In this comprehensive comparison, we delve into the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X vs AMD Ryzen 9 3900X to help you make an informed decision when choosing a processor for your needs. The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X is the newest high-end processor from the company. It features 12 cores and 24 threads with 64 MB of L3 cache and a 105 W TDP.
It is based on the Zen 3 architecture, which improves IPC performance by up to 19%. This translates to better gaming and productivity performance.
Performance of the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X vs AMD Ryzen 9 3900X
The Ryzen 9 5900X is one of the most powerful processors that AMD has ever released. It uses a 12-core, 24-thread Zen 2 architecture that supports Simultaneous Multithreading and has 64 MB of Level 3 cache. It operates at a base clock of 3.7 GHz and can boost up to 4.8 GHz.
The CPU is designed to deliver a high level of performance for both gaming and media editing. This is why it features support for the latest PCIe 4.0 standard, which doubles the maximum data transfer rate to 16 lanes. This allows for faster connection speeds for graphics cards and solid-state drives.
In synthetic benchmarks, the Ryzen 9 5900X performs well. It beats the Intel Core i9-10900K in single-core Geekbench tests by up to 13% and in Cinebench by about 4%. However, in real-world gaming tests, the difference is less noticeable.
In Assassins Creed Odyssey, the AMD processor averages 116 fps at 1080p with the Ultra quality preset. This is higher than the Intel chip’s 108 fps, but it still comes in about 7% behind. In the Civilization 6 test, however, the chip is much closer to the Intel rival, delivering an average of 96 fps. These results are more in line with what you might expect from a modern CPU. The chip also excels in other popular games and in video encoding tasks. This makes it an excellent choice for any serious gamer or content creator who wants the best possible performance from their computer.
Cores
With 12 cores and 24 threads, the 5900X can handle any task a PC user might want to throw at it. It uses a pair of the new Zen 3 CCXs in CCD chipset form and has access to 64MB of L3 cache per CCX. That’s a huge increase in capacity over the Ryzen 7 3700X and Ryzen 5 5600X.
This is the first mainstream processor to use AMD’s new 7nm manufacturing process. It’s a big step for the company, and it looks like it will finally be able to challenge Intel in terms of performance.
In CPU-Z’s single-threaded benchmark, the 5900X scored a respectable 2.8GHz. In the multi-threaded test, it decimated the Intel i9-9900K by a healthy margin.
It also performed well in our Blender rendering tests, finishing the bmw27 and classroom scenes in less than a minute, which is considerably faster than what the 2700X and 5600X require. This is the kind of workload where having a lot of cores and threads really makes a difference in real-world performance.
The 5900X is a great choice for gamers and content creators, but it’s not cheap. It costs $499, which is a significant premium over Intel’s current top-of-the-line processor. Unless it can convince more people to switch to AMD, it’s likely that Intel will continue to dominate this segment of the market.
Base Frequency
The Ryzen 9 5900X is a high-end mainstream processor with 12 cores and 24 threads, built on AMD’s Zen 3 architecture. It features a base clock of 3.7 GHz and a boost clock of up to 4.8 GHz. It also has 64 MB of L3 cache and supports PCIe 4.0. The chip is manufactured using a 7nm process and has a 105W TDP.
Compared to the previous generation, the 5900X offers a small but noticeable performance upgrade. The biggest gain is in Instructions Per Clock (IPC), which AMD claims to have improved by 19% compared to the older processor. This is a huge improvement and should translate to better gaming and productivity performance.
GeekBench results back up these gains, showing that the new processor is much faster in single-core tasks than the old one. The 5900X is also more efficient in multi-threaded workloads, with an improved IPC performance that should lead to faster frame rates in games.
To test these improvements, we ran a series of games at 1080p resolution. For these tests, we used a Corsair H100i 240mm AIO cooler and 16 GB of DDR4 RAM. The games we tested included PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Assassin’s Creed Origins, and Star Wars Battlefront II. The tests were run at both stock and overclocked settings. We noted the average frame rate and minimum frame rate for each game, as well as the CPU usage.
Single-Core Boost Frequency
The Ryzen 9 5900X offers a single-core boost frequency of up to 4.6GHz. This is much higher than the 3.8GHz base clock of its predecessor, the 3900X. As a result, it can provide much better performance in games and video editing. Moreover, it can run faster than Intel processors at the same price point.
The new AMD processor also features improved efficiency and power consumption. This is due to the Zen 3 architecture, which provides a 19% uplift in instructions per clock (IPC) over previous models. It also improves memory latency by offering direct access to the L3 cache pool.
It is also able to handle more demanding tasks than the 3900X, such as multi-threaded applications and heavy workloads. The increase in core counts can significantly improve the performance of modern software, as these apps are often designed to use as many CPU cores and threads as possible.
The Ryzen 9 5900X can easily match the performance of Intel’s Core i9-9900K in gaming. We tested it in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, where it was able to achieve an average frame rate of 181 fps on high settings. It also proved its worth in other tests, including League of Legends and Battlefield V.
Overclocking Support
The Ryzen 9 5900X does a fantastic job of living up to the promises that AMD made when it launched its Zen 3 architecture. As with the previous iteration, this chip obliterates Intel in almost every benchmark, especially when it comes to heavy workloads such as video encoding and rendering, or in games.
In the Geekbench 5 multi-threaded test it manages a massive 24% lead over the Core i9-10900K, which is more than the 11% lead it enjoyed on the previous generation chip. This performance is aided by Precision Boost 2, which is designed to raise the CPU clock speed on the fly whenever there’s headroom available to ensure the processor is always delivering its best possible performance.
It does this by constantly monitoring system activity, looking for peaks and trends. If the processor is unable to reach a desired performance level, it will use different mechanisms to automatically adjust the clock speed. This can be in the form of raising or lowering the boost clock speed, changing the power limit to allow higher voltages, or even pushing it to the limit and overclocking.
Overclocking the Ryzen 9 5900X is not difficult, although it does require decent cooling. It has a TDP of 105 W, so it does consume a significant amount of power, and it also supports DDR4 memory with a dual-channel interface, which can be clocked up to 4400 MHz with the right motherboard.
DDR Support
Both the 5900X and 3900X support DDR4 memory with a maximum speed of 3200 megahertz. They also both have two available memory channels and can work with up to 128 gigabytes of DDR4. However, it is important to note that the RAM you use should have a higher clock frequency than the CPU in order to provide adequate performance.
One of the biggest differences between the Ryzen 9 5900X and the 3900X is the upliftment in Instructions Per Clock (IPC). AMD claims that the newer processor has a 19% uplift when compared to the previous generation. This is due to the fact that the newer chips feature an architecture called Zen 3, which allows it to directly access the L3 cache. This makes a huge difference in games and applications that utilize a dominant thread.
Early GeekBench results back up this claim. In this benchmark, the 5900X earned a single-core score of 1,681 and a multi-core score of 14,613, exceeding its boost clock in the process. This is a major improvement over the 3900X, which earned a single-core score of 1,299 and a multi-core score of 12,381, only boosting to 4.38 GHz in the same test.