Intel Core i9 12900K vs AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X
68
out of 100
VS
66
out of 100
We compared two desktop CPUs: the 3,2 GHz Intel Core i9 12900K with 16-cores against the 2.9 GHz AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X with 64-cores. On this page, you'll find out which processor has better performance in benchmarks, games and other useful information.
Review
Single-Core Performance
Performance in single-threaded apps and benchmarks
Multi-Core Performance
Measure performance when all cores are involved
Power Efficiency
The efficiency score of power consumption
The "iGPU" and "Power Efficiency" have a minor impact on the NanoReview Score for desktop CPU.
Choose your main usage scenario to recalculate the Final Score and see which CPU suits your needs.
Value for money (Beta)
Key Differences
Advantages of Intel Core i9 12900K
- 53% faster in a single-core Geekbench v6 test - 2633 vs 1724 points
- Newer - released 1 year and 10 months later
- Newer PCI Express version โ 5.0
- 19% higher Turbo Boost frequency (5.1 GHz vs 4.3 GHz)
- Includes an integrated GPU Intel UHD Graphics 770
Advantages of AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X
- Has 98 MB larger L3 cache size, helping fully utilize a high-end GPU in gaming
- Has 48 more physical cores
- Supports up to 256 GB DDR4-3200 RAM
- Supports quad-channel memory
- More modern manufacturing process โ 7 versus 10 nanometers
- Around 25.6 GB/s (33%) higher theoretical memory bandwidth
Test in Benchmarks
Comparing the performance of CPUs across various tasksCinebench
Cinebench 2024 (Single)
Cinebench 2024 (Multi)
Cinebench Scores (#63rd place)
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
| File compression | 1260 MB/sec | 1150 MB/sec |
| Clang compilation | 146.1 Klines/sec | 265.5 Klines/sec |
| HTML 5 Browser | 414.2 pages/sec | 369.7 pages/sec |
| PDF Renderer | 480.2 Mpixels/sec | 372 Mpixels/sec |
| Text processing | 273.2 pages/sec | 135.5 pages/sec |
| Background blur | 69.4 images/sec | 41.2 images/sec |
| Photo processing | 147.8 images/sec | 109.7 images/sec |
| Ray tracing | 34.4 Mpixels/sec | 87.7 Mpixels/sec |
PassMark
Passmark CPU (Single-Core)
Passmark CPU (Multi-Core)
| Integer math | 139.2 GOps/sec | 493.6 GOps/sec |
| Floating point math | 105.4 GOps/sec | 283 GOps/sec |
| Find prime numbers | 145M Primes/sec | 421M Primes/sec |
| Random string sorting | 57.1M Strings/sec | 186.5M Strings/sec |
| Data encryption | 29.5 GBytes/sec | 130.2 GBytes/sec |
| Data compression | 536.7 MBytes/sec | 1934.6 MBytes/sec |
| Physics | 2203 Frames/sec | 2946 Frames/sec |
| Extended instructions | 33.6B Matrices/sec | 116.4B Matrices/sec |
Blender
Blender CPU
Performance Per Watt
| Cinebench 2024 / Watt | 12.2 PPW | 15 PPW |
| Geekbench 6 Multi / Watt | 136 PPW | 58.8 PPW |
| Passmark CPU Mark / Watt | 328.9 PPW | 284.4 PPW |
| Blender / Watt | 2.93 PPW | 3.87 PPW |
These are rough calculations, as most CPUs surpass PL1 TDP wattage even in multicore workloads.
Recent User Tests
Intel Core i9 12900K
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| ๐ 2025-11-12 (ElNils) | Cinebench 2024 | 114 / 1497 |
| ๐ 2025-09-20 (Jarx) | Geekbench 6 CPU | 2811 / 18033 |
| ๐ 2025-05-24 (unsorted) | Cinebench 2024 | 109 / 1339 |
| ๐ 2025-04-03 (AdKraemer) | Cinebench 2024 | 113 / 1414 |
| ๐ 2025-03-20 (Lethal) | Cinebench 2024 | 116 / 1571 |
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X
No benchmark results yet
Specifications
Full technical specification of Intel Core i9 12900K and AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990XGeneral
| Vendor | Intel | Amd |
| Released | October 27, 2021 | January 10, 2020 |
| Type | Desktop | Desktop |
| Instruction Set | x86-64 | x86-64 |
| Codename | Alder Lake | - |
| Model number | i9-12900K | - |
| Integrated GPU | UHD Graphics 770 | No |
| Rival Equivalent | - AMD Ryzen 9 5950X | - |
| Successor | - Intel Core Ultra 9 285K | - |
Intel CPU rating (#53rd place)
AMD Ryzen CPU ranking (#44th place)
CPU
| P-Cores | 8 | 64 |
| P-Threads | 16 | 128 |
| Base Frequency (P) | 3,2 GHz | 2.9 GHz |
| Turbo Boost Frequency (P) | 5.1 GHz | 4.3 GHz |
| E-Cores | 8 | - |
| E-Threads | 8 | - |
| Base Frequency (E) | 2.4 GHz | - |
| Turbo Boost Frequency (E) | 3.9 GHz | - |
| Total Cores | 16 | 64 |
| Total Threads | 24 | 128 |
| Bus Frequency | 100 MHz | 100 MHz |
| Multiplier | 32x | 29x |
| L1 Cache | 64K (per core) | 64K (per core) |
| L2 Cache | 14MB (shared) | 512K (per core) |
| L3 Cache | 30MB (shared) | 128MB (shared) |
| Unlocked Multiplier | Yes | Yes |
Package
| Transistors | - | 30.4 billions |
| Fabrication Process | 10 nm | 7 nm |
| TDP (PL1) | 125 W | 280 W |
| Max. Boost TDP (PL2) | 241 W | - |
| Socket | LGA-1700 | sTRX4 |
| Peak Temperature | 100ยฐC | 95ยฐC |
Desktop CPU ranking (54th and 63rd place)
iGPU
| Integrated Graphics | Intel UHD Graphics 770 | - |
| GPU Base Clock | 300 MHz | - |
| GPU Boost Clock | 1550 MHz | - |
| Shading Units | 256 | - |
| TMUs | 16 | - |
| ROPs | 8 | - |
| Execution Units | 32 | - |
| TGP | 15 W | - |
iGPU FLOPS
Memory Support
| Memory Types | - DDR5-4800 - DDR4-3200 |
- DDR4-3200 |
| Max. Memory Size | 128 GB | 256 GB |
| Memory Channels | 2 | 4 |
| Max. Memory Bandwidth | 76.8 GB/s | 102.4 GB/s |
| ECC Support | Yes | Yes |
Misc
| Official Site | Intel Core i9 12900K official page | AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X official page |
| PCI Express Version | 5.0 | 4.0 |
| PCI Express Lanes | 20 | 64 |
Cast your vote
Total votes: 516
