If the Ryzen 5 5600X left you impressed, the Ryzen 9 5950X will blow you out of your chair. The 16-core monster has catapulted its way to the top of the mainstream processor chart in both single-and multi-thread performance.
The Ryzen 9 5950X scores are no longer available, but German publication ComputerBase (opens in new tab) managed to grab screenshots of the Zen 3 flagship's results before they were erased. Given the circumstances, it's uncertain if the Ryzen 9 5950X was overclocked or whether it was paired with memory that surpass the official supported DDR4-3200 specification. While we wait on the full review, we recommend you take the PassMark scores with a pinch of salt.
While AMD has been injecting more cores in mainstream chips for a while now, the chipmaker's offerings aren't quite up to par with Intel's parts when it comes to single-thread performance. If these PassMark numbers are accurate, it would appear that Zen 3 has finally tipped the scales in AMD's favor.
AMD Ryzen 5 5950X Benchmarks
| Processor | PassMark Single-Thread Score | PassMark Multi-Thread Score |
|---|---|---|
| Ryzen 9 5950X | 3,693 | 45,563 |
| Ryzen 5 5600X | 3,495 | 22,824 |
| Core i9-10900K | 3,176 | 24,261 |
| Ryzen 9 3950X | 2,747 | 39,277 |
| Core i9-10980XE | N/A | 34,138 |
The Ryzen 9 5950X is reportedly up to 34.4% faster than the Ryzen 9 3950X in single-thread performance and up to 16% in multi-thread performance. For reference, the Ryzen 9 5950X comes with a 3.4 GHz base clock and 4.9 GHz boost clock, while the Ryzen 9 3950X has a 3.5GHz base clock and 4.7 GHz. It was to expected that the Ryzen 9 5950X would be superior chip.
In comparison to its Intel rival, the Ryzen 9 5950X seemingly delivers up to 16.3% higher single-thread performance than the Core i9-10900K. Now, you have to remember that the Core i9-10900K features a 3.7 GHz base clock and a whopping 5.3 GHz boost clock. We're not underestimating Zen 3, but it's a bit hard to swallow that the AMD chip with a 400 MHz lower boost clock would outperform the Core i9-10900K. For now, we'll have to trust PassMark's metrics until we get the chip in our lab for thorough testing.
Possessing substantially more cores, the Ryzen 9 5950X's multi-thread performance doesn't raise any eyebrows. The 16-core processor purportedly offers up to 87.8% higher multi-thread performance than the Core i9-10900K. Intel doesn't offer more than 10 cores on its mainstream processors so the Core i9-10980XE, which is a HEDT (high-end desktop) SKU, will have to be the point of comparison for multi-thread performance. Despite being at a two-core disadvantage, the Ryzen 9 5950X's multi-thread performance is apparently faster than the Core i9-10980XE by up to 33.5%.
If Ryzen 5000 (opens in new tab) (Vermeer) can deliver, Intel could be in big trouble since it's Comet Lake-S (opens in new tab) army will likely not be able to fend of Zen 3. It looks as though even Intel's upcoming Rocket Lake (opens in new tab) processors might not be enough.
