AMD Ryzen 9 5950X Review

The Ryzen 9 5950X is one of AMD's enthusiast Desktop processors. It was released in 2020 with 16 cores and 32 threads. With base clock at 3.7GHz, max speed at 4.9GHz, and a 105W power rating. The Ryzen 9 5950X is based on the Vermeer 7nm family and is part of the Ryzen 9 series.

Ryzen 9 5950X is also the successor of AMD's last gen Ryzen 9 3950X processor that was based on the Zen 2 and 7nm process and was released in 2019.

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X marks yet another blast from Team AMD, ramping up the intensity of the AMD vs Intel processor war. Still, though, there’s more than just core counts when it comes to a mainstream processor, as single-core performance needs to be on point, especially if you’re hoping to play the best PC games.

Now, we're asking ourselves whether or not the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X finally dethrones the Core i9-10900K as the de facto ruler of the mainstream processors. Ultimately, it depends: the Ryzen 9 5950X doesn't reach the same single-core performance as Intel, but we're starting to see more games adopt multi-threaded CPUs, so that doesn't matter as much.

Increased IPC improvements, along with the massive turbo boost of 4.9GHz mean that even in single core performance – long a weak link of AMD’s processors – comes within reaching distance of rival chips.

One thing that the switch to 7nm silicon has allowed for however, is an increase in cache size. AMD is now describing its L3 and L2 cache in a combined spec of 16 x 512 kB and 64. But, because the 7nm CPU cores are contained within their own chiplets, AMD was able to pack much more in – with a whopping 16 x 512 kB and 64. This is a really big deal, as it allows for much faster performance, especially when you’re shooting for high framerates in 1080p games, and will be especially effective in old esports titles like Counter Strike: Global Offensive.

Finally, the shrink down to 7nm allows for much better energy efficiency. Because of the Zen 3 architecture, AMD Ryzen 9 4 Generation processors like the Ryzen 9 5950X and Ryzen 9 5900X should be up to 58% more efficient than comparable Intel processors. This isn’t the most noteworthy feature here, but, hey, it should translate to lower electricity bills, and in today’s economy every little bit helps, right?

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X is an absolute behemoth of a processor, as it absolutely should be with its 16 cores, 32 threads and high price tag. If you’re looking for the absolute best processor money can buy on a mainstream processor, then look no further. Whether you’re playing PC games or even doing hardcore video and 3D work, the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X can handle them with ease.

However, you should be aware that there are some workloads where the Core i9-10900K will still perform a little better. Old games that are completely single threaded, like World of Warcraft, will still run better on an Intel processor – but that gap is definitely starting to narrow.

Over the last couple years, AMD has been reaching for dominance in the desktop CPU world, and with the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, it's finally there.

AMD's Zen 3 series has landed, upping the ante with Intel in its high-stakes game for desktop PC market dominance with a well-rounded lineup of new chips that push mainstream platforms to higher core counts and more raw compute than we've ever seen. As a result, Intel's commanding presence in the enthusiast space is threatened in a way we haven't seen in over a decade.

But we've also found that, after simple push-button overclocking, the Ryzen 9 5900X offers similar performance to the Ryzen 9 5950X, even when it is also overclocked. But for $70 less. The Ryzen 9 5950X is an impressive chip and offers a better mixture of performance than Intel's Core i9-10900K, no doubt, but in this case, value seekers might opt for its less expensive sibling.

As we've seen, gaming remains an advantage for Intel, so if squeezing out every last frame is all you care about, Intel's processors are a good choice. Much of that performance advantage will be less noticeable when gaming at higher resolutions, or if you pair the processors with a lesser graphics card.

Value seekers who aren't afraid to press the Precision Boost Overdrive button and have sufficient cooling should look to the Ryzen 9 5900X for roughly equivalent performance to the Ryzen 9 5950X, particularly if gaming factors heavily into the buying decision. That could save you money, reinforcing our decision to give the Ryzen 9 5900X an Editor's Choice award.

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X was rolled out on Oct 2020 for $710, which puts it in the same general price range as the last-generation Ryzen 9 3950X. This means that at least we're not seeing any considerable price jumps from generation to generation.

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, like the rest of AMD's Vermeer processors, is built on a 7nm manufacturing node – the smallest in a commercially available CPU. What this means for most people is lower power consumption and much improved performance at the same time.

What this all means is that the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X is an absolute beast when it comes to multi-threaded workloads, especially at this price point. If you're counting on doing some video editing or compiling one hell of an Excel spreadsheet, you're going to see firsthand a performance boost with the Ryzen 9 5950X.

Bear in mind, however, that if you already have something like the Ryzen 9 3950X, this generation doesn't offer the biggest boost in performance. You might want to wait another year or so before dropping a few hundred bucks, or even opt to splurge on a higher-end but pricier chip.

AMD has been having some trouble as of late which has made it even harder to compete with the incoming wave of Core i9 processors. That has forced the chip maker to be a little more creative and make do with their current product lines. Today we have the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X on hand, which in itself isn’t anything new. It’s basically a refreshed Ryzen 9 3950X with a clock speed boost. We say basically because it’s not a straight refresh however, there’s another change.

If you're mostly playing games on your PC, you will be happy buying either processor. Both proved to be solid options and are evenly matched with a slight advantage to the Intel chip if you don't tune up the Core i9 processor. The base performance we showed for the Ryzen 9 5950X can be achieved with $90 memory, while the Core i9-10900K will require $110 - $120 memory in order to enable the frame rates shown here. It’s not a big cost difference and right now with anything less than an RTX 2070 or Vega 64 you’ll more than likely become GPU limited.

Today we’ll be taking a closer look at the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X 16-core desktop processor that was released in Oct 2020. AMD offers the Ryzen 9 5950X without integrated graphics. It runs $710 shipped and is ideal for those that plan on using it a system with a dedicated graphics card.

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X seems to be a decent performing chip that is readily available for $710 at your favorite retailer. The main competition for this processor is the Core i9-10900K 10-Core unlocked desktop processor with Intel UHD Graphics 630 graphics ($488 shipped).

Now the biggest question is can AMD’s Ryzen 9 processor play games? The answer is simply yes as it got a respectable gaming score of 95% in our benchmarks.

Regardless of those external factors, the Ryzen 9 5950X proves it has the chops to be your main gaming system and a just as effective media creation platform – two things that are becoming intrinsically connected in this age of live-streaming, eSports and uploading gameplay videos.

The Ryzen 9 5950X clocks up to 4.9Ghz just as it promises on the box, and with AMD’s software you can take one of the cores all the way up to 5GHz. However, don’t expect to get much beyond that without seriously upgrading your cooling solution and manually tweaking voltages behind the operating system level.

That said, to squeeze out all the potential of this surprisingly potent enthusiast chip, you’ll want (and need) to splurge on an enthusiast-grade B550, X470, X570 motherboard.

Fresh from a successful roll-out of mainstream Ryzen 9 CPUs, AMD's attack on Intel now extends down into the enthusiast with its Ryzen 9 5950X processors, which the company is making available as of Oct 2020.

Right out of the gate, Ryzen 9 should sell for $710, going up against Intel's almost-$488 Core i9-10900K. In threaded workloads, the 16-core Ryzen 9 should enjoy an advantage against Intel's 10-core models. Of course, AMD doesn't give you integrated graphics like Intel does, but for enthusiasts building cheap gaming PCs, it isn't much of a draw anyway.

Like all other Vermeer chips, the Ryzen 9-series CPUs drop into any Socket AM4 motherboard. But most will find a home on boards equipped with the B450 chipset, which has provisions for overclocking and offers plenty of connectivity options. Unlike Intel, AMD plans to utilize its current socket until 2023, so upgrading to future models shouldn't require a new motherboard.