AMD Ryzen 9 5950X

These days, you're not suffering for choice if you're shopping for a new desktop CPU. Far from it! And that's true whether you're buying a new processor you'll use for PC gaming, one packed with cores for speedy content creation or media crunching, or a...

Source: Rich Edmonds / Windows CentralWho it's forThose who want exceptional gaming performanceThose who require 32 threads worth of available computing powerThose who want killer single- and multi-core performanceThose who want an unlocked CPUWho it...

With the Ryzen 5000 series, it's fair to say that AMD has finally, and fully, eclipsed Intel's performance dominance in desktop PCs. AMD's flagship $799 Ryzen 9 5950X has landed in our labs, boasting 16 cores and 32 threads bristling with the potent new...

AMD's Ryzen 9 5950X is a niche part for those needing huge performance for multicore workloads, and boy does it deliver!

At $800, AMD is trying to establish a premium price point for mainstream processors that offer HEDT-like performance in many tasks. You're having to fork out the extra $500 for the cheapest Threadripper only if you have seriously memory-intensive apps which scale to the Nth core, or could use the added PCIe I/O of the Threadripper platform. The Ryzen 9 5950X is AMD Athlon 64 FX history repeating itself, and Intel looking just as helpless as it did before the first Core 2 Duo.

If your day consists of looking at software saying “compiling”, “rendering” or “processing” then the 5950X is what you want. For content creation, it’s the fastest consumer chip for the job right now and a solid investment to speed up your workflow.

Both of these models are stunning CPUs, and a big announcement from AMD that they're not just catching up with or shoulder to shoulder with Intel, but disappearing over the horizon into the sunset. On which metaphorical bookend we'll stop rambling and let you check your local retailer for stock.