AMD Ryzen 9 9950X Review - It’s OK, just too pricy

00:00 Start
00:43 Pricing and details
02:06 Quick test run / Curve Optimiser
03:32 Cinebench 2024 Multi Core
03:56 Geekbench 6 Multi Core
04:15 Cinebench R23 Multi core
04:30 Power Consumption
04:56 Cinebench R23 Multi Core Per Watt
05:40 CPU Temperature under full load
06:11 Cinebench R23 Single Core
06:38 Blender 4.2 Classroom test
06:58 7-Zip V24 Benchmark
07:12 AIDA 64 Memory Bandwidth
07:33 3DMark Time Spy
07:51 Gaming
11:25 Latencies and concerns
12:12 Closing Thoughts

2024 Zen 5 Granite Ridge Ryzen 9000, Socket AM5 on TSMC 4nm, I/O die is TSMC 6nm with DDR5. 80KB L1 per core, 1MB L2 per core, 28x lanes of PCIe Gen 5.
9950X Official MSRP is $649 = £610 inc VAT
9900X Official MSRP is $499 = £459 inc VAT
9700X Official MSRP is $359 = £340 inc VAT
9600X Official MSRP is $279 = £270 inc VAT

Test systems:
CPU: AMD Ryzen 9000 and Ryzen 7000
Motherboard: MSI MEG X670E Ace
RAM: 32GB G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo RGB DDR5-6000 C30
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5000, 3000 and 2000
Motherboard: Asus TUF Gaming X570-Plus
RAM: 32GB Corsair LPX DDR4-3600 C16 (DDR4-3200 for Ryzen 3000 and 2000)
CPU: Intel Core i7-14700K and i5-14600K
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Master X
RAM: 32GB G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo RGB DDR5-6000 C30

Shared parts for all test systems:
Graphics: Gigabyte GeForce RTX 4080 Gaming OC 16GB
CPU cooler: Phanteks Glacier One 360D30
SSD: 1TB Crucial T700
Power Supply: Seasonic Prime GX-1600 ATX 3.0

#AMD #9950x #ryzen9 #amdgaming

[freddieholmes]

9900x is the sweet spot so far, but none of these are giving you what the 3D range does - AMD need to update this range but will not do it too quickly to cannibalise sales - need to wait people !

[evalangley]

I need to agree with you on this ones after digesting yesterday reviews from others. If you are not doing any rendering or compute over on Linux, then the price is not justified. If you remember well, AMD dropped their price on their x series mere weeks after the release of Zen 4 in 2022. We might see the pattern repeating itself.

[jamey-plez]

Leo flying the flag high for quality journalism and old school values

[spstatus]

Good content all week Leo and KG, thanks for the hard work! I am sticking with my 7800 for the time being - nothing has made me want to move yet, maybe the 9800X3D will!

[DarwinBrookes-sson]

Can I just put out a 'good job leo' here, after so much drama and trending nonsense to get hits, I have admired the content Level1Techs, Kitguru and Anandtech have put out. Good old values!

[Raul-idgp]

A lot of logic behind Leos thoughts - even if i cant always get to where he is, I admire the ethics and viewpoints

[PrashantWare-pl]

I am going to order a 9900X, thanks for the reviews, found them very mature and focused on the topics at hand

[jameskane]

16 core Zen 5 for £610 seems not bad to me, but I spend a lot of money on a new CPU every 2 years so I am probably the target market for this, the 9900X seems to be much cooler running however, so its tempting to upgrade my 12th Gen Intel now

[ryanrichardson]

Intel - waiting to see what they do, their processors are always great for gaming, even if they are unpopular now with some people

[georgebrown]

hold on for 9800X3D! wont be long coming now

[huxley]

7950X3D is dominating the power per watt by some distance - cant wait for the new 3D parts

[Wilfred]

9800X3D is the one I want, if its as good as the last one with more optimisations and new AMD software support

[Blake]

Thanks Leo, great coverage and while I have not agreed with all of it from Kitguru, I respect your reviews and understand the points you are making

[lovingthehardwarethisyea-pyxp]

Thanks Leo for the coverage, enjoyed all the reviews - some level headed non drama based content - refreshing !

[oliverh]

Thanks Leo ! one to watch this weekend when I get the kids to sleep and the wife drunk and quiet

[BlaiseMiller]

AMD should be really happy with all the content - some really good reviews

[Hudson]

The curve software looks like a great move forward for customers - takes all the hassle out of tuning the CPU for you. I wonder if people still tweak the CPU’s themselves, I stopped that years ago

[Eleanora]

Good content leo last 2 weeks, you must be shattered

[parker]

I love Zen 5, very good few weeks of reviews on selected channels like level 1techs and kitguru

[Wyatt]

Leo - well done this week and bravo for not trying trend ‘tactics’ like some others