the majority of individual tests favor AMD.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X is the clear choice for Cinebench-style workloads, which are heavily threaded rendering tasks. Its 16 cores and 32 threads provide a raw core-count advantage over the Intel part’s 12 cores and 24 threads. Across every Cinebench iteration, AMD demonstrates a consistent edge of approximately 6.7%. This suggests that in applications that scale well with core count, the Threadripper 1950X will consistently outperform the Core i9-10920X. The fact that AMD wins both multicore and singlecore Cinebench tests is telling, as it indicates the Zen architecture is more efficient in this specific rendering engine regardless of thread utilization.

The Intel Core i9-10920X, on the other hand, wins decisively in Geekbench. The 39.8% multicore and 41.4% singlecore margins are not small advantages; they are dominant ones. This suggests that Geekbench’s workload profile, which often emphasizes memory latency, branch prediction, and certain integer and floating-point operations, strongly favors Intel’s Cascade Lake architecture. For users running Geekbench-like workloads, the Intel processor offers a vastly superior experience. The singlecore Geekbench result is particularly noteworthy because it shows Intel’s higher boost clock of 4.80 GHz versus AMD’s 4.00 GHz translates into a massive real-world performance gap in this test.

A practical use-case split emerges: for video rendering, 3D modeling, and other Cinebench-like tasks, the AMD Threadripper 1950X is the better performer. For general productivity, application responsiveness, and workloads modeled by Geekbench, the Intel Core i9-10920X is superior. The choice depends entirely on which benchmark suite better represents the user’s actual workload.

FAQ

Q: Which processor has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The Intel Core i9-10920X has an average benchmark score of 6347, while the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X has an average of 6231. That puts Intel 1.9% ahead on average.

Q: How large is Intel’s Geekbench multicore advantage?

A: Intel scores 11165 in Geekbench multicore versus AMD’s 7989, which represents a 39.8% lead for the Core i9-10920X.

Q: Does AMD win any singlecore tests?

A: Yes, AMD wins all three Cinebench singlecore tests. In Cinebench R23 singlecore, AMD scores 3309 against Intel’s 3086, a 6.7% advantage.

Q: What is the core and thread configuration for each processor?

A: The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X has 16 cores and 32 threads. The Intel Core i9-10920X has 12 cores and 24 threads.

Q: Which processor has a higher boost clock?

A: The Intel Core i9-10920X has a boost clock of 4.80 GHz, while the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X has a boost clock of 4.00 GHz.

Q: How many total benchmark wins does each processor have in the head-to-head comparison?

A: AMD wins 6 of the 8 head-to-head benchmarks, while Intel wins the remaining 2.

Specification Differences

The two processors differ in several fundamental specifications. The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X uses 16 cores and 32 threads, while the Intel Core i9-10920X uses 12 cores and 24 threads. The base clock for Intel is 3.50 GHz, slightly higher than AMD’s 3.40 GHz. The boost clocks differ more substantially, with Intel at 4.80 GHz and AMD at 4.00 GHz. Thermal design power also differs: Intel is rated at 165 watts, while AMD is rated at 180 watts.

The cache layouts are notably different. Intel uses 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 1 MB of L2 cache per core, and 19.25 MB of shared L3 cache. AMD uses 96 KB of L1 cache per core, 512 KB of L2 cache per core, and 32 MB of L3 cache. The memory bus is quad-channel for both, but AMD specifies a memory bandwidth of 85.3 GB/s, while Intel does not list a bandwidth figure.

The socket types are incompatible: Intel uses Socket 2066, while AMD uses Socket SP3r2. The process node is 14 nm for both, but the foundry differs, with Intel using Intel and AMD using GlobalFoundries. The AMD processor lists a transistor count of 9,600 million and a die size of 2x 213 mm², while Intel does not provide these figures. The release dates differ significantly, with AMD launching on 2017-08-09 and Intel on 2019-10-18. The AMD part has a launch MSRP of $999. Both processors have unlocked multipliers, and neither supports ECC memory.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two processors is substantial. The Intel Core i9-10920X uses the Cascade Lake architecture, specifically the Cascade Lake-X variant, part of the Core 10th Gen X-Series family. It is built on a 14 nm process at Intel’s foundry. The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X uses the original Zen architecture, codenamed Whitehaven, from the Ryzen Threadripper 1000 series. It is also built on a 14 nm process, but at GlobalFoundries.

The AMD processor’s die design is a dual-die configuration, with a total die size of 2x 213 mm² and 9,600 million transistors. This is a fundamentally different physical layout from Intel’s monolithic design, though Intel does not list die size or transistor counts for comparison. The cache structure reflects different design philosophies: AMD allocates more L1 cache per core (96 KB versus 64 KB) and more total L3 cache (32 MB versus 19.25 MB), while Intel allocates more L2 cache per core (1 MB versus 512 KB).

The memory bandwidth figure for AMD is listed at 85.3 GB/s, which is a meaningful specification that Intel does not provide. Both support DDR4 memory with a quad-channel bus, but the lack of a bandwidth figure for Intel makes a direct comparison incomplete. The PCIe support also differs in the data: Intel lists PCIe Gen 3, while AMD does not specify a PCIe generation.

Architecturally, the Zen design in the Threadripper 1950X relies on a modular approach with multiple dies, which was a departure from Intel’s monolithic Cascade Lake design. The Intel architecture emphasizes higher clock speeds, as evidenced by the 4.80 GHz boost clock versus AMD’s 4.00 GHz. This clock advantage likely explains Intel’s massive Geekbench singlecore lead. Conversely, AMD’s higher core count and larger L3 cache likely contribute to its consistent Cinebench wins. The 6.7% Cinebench margin for AMD, despite Intel’s higher clocks, suggests that the Zen architecture’s core throughput in rendering workloads is superior. Meanwhile, Intel’s 41.4% Geekbench singlecore advantage suggests that Cascade Lake’s per-core execution efficiency, when combined with higher clocks, is far ahead in other types of workloads.