AMD Ryzen 9 5950X Zen 3 CPU Review

1. Ryzen 9 5950X - the Zen 3 Flagship2. Zen 3 Architecture and Changes3. Operating Frequencies & Overclocking4. Testing Methodology5. CPU Tests: Cinebench R206. CPU Tests: Blender and V-Ray Rendering7. CPU Tests: 7-Zip Compression & Decompression8. CPU Tests: Handbrake H264 & H2659. Memory Tests: Memory Bandwidth and Latency10. Gaming: 3DMark Time Spy11. Gaming: F1 202012. Gaming: Grand Theft Auto V13. Gaming: Metro Exodus14. Gaming: Red Dead Redemption 215. Gaming: Shadow of the Tomb Raider16. Gaming: The Division 217. Technical: Power Draw, Efficiency, Temperatures18. Value: Cinebench Performance per £19. Closing Thoughts20. View All Pages

We will be outlining the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X CPU's performance while using X570 motherboards from ASUS and Gigabyte with the latest AGESA – 1.1.0.0 – BIOS version. A 32GB (2x16GB) kit of 3600MHz CL16 DDR4 memory serves our test system.

Today's comparison processors come in the form of:

• Comet Lake Core i9-10900K (10C20T).
• Matisse ‘Zen 2' Ryzen 9 3900XT (12C24T) and Ryzen 9 3950X (16C32T).
• Vermeer ‘Zen 3' Ryzen 9 5900X (12C24T) and Ryzen 9 5950X (16C32T).

Each processor is tested at its default out-of-the-box settings. For the Intel CPUs, unlimited turbo duration as set by the motherboard with XMP enabled is the operating mode. All-core load frequencies for the tested chips are as follows:

• Core i9-10900K = 4.9GHz.
• Ryzen 9 3900XT = around 4.05GHz.
• Ryzen 9 3950X = around 3.875GHz.
• Ryzen 9 5900X = around 4.3-4.4GHz.
• Ryzen 9 5950X = around 3.85-4.0GHz.

CPU Test System Components:

• Graphics Card: Gigabyte RTX 3080 Eagle OC.
• Memory: 32GB (2x16GB) Corsair Vengeance LPX 3600MHz 16-18-18-36 DDR4 @ 1.35V.
• CPU Cooler: Fractal Celsius+ S28 Prisma 280mm AIO at full pump and fan speed
• OS SSD: WD_Black SN750 NVMe SSD.
• Games SSD: Aorus 2TB PCIe Gen 4 M.2 SSD.
• Power Supply: Seasonic Prime TX-1000.
• Chassis: Lian Li T60 Open Air Test Bench.
• Operating System: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit.

• AM4 Motherboards: ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Hero & Gigabyte X570 Aorus Master.
• Z490 Motherboard: MSI MEG Z490 ACE.

Tests:

Productivity-related:

• Cinebench R20 – All-core & single-core CPU benchmark (CPU)
• Blender 2.90 – All-core rendering of the Classroom benchmark (CPU)
• V-Ray Render Benchmark – All-core CPU render benchmark test (CPU)
• HandBrake H264 – Convert 1440p60 H264 video to 1080p60 H264 using the YouTube HQ 1080p60 preset (CPU)
• HandBrake H265 – Convert 4K30 100Mbps H264 video to 1080p30 40Mbps H265 using the H.265 MKV 1080p30 preset (CPU & Memory)
• 7-Zip – Built-in 7-Zip benchmark test (CPU & Memory)
• SiSoft Sandra – Memory bandwidth and Cache & Memory Latency Test (Memory)
• AIDA64 – Memory bandwidth & memory latency (Memory)

Gaming-related:

• F1 2020 – 1920 x 1080 & 2560 x 1440, Ultra High quality preset with TAA, DX12
• Grand Theft Auto V – 1920 x 1080 & 2560 x 1440, Maximum quality settings, no AA, DX11
• Metro Exodus – 1920 x 1080 & 2560 x 1440, Ultra quality preset, PhysX and Hairworks off, DX12
• Red Dead Redemption 2 – 1920 x 1080 & 2560 x 1440, High settings manually applied, DX12
• Shadow of the Tomb Raider – 1920 x 1080 & 2560 x 1440, Highest quality preset, no AA, DX12
• Tom Clancy's The Division 2 – 1920 x 1080 & 2560 x 1440, Ultra quality preset, no AA, DX12

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