CPU Showdown

Core i5-7500vsRyzen Threadripper 9980X

The Intel Core i5-7500 is a basic quad-core chip for everyday office work and light browsing, while the Ryzen Threadripper 9980X is a massive 64-core workstation beast built for heavy rendering and multitasking.

Intel Core i5-7500
4C / 4T · 65W
VS
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9980X
64C / 128T · 350W
Intel

Core i5-7500

Kaby Lake · 14 nm · 2017

4score
3.9/ 5
0 votes
Cores / Threads
4 / 4
TDP
65W
Boost Clock
3.8 GHz
L3 Cache
6 MB

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AMD

Ryzen Threadripper 9980X

Shimada Peak · 4 nm · 2025

86score
3.9/ 5
0 votes
Cores / Threads
64 / 128
TDP
350W
Boost Clock
5.4 GHz
L3 Cache
256 MB

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Aggregate Performance

Overall Performance Score

A unified score from combined synthetic and real-world benchmarks. 100 represents the fastest desktop CPU available.

Core i5-7500
4
Ryzen Threadripper 9980XWinner
86
Ryzen Threadripper 9980X leads by 2050.0% in aggregate performance.
Where they rank overall
#1EPYC 9755100
#2Ryzen Threadripper 9980X86
#3Ryzen Threadripper 7980X82
#450Core i3-81004
#451Core i5-75004
#452Ryzen 3 2200GE4
Technical Specifications

Side-by-Side Specs

Every detail compared. Highlighted cells indicate the leading value for that metric.

SpecsCore i5-7500Ryzen Threadripper 9980X
Cores
Total Cores464
Threads4128
Base Clock3.4 GHz3.2 GHz
Boost Clock3.8 GHz5.4 GHz
Cache
L2 Cache1 MB64 MB
L3 Cache6 MB256 MB
Platform
MemoryDDR3DDR5
PCIePCIe 3.0PCIe 5.0
iGPUIntel HD Graphics 630
Power
Base TDP65W350W
General
Process14 nm4 nm
Verdict

Which should you buy?

Winner overall

The Ryzen Threadripper 9980X wins decisively for heavy workloads, while the Core i5-7500 is only suitable for basic office tasks.

Best value

Budget buyers should pick the Core i5-7500 for cheap, low-power builds, but the Threadripper 9980X offers vastly more performance for demanding users.

When the other wins

The Core i5-7500 is the right choice for a silent, energy-efficient home PC that only runs light web browsing and document editing.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Is the Core i5-7500 better than the Ryzen Threadripper 9980X?

Overall the Ryzen Threadripper 9980X is the stronger processor: it ranks higher in our aggregate performance score (86 vs 4 out of 100), so it leads the Core i5-7500 in most workloads.

How much faster is the Ryzen Threadripper 9980X than the Core i5-7500?

Based on our aggregated benchmark scores the Ryzen Threadripper 9980X is roughly 2050% faster than the Core i5-7500 overall. The real-world gap varies by game, resolution and settings.

Which should you buy, the Core i5-7500 or the Ryzen Threadripper 9980X?

If you want the most performance, pick the Ryzen Threadripper 9980X. If the Core i5-7500 is meaningfully cheaper where you shop, it can be the better value for similar real-world results — check current prices and the full spec comparison above before deciding.