15 specifications

Intel Core i7-6850K vs AMD FX-6300

On paper, the Intel Core i7-6850K carries more L3 cache. Specifications describe what each chip is designed to do; how much of that either one holds under continuous load is a separate question.

10 specifications · 3 with a higher side

Full specifications

Intel Core i7-6850K

Intel · Core 6th generation · Desktop

Full specifications

AMD FX-6300

AMD · FX (Vishera) · Desktop

Cores and clocks

Cores

Threads

Base clock

3.6 GHz

3.5 GHz

Boost clock

3.8 GHz

Cache and power

L3 cache

15 MB

8 MB

TDP

140 W

95 W

Platform

Socket

FCLGA2011

AM3+

Process

14 nm

32 nm

Integrated graphics

Not verified

Launched

Q2'16 (quarter)

Not verified

A check marks the higher figure only on rows where higher is unambiguously better. Rows without one are not ties; they are specifications where “better” has no meaning.

Reading the table

What the difference means.

Cores and threads

The Core i7-6850K has 6 cores and 12 threads against 6 and 6. More threads help with work that can be split into many pieces at once: rendering, compiling, video export, running several heavy programs together. They do little for work that runs on a few threads, which includes most games and most everyday software, where the speed of one core decides the result.

Cache

The Core i7-6850K carries 15 MB of L3 cache against 8 MB. Cache is fast memory on the chip, and a larger one means the cores wait on main memory less often. Games, large spreadsheets and compiling respond to it; rendering and video export, which stream through data in order, respond much less.

Power and cooling

The Core i7-6850K is rated at 140 W against 95 W. The rating is the heat the cooler has to move for the chip to hold its speed, and modern chips draw well above it in short bursts. A tower cooler or a liquid loop suits the Core i7-6850K; the FX-6300 is easier to keep quiet and fits smaller cases. A chip whose cooling falls short does not fail. It slows down, and it does so after the first minute, which is why short benchmarks miss it.

Platform

They use different sockets, FCLGA2011 and AM3+, so moving from one to the other means a new motherboard. For an upgrade, that cost belongs in the comparison; for a new build, the newer platform is the one with later chips still to come.

Manufacturing process

The Core i7-6850K is built on a 14 nm process against 32 nm. A finer process generally does the same work for less power. The names are marketing labels rather than measurements, though, and they are not comparable between manufacturers, so treat the row as a sign of how recent the design is and no more.

Which to pick, on paper

Rendering, compiling, video export: Core i7-6850K; 12 threads against 6. Work that uses every thread scales with how many there are.
A quiet or compact build: FX-6300; 95 W against 140 W: less heat to move, so a smaller cooler and slower fans.

What no table says

How much of its speed a processor keeps after the first minute depends on the cooling and the power limit of the machine it is in. If you own one of these, measure it: the test is free and runs in this browser.

Free CPU stress test

Questions

Is the Core i7-6850K better than the FX-6300?: By need, on the specifications: rendering, compiling, video export: the Core i7-6850K; a quiet or compact build: the FX-6300. No specification says how much speed either one keeps under a long load; that depends on the cooling and the power limit of the machine it is in, and it is what a sustained test measures.
Do the Core i7-6850K and the FX-6300 use the same socket?: No. The Core i7-6850K uses FCLGA2011 and the FX-6300 uses AM3+, so switching means a new motherboard.
Which runs hotter, the Core i7-6850K or the FX-6300?: The Core i7-6850K is rated at 140 W against 95 W, so it produces more heat under load and needs the larger cooler. How hot either one actually runs depends on the cooler and the case more than on the chip.

More comparisons

Every figure on this table is a design target. None of it is a measurement.

Nothing above describes how a processor behaves twenty minutes into a sustained workload, which is where two chips with nearly identical specifications routinely diverge. A boost clock is a ceiling the vendor permits, not a rate the chip sustains, and whether it holds depends on the cooling, the case, the power profile and the room. None of those appear on a specification sheet.

We deliberately do not reduce these figures to a single score. A composite invented from specifications would look authoritative and measure nothing, and choosing the weights would be choosing the winner.

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