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AMD Ryzen 9 3950X

Overview

Pros & Cons

Reviews

Similar To

Price: $750

AMD has delivered a "mainstream" AM4 part that can rival and outcompete the best high-end desktop CPUs Intel has to offer. We’re seriously impressed with what the 3950X offers at $750. It’s an exceptionally good option for anyone after a powerful 16-core processor.
-- As reviewed by TechSpot
  • AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
  • AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
92

TechSpot Metascore

Based on 14 expert reviews
  • Excellent:
    13
  • Good:
    1
  • Average:
    0
  • Bad:
    0
  • Read Pros & Cons
  • See all reviews
  • Price:
  • $750
Last revision on December 10, 2019

Editors Liked

  • Fastest prosumer CPU on the market
  • Compatible with most Socket AM4 motherboards
  • Completely unparalleled power efficiency
  • Native PCIe Gen 4.0

Editors Didn't Like

  • Overkill for PC gamers
  • High price
  • Doesn't always catch coffee lake in ST workloads
  • Extra PCIe lanes and quad-channel memory can benefit HEDT competitors

Direct Competitors and Related Products

  • 84

    Intel Core i9 9900KS

  • 91

    AMD Ryzen 9 3900X

  • 87

    Intel Core i9 9900K

  • 86

    Intel Core i7 9700K

  • 89

    AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX

  • 88

    AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX

  • 92

    AMD Ryzen 7 3800X

Expert reviews and ratings

By TechSpot on November 14, 2019 90

AMD has delivered a "mainstream" AM4 part that can rival and outcompete the best high-end desktop CPUs Intel has to offer. We’re seriously impressed with what the 3950X offers at $750. It’s an exceptionally good option for anyone after a powerful 16-core processor.

By AnandTech on November 14, 2019 90

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.

By PCMag on November 14, 2019 90

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.

By TomsHardware on November 14, 2019 90

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.

By HotHardware on November 14, 2019 90

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.

By Hexus on November 14, 2019 90

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.

By LegitReviews on November 14, 2019 90

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.

By TweakTown on November 14, 2019 95

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.

By Bit-Tech on November 14, 2019 100

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.

By Kitguru.net on November 14, 2019 90

With the Ryzen 9 3950X, AMD has delivered a high-performance 16-core processor to the cost-effective, mainstream AM4 platform. And in doing so, AMD positions itself well to compete against Intel's current and upcoming HEDT lines.You get out-of-the-box...

By Guru of 3D on November 14, 2019 100

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...

By Good Gear Guide on November 15, 2019

While that may seem like the most unorthodox way to start a review of AMD's new 16-core Ryzen 9 3950X, anybody expecting a different outcome at this point was just fooling themselves.Most rational people can admit that the game was essentially over once...

By ExtremeTech on November 14, 2019

For $750, the Ryzen 9 3950X is an unbeatable CPU. While it’s true that Intel’s 18-core Core i9-9980XE retains a reasonable number of test wins, compare the 2950X with the 3950X to see just how much AMD has improved performance year-on-year. Twelve months ago, the 2950X wasn’t taking any tests off the Core i9-9980XE — the combination of two additional CPU cores and Intel’s higher overall IPC was a barrier second-generation Threadripper wasn’t capable of scaling very often. And up until now, the single-threaded Cinebench results have been Intel’s sole turf.

By PCGamer on November 14, 2019

Where do we go from here? I'm not sure. Lithography advancements are slowing down, so TSMC's 7nm will probably remain state of the art for at least another two years before we shift to 5nm, and it looks as though Intel's 7nm is still two years away. Clockspeeds aren't scaling very fast either. AMD is busily building more cores into its CPUs, hoping the multithreaded applications will come, but the 3950X is arguably well ahead of what most people need. Many of us have hit a plateau in terms of how much CPU power we need, and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

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