AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X vs Intel Core 3 N355 Comparison

The recorded data paints an unusually lopsided picture: a 15-watt mobile chip from Intel set against a 64-core desktop workstation flagship from AMD. Both sit at the 68th percentile versus all CPUs in the database and post remarkably similar average benchmark scores, 13492 for the Core 3 N355 and 12786 for the Threadripper 3990X, but those aggregate figures conceal a massive gap in every direct confrontation. The head-to-head record is a clean sweep for AMD, six wins to zero.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

Every shared test favors the Threadripper 3990X, and not by small margins. In Cinebench R23 multi-core, the 3990X scores 68124 against 5262 for the Core 3 N355, a 92.3 percent gap that reflects the raw difference between 128 threads and 8. Cinebench R20 multi-core tells the same story: 28612 versus 3612, an 87.4 percent delta. Even the older R15 multi-core run lands at 6866 against 822, an 88 percent advantage for AMD.

The more revealing numbers are the single-core results, because clock-for-clock they expose the frequency disparity between the two designs. The 3990X boosts to 4.30 GHz against the N355's 3.90 GHz, and it shows: R23 single-core stands at 9617 versus 1039 (89.2 percent), R20 single-core at 4039 versus 509 (87.4 percent), and R15 single-core at 969 versus 168 (82.7 percent). A multi-core blowout was guaranteed by the core counts, but the 3990X also wins every lightly threaded scenario in the shared suite.

The database adds context from each part's own test set. The 3990X scales from 695 in 3DMark single-thread to 18441 at max threads, passing 9975 at 16 threads and 5182 at 8 threads, which shows its scaling curve still climbing steeply well beyond the N355's total thread count. The N355's Passmark results, including 10174 in multithread and 2153 in single-thread, are consistent with an efficient small-die part rather than a performance contender here.

Architecture Differences

These two CPUs come from opposite ends of the market. The Core 3 N355 is a Twin Lake mobile processor on Intel's 10 nm node, with 8 cores and 8 threads, no hyperthreading, a 1.90 GHz base clock and a 3.90 GHz boost, all inside a 15 W TDP on the BGA 1264 socket. Its cache hierarchy is modest: 96 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of shared L2, and 6 MB of shared L3.

The Threadripper 3990X is a Castle Peak workstation part built on TSMC's 7 nm process, packing 64 cores and 128 threads across a multi-die package with a reported die size of 8x 74 mm² and 30,400 million transistors. It carries 64 KB of L1 per core, 512 KB of L2 per core, and a 256 MB pool of L3. Its base clock of 2.90 GHz rises to 4.30 GHz under boost, within a 280 W TDP on the TRX4 socket.

Platform capabilities diverge just as sharply. The 3990X offers 64 PCIe Gen 4 lanes and quad-channel DDR4 with 102.4 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The N355 provides 9 PCIe Gen 3 lanes and a single-channel memory bus, though a flexible one, supporting DDR4, DDR5, and LPDDR5 at 38.4 GB/s. The N355 integrates UHD Graphics 770; the 3990X has no integrated graphics at all and requires a discrete GPU. The 3990X ships with an unlocked multiplier; the N355 does not. Both lack ECC support, and both remain in active production.

Where Each One Wins

The Threadripper 3990X wins every contested benchmark in the database, so the split here is about use case rather than test results. For sustained multi-threaded rendering, simulation, and any workload that scales across dozens of threads, the data is unambiguous: 13 times the multi-core throughput in R23, and a scaling curve that was still climbing at 16 threads (9975) and max threads (18441) in 3DMark. Its 256 MB of L3 and 102.4 GB/s of quad-channel bandwidth back that class of work.

The Core 3 N355 wins nothing on performance, but its profile fits a different envelope entirely. At 15 W in a soldered BGA package with integrated UHD Graphics 770, it is built for compact mobile systems where the 3990X's 280 W TDP, TRX4 socket, and mandatory discrete GPU are simply not viable. Its Passmark single-thread score of 2153 is serviceable for everyday responsive tasks, and its nearest rivals in the database, the Core i3-12100F, Core i5-9500, Core 5 120UL, and Core i7-1250U, all within roughly one percent of its average score, confirm it competes in the mainstream desktop-and-mobile bracket rather than the workstation tier.

FAQ

Q: Does the Threadripper 3990X win in single-core tests as well as multi-core?

A: Yes. It leads every shared benchmark, including single-core: 9617 versus 1039 in Cinebench R23 (89.2 percent), 4039 versus 509 in R20 (87.4 percent), and 969 versus 168 in R15 (82.7 percent).

Q: How large is the multi-core gap in Cinebench R23?

A: The 3990X scores 68124 against the N355's 5262, a 92.3 percent delta, the widest gap in the shared suite.

Q: Why do both CPUs show the same 68th percentile if one is so much faster?

A: The percentile is computed against all CPUs in the database using average benchmark scores of 13492 (N355) and 12786 (3990X). Different test mixes weight the averages differently, so the percentile does not reflect their direct head-to-head results.

Q: Do either of these processors support ECC memory?

A: No. Both the Core 3 N355 and the Threadripper 3990X list ECC support as false in the database.

Q: Which chip needs a discrete graphics card?

A: The Threadripper 3990X, which has no integrated graphics. The Core 3 N355 includes Intel UHD Graphics 770.

Q: What was the launch MSRP of the Threadripper 3990X?

A: Its launch MSRP was $3990.

Specification Differences

| Field | Intel Core 3 N355 | AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X |

|---|---|---|

| Market segment | Mobile | Desktop |

| Architecture | Twin Lake | Zen 2 (Castle Peak) |

| Process node | 10 nm (Intel) | 7 nm (TSMC) |

| Cores / Threads | 8 / 8 | 64 / 128 |

| Base clock | 1.90 GHz | 2.90 GHz |

| Boost clock | 3.90 GHz | 4.30 GHz |

| TDP | 15 W | 280 W |

| Socket | Intel BGA 1264 | AMD Socket TRX4 |

| L1 cache | 96 KB per core | 64 KB per core |

| L2 cache | 2 MB shared | 512 KB per core |

| L3 cache | 6 MB shared | 256 MB |

| Transistors | not recorded | 30,400 million |

| Die size | not recorded | 8x 74 mm² |

| Memory support | DDR4, DDR5, LPDDR5 | DDR4 |

| Memory bus | Single-channel | Quad-channel |

| Memory bandwidth | 38.4 GB/s | 102.4 GB/s |

| PCIe | Gen 3, 9 lanes | Gen 4, 64 lanes |

| Integrated graphics | UHD Graphics 770 | None |

| Multiplier unlocked | No | Yes |

| Release date | 2025-01-06 | 2020-02-06 |

| Launch MSRP | not recorded | $3990 |

The bottom line from the recorded data: the Threadripper 3990X swept all six head-to-head tests with deltas between 82.7 and 92.3 percent, while the Core 3 N355 exists in a power and form-factor class the 3990X cannot enter. The database treats them as near-equals on aggregate percentile, but as direct competitors they are not in the same conversation.