Core i7-9700K vs Ryzen 9 4900HS

CPU

GPU

Core i7-9700K

8 Cores8 Thrd95 WWMax: 4.9 GHz2018

Popular choices:

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Ryzen 9 4900HS

8 Cores16 Thrd35 WWMax: 4.3 GHz2020

Popular choices:

•••••••••

Performance Spectrum - CPU

Core i7-9700K

8 / 8

14,397

0.0%

18,793

+30.5%

Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5975WX

Ryzen Threadripper 9960X

About PassMark

PassMark CPU Mark evaluates processor speed through complex mathematical computations. It provides a reliable metric to compare multi-core performance, where higher scores indicate faster processing for multitasking, gaming, and heavy workloads.

Head-to-Head Verdict, Benchmarks, Value & Long-Term Outlook

This comparison brings together gaming FPS, productivity performance, platform differences, power efficiency, pricing context, and upgrade path so you can see which CPU actually makes more sense.

Core i7-9700K

2018

Why buy it

✅+50% larger total L3 cache (12 MB vs 8 MB).
✅100% more PCIe lanes (16 vs 8) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 9 4900HS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower PassMark (14,397 vs 18,793).
❌Launch MSRP is still $385 MSRP, while Ryzen 9 4900HS mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.
❌171.4% higher power demand at 95W vs 35W.

Ryzen 9 4900HS

2020

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +8.3% higher average FPS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Draws 35W instead of 95W, a 60W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Smaller total L3 cache (8 MB vs 12 MB).

Core i7-9700K

2018

Ryzen 9 4900HS

2020

Why buy it

✅+50% larger total L3 cache (12 MB vs 8 MB).
✅100% more PCIe lanes (16 vs 8) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +8.3% higher average FPS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Draws 35W instead of 95W, a 60W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 9 4900HS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower PassMark (14,397 vs 18,793).
❌Launch MSRP is still $385 MSRP, while Ryzen 9 4900HS mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.
❌171.4% higher power demand at 95W vs 35W.

Trade-offs

❌Smaller total L3 cache (8 MB vs 12 MB).

Quick Answers

So, is Ryzen 9 4900HS better than Core i7-9700K?

Yes. Ryzen 9 4900HS is the better overall CPU here. You are getting a 8.3% average FPS lead across 4 shared CPU game tests in our data, 30.5% better PassMark, and the stronger long-term platform, which makes it the stronger all-around choice.

Which one is better for gaming?

If gaming is the priority, Ryzen 9 4900HS is the better pick here. According to our tests, it delivers 8.3% more average FPS across 4 shared CPU game tests.

Which one is better for streaming, content creation, and heavy multitasking?

For streaming, content creation, and heavier multitasking, Ryzen 9 4900HS is the better fit. You are getting 30.5% better PassMark, backed by 8 cores and 16 threads.

Which one is the smarter buy today, not just the cheaper CPU?

Ryzen 9 4900HS is the smarter buy by a wide margin for a fresh build. Ryzen 9 4900HS is at an unclear MSRP at unclear MSRP versus $385 MSRP, and it gives you a 8.3% average FPS lead across 4 shared CPU game tests in our data. Core i7-9700K only looks stronger on raw value math because it is extremely cheap, but that is mostly used-market pricing on an obsolete 2018 platform. Even with 100.0% better value on paper (37.4 vs 0.0 PassMark/$), it really only makes sense as a very cheap stopgap or a niche existing-platform option for someone already on LGA1151.

Which one is more future-proof for 2026 and beyond?

Ryzen 9 4900HS is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2020 vs 2018) and more multi-core headroom with 8 cores / 16 threads instead of 8/8. That extra compute headroom should age better as games, background tasks, and creator workloads get heavier.

Games Benchmarks

Paired with RTX 4090

To accurately isolate CPU performance, all benchmarks below use an NVIDIA RTX 4090 as the reference GPU. This eliminates GPU-side bottlenecks and highlights pure processing throughput differences between the CPUs.

Note: Real-world results may vary based on your actual GPU. CPU performance impact is more visible in processing-intensive titles and high-refresh-rate gaming scenarios.

Core i7-9700K Benchmark Check

Ryzen 9 4900HS Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Core i7-9700K	Ryzen 9 4900HS
1080p
low	308 FPS	173 FPS
medium	278 FPS	141 FPS
high	231 FPS	112 FPS
ultra	182 FPS	92 FPS
1440p
low	270 FPS	149 FPS
medium	221 FPS	119 FPS
high	178 FPS	95 FPS
ultra	143 FPS	77 FPS
4K
low	170 FPS	81 FPS
medium	140 FPS	70 FPS
high	108 FPS	55 FPS
ultra	95 FPS	43 FPS

Open Core i7-9700K Open Ryzen 9 4900HS

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Core i7-9700K	Ryzen 9 4900HS
1080p
low	360 FPS	353 FPS
medium	321 FPS	293 FPS
high	291 FPS	258 FPS
ultra	259 FPS	225 FPS
1440p
low	324 FPS	303 FPS
medium	282 FPS	260 FPS
high	258 FPS	233 FPS
ultra	225 FPS	198 FPS
4K
low	249 FPS	246 FPS
medium	221 FPS	218 FPS
high	208 FPS	197 FPS
ultra	179 FPS	171 FPS

Open Core i7-9700K Open Ryzen 9 4900HS

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Core i7-9700K	Ryzen 9 4900HS
1080p
low	360 FPS	470 FPS
medium	360 FPS	470 FPS
high	360 FPS	470 FPS
ultra	360 FPS	470 FPS
1440p
low	360 FPS	470 FPS
medium	360 FPS	470 FPS
high	360 FPS	468 FPS
ultra	360 FPS	415 FPS
4K
low	360 FPS	461 FPS
medium	360 FPS	391 FPS
high	360 FPS	343 FPS
ultra	318 FPS	281 FPS

Open Core i7-9700K Open Ryzen 9 4900HS

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Core i7-9700K	Ryzen 9 4900HS
1080p
low	360 FPS	470 FPS
medium	360 FPS	470 FPS
high	360 FPS	470 FPS
ultra	360 FPS	470 FPS
1440p
low	360 FPS	470 FPS
medium	360 FPS	470 FPS
high	360 FPS	470 FPS
ultra	360 FPS	429 FPS
4K
low	360 FPS	458 FPS
medium	360 FPS	415 FPS
high	360 FPS	363 FPS
ultra	360 FPS	310 FPS

Open Core i7-9700K Open Ryzen 9 4900HS

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Core i7-9700K and Ryzen 9 4900HS

Core i7-9700K

The Core i7-9700K is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 19 October 2018 (7 years ago). It is based on the Coffee Lake-R (2018−2019) architecture. It features 8 cores and 8 threads. Base frequency is 3.6 GHz, with boost up to 4.9 GHz. L3 cache: 12 MB (total). L2 cache: 256K (per core). Built on 14 nm process technology. Socket: LGA1151. Thermal design power (TDP): 95 Watt. Memory support: DDR4. Passmark benchmark score: 14,397 points. Launch price was $374.

Ryzen 9 4900HS

The Ryzen 9 4900HS is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 7 March 2020 (5 years ago). It is based on the Renoir (Zen 2) (2020) architecture. It features 8 cores and 16 threads. Base frequency is 3 GHz, with boost up to 4.3 GHz. L3 cache: 8 MB (total). L2 cache: 512 kB (per core). Built on 7 nm process technology. Socket: FP6. Thermal design power (TDP): 35 Watt. Memory support: DDR4-4266. Passmark benchmark score: 18,793 points. Launch price was $299.

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Processing Power

The Core i7-9700K packs 8 cores / 8 threads, matching the Ryzen 9 4900HS's 8 cores. Boost clocks reach 4.9 GHz on the Core i7-9700K versus 4.3 GHz on the Ryzen 9 4900HS — a 13% clock advantage for the Core i7-9700K (base: 3.6 GHz vs 3 GHz). The Core i7-9700K uses the Coffee Lake-R (2018−2019) architecture (14 nm), while the Ryzen 9 4900HS uses Renoir (Zen 2) (2020) (7 nm). In PassMark, the Core i7-9700K scores 14,397 against the Ryzen 9 4900HS's 18,793 — a 26.5% lead for the Ryzen 9 4900HS. L3 cache: 12 MB (total) on the Core i7-9700K vs 8 MB (total) on the Ryzen 9 4900HS.

Feature	Core i7-9700K	Ryzen 9 4900HS
Cores / Threads	8 / 8	8 / 16
Boost Clock	4.9 GHz+14%	4.3 GHz
Base Clock	3.6 GHz+20%	3 GHz
L3 Cache	12 MB (total)+50%	8 MB (total)
L2 Cache	256K (per core)	512 kB (per core)+100%
Process	14 nm	7 nm-50%
Architecture	Coffee Lake-R (2018−2019)	Renoir (Zen 2) (2020)
PassMark	14,397	18,793+31%

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Memory & Platform

The Core i7-9700K uses the LGA1151 socket (PCIe 3.0), while the Ryzen 9 4900HS uses FP6 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Both support up to DDR4-2666 memory speed. The Core i7-9700K supports up to 128 GB of RAM compared to 64 GB — 66.7% more capacity for professional workloads. Both feature 2-channel memory with ECC support. PCIe lanes: 16 (Core i7-9700K) vs 8 (Ryzen 9 4900HS) — the Core i7-9700K offers 8 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives.

Feature	Core i7-9700K	Ryzen 9 4900HS
Socket	LGA1151	FP6
PCIe Generation	PCIe 3.0	PCIe 3.0
Max RAM Speed	DDR4-2666	LPDDR4-4266
Max RAM Capacity	128 GB+100%	64 GB
RAM Channels	2	2
ECC Support	No	No
PCIe Lanes	16+100%	8

🔧

Advanced Features

Only the Core i7-9700K has an unlocked multiplier for overclocking — a significant advantage for enthusiasts seeking extra performance. Virtualization support: VT-x, VT-d (Core i7-9700K) vs AMD-V (Ryzen 9 4900HS). Both include integrated graphics — UHD Graphics 630 (Core i7-9700K) and Vega 8 (Ryzen 9 4900HS) — useful as a fallback for troubleshooting or display output without a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Core i7-9700K targets Desktop, Ryzen 9 4900HS targets Mobile High-End.