CPU Showdown

Core Ultra 7 265vsRyzen Threadripper 9980X

The Core Ultra 7 265 is a sensible, energy-efficient desktop chip for mainstream users and gamers, while the Ryzen Threadripper 9980X is a colossal workstation processor aimed at professionals who need extreme multi-threaded grunt.

Intel Core Ultra 7 265
20C / 20T · 65W
VS
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9980X
64C / 128T · 350W
Intel

Core Ultra 7 265

Arrow Lake-S · 3 nm · 2025

30score
4/ 5
0 votes
Cores / Threads
20 / 20
TDP
65W
Boost Clock
5.3 GHz
L3 Cache
30 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 Ultra 7 265
30
Ryzen Threadripper 9980XWinner
86
Ryzen Threadripper 9980X leads by 186.7% in aggregate performance.
Where they rank overall
#1EPYC 9755100
#2Ryzen Threadripper 9980X86
#3Ryzen Threadripper 7980X82
#33Ryzen 9 7900X3D30
#34Core Ultra 7 26530
#35Core Ultra 7 265F30
Technical Specifications

Side-by-Side Specs

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

SpecsCore Ultra 7 265Ryzen Threadripper 9980X
Cores
Total Cores2064
Threads20128
Base Clock2.4 GHz3.2 GHz
Boost Clock5.3 GHz5.4 GHz
Cache
L2 Cache60 MB64 MB
L3 Cache30 MB256 MB
Platform
PCIePCIe 5.0 and 4.0PCIe 5.0
iGPUIntel® Graphics
Power
Base TDP65W350W
General
Process3 nm4 nm
Verdict

Which should you buy?

Winner overall

The Ryzen Threadripper 9980X wins for raw multi-core work, but the Core Ultra 7 265 is the better choice for most desktop users who don't need extreme thread counts.

Best value

For budget-minded buyers, the Core Ultra 7 265 offers far more practical performance per watt and dollar than the power-hungry Threadripper.

When the other wins

The Threadripper 9980X is the right pick when you're building a workstation for massive parallel tasks like video rendering or scientific simulations, where its many cores matter.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Is the Core Ultra 7 265 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 30 out of 100), so it leads the Core Ultra 7 265 in most workloads.

How much faster is the Ryzen Threadripper 9980X than the Core Ultra 7 265?

Based on our aggregated benchmark scores the Ryzen Threadripper 9980X is roughly 187% faster than the Core Ultra 7 265 overall. The real-world gap varies by game, resolution and settings.

Which should you buy, the Core Ultra 7 265 or the Ryzen Threadripper 9980X?

If you want the most performance, pick the Ryzen Threadripper 9980X. If the Core Ultra 7 265 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.