AMD Ryzen 9 3950X

Intel may still have the edge in gaming, but if you’re going AMD – especially now that Threadripper starts at $1399 – the Ryzen 9 3900X and 3950X processors are unbeatable right now for workstation-class performance on a budget. It really is staggering just how good the Ryzen 9 3950X is for the money, even at $749.

The Ryzen 9 3950X is a performance champ, going toe-to-toe with HEDT processors that should be in a different league. It may take a bit to keep cool, but if you follow AMD's guidance, you'll end up with a processor that takes on gaming and multi-core...

For users who want the best without going to the high-end desktop, the Ryzen 9 3950X has the best overall score out of all the chips we’ve ever tested. If you thought the 3900X didn't have enough power, the 3950X is your answer.

If you thought AMD was done upending the processor market in 2019, hold its drink: The Ryzen 9 3950X redefines what a CPU under $800 can do in multitasking, gaming, and content creation.

But we don't think those chips will change the landscape much, the Ryzen 9 3950X just has too much to offer at a much lower overall cost. A capable X570 motherboard doesn't come cheap, but you gain access to the PCIe 4.0 interface as a nice bonus. Budget in a beefy cooler to assure enthusiast-class performance from your chip, and AMD's Ryzen 9 3950X is truly in a class of its own.

AMD continues to bring excitement and new-found levels of performance and value to the PC. The Ryzen 9 3950X is an attractive processor from any angle and we wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone considering a flagship PC at this time. If you're a mega-tasker or regularly run applications that will benefit from its 16-cores and 32 threads, this is the processor to own right now.

The 18-core Intel Core i9-10980XE is out soon, as are AMD's own 24- and 32-core 3rd Gen Threadripper processors, but if our benchmarks are anything to go by, Ryzen 9 3950X ought to put up a good fight. Recommended for the power user who is already invested in the AMD AM4 ecosystem.

The AMD Ryzen 9 3950X 16-core, 32-thread processor is a beast and changes what one can expect from a typical mainstream desktop platform.

The Ryzen 9 3950X not only performs better than the higher core count competitor in many regards, but also excels at gaming unlike any other AMD CPU.

AMD has stuck a big stick into the mainstream CPU market pool and given it a big stir, and anyone running an older and/or Ryzen 5 or Ryzen 3 AM4 CPU now has a very clear and attractive upgrade path - the Ryzen 9 3950X is over four times as fast as the Ryzen 5 2400G in Cinebench R20. Our only criticism is that the box doesn't really do justice to the monster that lurks inside.

If you are building a high-end DIY PC, and are in need of a seriously proper performing streaming, content creating and/or gaming processor at a fair budget, well yes, at 749 I really can't say it's not a lot of money, but heck the value certainly is...