With the release of the new Intel Core i7 9700k vs Ryzen 7 3700x battle, a few weeks ago, the high end CPUs are again the centre of attention with good reason. The new generation of CPUs are powerful and efficient. But what is more important to most customers is not the raw power of a CPU, but more about what the customer is going to get for his money.
AMD’s comeback in the CPU market is well underway, thanks to the surprisingly capable performance of its latest CPUs. However, the company’s comeback has prompted Intel to speed up its own CPU development plans. The new Intel i7 9700k promises to be a powerful CPU that can go head to head with AMD’s latest CPUs.
However, how does it stack up against AMD’s top-tier chips? Let’s find out.
Contents
Intel Core i7 9700k vs Ryzen 7 3700x Comparison
Critic Reviews
“For the enthusiasts among us who have some breathing room in their budgets, Core i7-9700K is a much smarter choice for gaming than the pricey Core i9-9900K. It serves up similar performance at a significantly lower price. It’s no slouch in heavier…”by Tom’s Hardware
Critic Reviews
“The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X is another impressive release from AMD and its 3rd Generation of Ryzen chips. You’re getting 8-cores and 16-threads, with a boost clock of 4.4GHz. On paper, that’s not the most impressive chip ever made, but when you see the actual…”by TechRadar
Specifications
Full technical specification of Intel Core i7 9700K and AMD Ryzen 7 3700X. We compared two 8-core desktop CPUs: the 3.6 GHz Intel Core i7 9700K against the 3.6 GHz AMD Ryzen 7 3700X.
General
| Vendor | Intel | AMD |
| Released | October 8, 2018 | July 7, 2019 |
| Launch price | 385 USD | 329 USD |
| Type | Desktop | Desktop |
| Codename | Coffee Lake | Zen 2 |
| Model number | i7-9700K | – |
| Socket | LGA-1151 | AM4 |
| Integrated GPU | Intel UHD Graphics 630 | No |
Performance
| Cores | 8 | 8 |
| Threads | 8 | 16 |
| Base Frequency | 3.6 GHz | 3.6 GHz |
| Turbo Boost Frequency | 4.9 GHz | 4.4 GHz |
| Bus frequency | 100 MHz | 100 MHz |
| Multiplier | 36x | 36x |
| Bus Bandwidth | 8 GT/s | – |
| L1 Cache | 64K (per core) | 64K (per core) |
| L2 Cache | 256K (per core) | 512K (per core) |
| L3 Cache | 12MB (shared) | 32MB (shared) |
| Unlocked Multiplier | Yes | Yes |
Power
| Transistors | – | 19.2 billions |
| Fabrication process | 14 nm | 7 nm |
| TDP | 95 W | 65 W |
| Max. temperature | 100°C | 95°C |
Memory support
| Memory types | DDR4-2666 | DDR4-3200 |
| Memory Size | 128 GB | 128 GB |
| Max. Memory Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Max. Memory Bandwidth | 41.6 GB/s | 47.68 GB/s |
| ECC Support | No | Yes |
Misc
| Official site | Intel Core i7 9700K official page | AMD Ryzen 7 3700X official page |
| PCI Express Version | 3.0 | 4.0 |
| PCI Express Lanes | 16 | 20 |
| Instruction Set | SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX-2 | – |
Ryzen 7 3700x Features
The Ryzen 7 3700X is one of AMD’s 3rd generation Ryzen chips built on a 7nm manufacturing node, boasting eight cores and 16 threads. The Octa-Core processor handles 3.6GHz on the base clock and a staggering 4.4GHz on the boost clock. The Ryzen 3700X’s 7nm chip bags more than 19.2bn transistors make sure to offer an excellent gaming performance.
It also features the Wraith PRISM cooler, with RGB lighting to ensure low temperatures and higher performance for your system. Its impressive 65watt TDP provides to offer maximum performance lower power consumption.
The Ryzen 7 3700X also packs more L2 and L3 cache, 4MB and 32MB, making a total of 36MB of Cache that boosts the gaming performance of the processor, especially in older 1080p esports games. It also features the DDR4-3200 memory type with 128GB memory size and ECC support.
Intel Core i7 9700k Features
The Core i7 9700k is Intel’s 9th generation of Coffee Lake Core i7s that features 8 Cores and eight threads on a 14nm process node. The i7 9700k surprisingly does not feature hyper-threading, but despite the surprise, this excellent Coffee Lake i7 also surprises you with its superb single-core performance. This Octa-Core processor boasts up to 3.6GHz on base clock and a staggering 4.9GHz on turbo boost.
The i7-9700k features thermal design power of 95 watts, with a maximum temperature of up to 100C. One thing that I like about this processor is that it comes with an integrated graphics card, i.e. Intel UHD Graphics 630, which makes sure to offer excellent gaming performance.
Intel may have dropped the hyper-threading, but its turbo boost clock and single-core performance make it one of the best processor out there. Unlike the AMD processors, the Intel Core i7 9700k does not come with a stock cooler, so you would need to buy a cooler if you’re planning on overclocking your processor. The i7 9700k features the DDR4-2666 memory type with 128GB memory size and no ECC Support.
The Differences between Ryzen 7 3700X and Intel Core i7-9700k
The main difference between Ryzen 7 3700x and Intel i7 9700k is the processor speed. i7-9700k does not feature hyper-threading than 3700X, which is quite surprising, but then, its single-core performance leaves the 3700X quite behind. Both the processors feature 8-cores but the 3700X features 16 threads as compared to Intel’s eight threads.
The i7-9700K overtakes the 3700X in turbo boost frequency featuring a staggering 4.9GHz. But then, the 3700X surpasses the i7 in L2 and L3 Cache, boasting 4MB and 32MB respectively compared to Intel’s 2MB and 12MB.
The Ryzen chip is built on a 7nm process node and features a Thermal Design Power of 65W, while the i7-9700k is built on a 14nm process node and features a TDP of 95 watts. The Ryzen chip features PCI 4.0 with 20 Express Lanes, while the Intel chip features PCI 3.0 and 16 Express Lanes. As you can see, the competition is quite challenging; both the processors are overtaking each other in different features, but in the end, it all comes down to the performance of these processors.
The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X features a higher RAM speed, i.e. 3200MHz, compared to Intel’s 2666MHZ. The Ryzen 7 is better in almost everything, but the only thing that stands out for the i7 is gaming. The i7 chip overtakes the Ryzen 7 in gaming because of its integrated GPU and excellent single-core performance, even though it lacks hyperthreading. The i7 edges the Ryzen 7 in gaming performance and holds a difference of about 5%-10% on 1080p and 1440p.
Conclusion:
If you’re a gaming enthusiast and an overclocker, Intel’s i7-9700k is the perfect way to go, but if you’re going after overall value, then go for the Ryzen 7 3700X. The Ryzen chip is ideal for streaming, video editing and other stuff, while the i7-9700k is best for gaming, photo editing, Office applications, and other heavy stuff.
To sound even more straightforward, the 3700X is a well-balanced processor that promises to handle every kind of workload quite well, but if you’re into gaming and want the best gaming processor for your system, then the i7 chip is the best choice for you.
8 Reasons to pick the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X:
- Slightly better average single-core performance, around 4%.
- Slightly better single-core effective value.
- Much better average multithreading performance, around 32%.
- Slightly better workstation effective value.
- Newer Product, it was released around 8 months later.
- Around 32% lower thermal design power.
- 8 more threads.
- Includes CPU Cooler.
Reasons to pick the Intel Core i7-9700K:
- Higher Max Turbo Clock Frequency (+500MHz).
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