AMD Ryzen 9 9950X Review

If you didn’t know anything about Zen 5, you’d think the up-to-date Ryzen 9 9950X was a step down from its predecessor, the Ryzen 9 7950X. Both have the same number of cores and threads (16 and 32, respectively) and the same total amount of L3 cache (64MB). The 5.6GHz boost clock is the same for both, and the up-to-date chip even has a lower base clock (4.3GHz versus 4.5GHz). Yet the Ryzen 9 9950X is clearly the better processor.

To understand this, you need to look inside the two CCDs (Core Complex Dies) that sit next to the IOD (Input/Output Die) underneath the heat spreader.

The architectural changes are too numerous and intricate to discuss in detail here — if you want the details, you can always check out our detailed analysis of the Zen 5 architecture — but suffice it to say that all of the changes AMD has made translate into noticeably better performance, depending on the application.

As we saw with the Ryzen 5 9600X, Ryzen 7 9700X, and Ryzen 9 9900X, the Zen 5 architecture can deliver some significant benefits, especially when it comes to productivity and content creation, though the noticeable improvements in gaming are a bit underrated.

However, for these chips, the differences in clock speeds and power limits mask the true potential of Zen 5. As you’ll soon see when we compare the Ryzen 9 7950X vs. Ryzen 9 9950X, the benchmark results are driven almost entirely by the architectural differences between Zen 4 and Zen 5.

Unlike the lower-end models, AMD hasn’t lowered the power limit for the 9950X, and like its predecessor, it’s configured with a 170W TDP and a 230W peak package limit (PPT). That’s a far cry from the 105W TDP of the Ryzen 9 3950X, AMD’s first 16-core processor aimed at the desktop market. At first glance, it seems to be as power-hungry as Intel’s Core i9 14900K (which has a nominal TDP of 125W, 253W).

However, the numbers given in the documents never tell the whole truth.

To benchmark the Ryzen 9 9950X, I used our updated 2024 CPU benchmark suite, with the processor installed in an Asus ROG Crosshair X670E Hero motherboard and BIOS 2201 provided by AMD.

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Cooling was handled by another Asus product, the ROG Strix LC III 360mm AIO, and in keeping with AMD’s recommendation that DDR5-6000 is still the best bet for Ryzen systems, a dual-channel 32GB CL32 kit was used. Finally, we switched from using an RTX 3080 to an RTX 4070 for a more realistic look at the systems.

Let’s start with what the Ryzen 9 9950X is best at, which is productivity, content creation, rendering, video editing, etc. As you can see, not only is it good at that, but it’s the best processor for those tasks. Only the mega-expensive ones AMD Threadripper Processor Or Intel® Xeon® would probably achieve better results.

That said, it’s only noticeably better in some applications than the Ryzen 9 7950X. In the multi-threaded Cinebench test, the 9950X is 15% faster than the 7950X and 16% better in Blender. However, the 9950X’s advantage over its predecessor is 8% in Handbrake and just 5% in the photo editing benchmark.

This all pretty much lines up with AMD’s performance claims that came when the company announced the launch of the Ryzen 9000 series alongside the introduction of the Zen 5 architecture. So I’m not criticizing the 9950X for its mixed results in our tests — that’s just how it works.

The same goes for the chip’s gaming performance. As with all the Zen 5 chips I’ve tested, there’s nothing wrong with how the Ryzen 9 9950X handles gaming workloads — it’s 3% lower in average frame rates than the Core i9 14900K, though the 1% lows are still further behind, at 5% and 8%, respectively.

That’s close enough to not be noticeable in real-time gaming, and our other gaming tests show the Ryzen 9 9950X on par or slightly ahead of the Core i9 14900K. Naturally, that will be the case in countless other games, with some favoring AMD and others doing better with Intel chips.

One aspect of all this that definitely favors AMD is power consumption. Logging the average CPU usage in Baldur’s Gate 3 and the multi-core test in Cinebench provides clear evidence of this: while the Ryzen 9 9950X used 129W and 196W in those two tests, the Core i9 14900K required 177W and 271W — that’s 37% and 38% more power, respectively.

I was looking forward to testing out the 105W Eco mode with the 9950X, as the previous generation of high-end Ryzen processors still performed admirably at the reduced power limit, and one of my favorite general-purpose processors, the Ryzen 9 7900, can handle just 65W. However, using Eco mode with the Ryzen 9 9900X, a 12-core variant of AMD’s Zen 5 series, produced disappointing results, especially in games.

This latter aspect was also a bit of an issue with the Ryzen 9 9950X, with Metro Exodus Enhanced and Total War: Warhammer 3 seeing enormous drops of under 1% when the CPU was restricted to 105W. Fortunately, other games ran absolutely fine, and the 9950X still outperformed all other CPUs we tested in content creation applications at this power limit.

Given the above, it’s clear that the Ryzen 9 9950X is the best desktop CPU you can buy — it’s not the fastest when it comes to gaming, but it’s more than good enough, and its multi-threaded performance is unmatched. It also doesn’t operate a ton of power and is very uncomplicated to frigid.

But none of this comes budget-friendly. At $699, the 9950X has a $50 lower starting price than the previous model, the Ryzen 9 7950X, but you can get this chip for $523 on Amazon right now. That makes the up-to-date Zen 5 chip 34% more pricey than the Zen 4, but as you saw, it’s not 34% faster in any of our tests.

This is a problem that all up-to-date processors have to deal with, but in the case of the Ryzen 9 9950X, it means that it’s not particularly good value for money. I’m sure some applications will favor the up-to-date architecture, but if you’re not specifically looking for a processor for those specific workloads, you can save yourself over $170 and get the previous-generation Ryzen 9 7950X.

If you’re only interested in PC gaming, skip the Ryzen 9 9950X. There are better, cheaper options like the Ryzen 7 9700X and the powerful Ryzen 7 7800X3D.