CPU Showdown

Core i7-9700vsRyzen Threadripper 9980X

The Intel Core i7-9700 is a mainstream 8-core chip for everyday desktops and gaming, while the Ryzen Threadripper 9980X is a workstation monster with 64 cores built for heavy rendering and multitasking.

Intel Core i7-9700
8C / 8T · 65W
VS
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9980X
64C / 128T · 350W
Intel

Core i7-9700

Coffee Lake-R · 14 nm · 2019

8score
3.9/ 5
0 votes
Cores / Threads
8 / 8
TDP
65W
Boost Clock
4.7 GHz
L3 Cache
12 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 i7-9700
8
Ryzen Threadripper 9980XWinner
86
Ryzen Threadripper 9980X leads by 975.0% in aggregate performance.
Where they rank overall
#1EPYC 9755100
#2Ryzen Threadripper 9980X86
#3Ryzen Threadripper 7980X82
#318Core 5 221TE8
#319Core i7-97008
#320Core i7-9700F8
Technical Specifications

Side-by-Side Specs

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

SpecsCore i7-9700Ryzen Threadripper 9980X
Cores
Total Cores864
Threads8128
Base Clock3.0 GHz3.2 GHz
Boost Clock4.7 GHz5.4 GHz
Cache
L2 Cache2 MB64 MB
L3 Cache12 MB256 MB
Platform
MemoryDDR4DDR5
PCIePCIe 3.0PCIe 5.0
iGPUIntel UHD Graphics 630
Power
Base TDP65W350W
General
Process14 nm4 nm
Verdict

Which should you buy?

Winner overall

For raw multi-core work, the Ryzen Threadripper 9980X wins by a huge margin, leaving the Core i7-9700 far behind.

Best value

The Core i7-9700 is the smarter pick for budget buyers needing a simple, lower-power desktop CPU for everyday tasks.

When the other wins

The Core i7-9700 is right for a basic office PC where extreme multi-threading isn't needed and power draw matters.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Is the Core i7-9700 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 8 out of 100), so it leads the Core i7-9700 in most workloads.

How much faster is the Ryzen Threadripper 9980X than the Core i7-9700?

Based on our aggregated benchmark scores the Ryzen Threadripper 9980X is roughly 975% faster than the Core i7-9700 overall. The real-world gap varies by game, resolution and settings.

Which should you buy, the Core i7-9700 or the Ryzen Threadripper 9980X?

If you want the most performance, pick the Ryzen Threadripper 9980X. If the Core i7-9700 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.