Home > CPU Comparison > Ryzen 9 5950X or Ryzen 9 3950X: what's better?

AMD Ryzen 9 5950X vs Ryzen 9 3950X

63 out of 100
AMD Ryzen 9 5950X
VS
53 out of 100
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
AMD Ryzen 9 5950X
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X

We compared two 16-core desktop CPUs: the 3.4 GHz AMD Ryzen 9 5950X against the 3.5 GHz Ryzen 9 3950X. On this page, you'll find out which processor has better performance in benchmarks, games and other useful information.

  1. Review
  2. Differences
  3. Performance
  4. Specs
  5. Comments (10)

Review

General overview and comparison of the processors
Single-Core Performance
Performance in single-threaded apps and benchmarks
Multi-Core Performance
Measure performance when all cores are involved
Power Efficiency
The efficiency score of power consumption
The "iGPU" and "Power Efficiency" have a minor impact on the NanoReview Score for desktop CPU.
NanoReview Final Score
Choose your main usage scenario to recalculate the Final Score and see which CPU suits your needs.
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Value for money (Beta)

Global average CPU prices are used by default! For better accuracy, enter your current prices and click β€œCalculate".
Currency
VS
40.4
(Average)
Value Index
11.4
(Bad)

Key Differences

What are the key differences between 3950X and 5950X
Advantages of AMD Ryzen 9 5950X
  • 28% faster in a single-core Geekbench v6 test - 2276 vs 1782 points
  • Newer - released 10 months later
  • 4% higher Turbo Boost frequency (4.9 GHz vs 4.7 GHz)

Test in Benchmarks

Comparing the performance of CPUs across various tasks
CPU:
Ryzen 9 5950X
vs
Ryzen 9 3950X

Cinebench

Reputable cross-platform benchmark for high-performance processors
Cinebench 2024 (Single)
Cinebench 2024 (Multi)
Cinebench 2026 (Single) 464 -
Cinebench 2026 (Multi) 5693 -
Cinebench Scores (76th and 84th place)
Submit your benchmark results

GeekBench v6

The new version of this benchmark emulates common operations often used in real-world apps
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Ryzen 9 5950X +28%
2276
Ryzen 9 3950X
1782
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Ryzen 9 5950X +12%
12728
Ryzen 9 3950X
11367
File compression 1120 MB/sec 869 MB/sec
Clang compilation 147.1 Klines/sec 137.6 Klines/sec
HTML 5 Browser 224.5 pages/sec 204.1 pages/sec
PDF Renderer 372.1 Mpixels/sec 335.9 Mpixels/sec
Text processing 222.5 pages/sec 145.8 pages/sec
Background blur 28.4 images/sec 41.9 images/sec
Photo processing 85 images/sec 73.3 images/sec
Ray tracing 38.4 Mpixels/sec 30.4 Mpixels/sec
Sources: GeekBench [1], [2] – 741 & 615 samples

PassMark

Synthetic test that focuses on raw computational performance for low-level functions
Passmark CPU (Single-Core)
Ryzen 9 5950X +29%
3476
Ryzen 9 3950X
2701
Passmark CPU (Multi-Core)
Ryzen 9 5950X +18%
45260
Ryzen 9 3950X
38436
Integer math 183.9 GOps/sec 132.8 GOps/sec
Floating point math 100.5 GOps/sec 77.8 GOps/sec
Find prime numbers 223M Primes/sec 173M Primes/sec
Random string sorting 64.9M Strings/sec 63.1M Strings/sec
Data encryption 39.4 GBytes/sec 37.8 GBytes/sec
Data compression 622.5 MBytes/sec 587.6 MBytes/sec
Physics 1854 Frames/sec 1602 Frames/sec
Extended instructions 40.4B Matrices/sec 36.6B Matrices/sec
Sources: PassMark [3], [4] – 19398 & 4053 samples

Blender

3D rendering test that measures CPU performance in 3D modeling tasks (uses all cores)
Blender CPU
Ryzen 9 5950X +10%
413.83
Ryzen 9 3950X
376.65

Performance Per Watt

Shows the score you get per each watt of PL1 TDP
Cinebench 2024 / Watt 13.9 PPW 13 PPW
Geekbench 6 Multi / Watt 121.2 PPW 108.3 PPW
Passmark CPU Mark / Watt 431 PPW 366.1 PPW
Blender / Watt 3.94 PPW 3.59 PPW
These are rough calculations, as most CPUs surpass PL1 TDP wattage even in multicore workloads.

Recent User Tests

The latest benchmark tests that have been submitted by users
AMD Ryzen 9 5950X
DateBenchmarkResult
πŸ“˜ 2026-07-12 (stream pc)Cinebench 2026456 / 4979
πŸ“˜ 2026-06-30 (DDD)Cinebench 2026464 / 5693
πŸ“˜ 2025-12-04 (PhillyBass)Geekbench 6 CPU2259 / 12745
πŸ“˜ 2025-12-04 (PhillyBass)Cinebench 202499 / 1448
πŸ“˜ 2025-10-07 (C0d3M0nk3y)Cinebench 202497 / 1451
Add View all (13)
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
DateBenchmarkResult
πŸ“˜ 2025-11-27 (Elizabeth)Cinebench 202476 / 1398
πŸ“˜ 2025-07-18 (Maki)Cinebench 202480 / 1370
Add View all (2)

Specifications

Full technical specification of AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and Ryzen 9 3950X

General

Vendor Amd Amd
Released October 8, 2020 November 25, 2019
Type Desktop Desktop
Instruction Set x86-64 x86-64
Codename Zen 3 (Vermeer) -
Integrated GPU No No
Rival Equivalent - Intel Core i9 11900K - Intel Core i9 9900K
Successor - AMD Ryzen 9 9950X -
AMD Ryzen CPU ranking (51st and 96th place)

CPU

Performance Cores
P-Cores 16 16
P-Threads 32 32
Base Frequency (P) 3.4 GHz 3.5 GHz
Turbo Boost Frequency (P) 4.9 GHz 4.7 GHz
Total
Total Cores 16 16
Total Threads 32 32
Bus Frequency 100 MHz 100 MHz
Multiplier 34x 35x
L1 Cache 64K (per core) 64K (per core)
L2 Cache 512K (per core) 512K (per core)
L3 Cache 64MB (shared) 64MB (shared)
Unlocked Multiplier Yes Yes

Package

Transistors 4.15 billions 3.8 billions
Fabrication Process 7 nm 7 nm
TDP (PL1) 105 W 105 W
Max. Boost TDP (PL2) 142 W -
Socket AM4 AM4
Peak Temperature 95Β°C -
Desktop CPU ranking (72nd and 99th place)

Memory Support

Memory Types - DDR4-3200 - DDR4-3200
Max. Memory Size 128 GB 128 GB
Memory Channels 2 2
Max. Memory Bandwidth 47.68 GB/s 47.68 GB/s
ECC Support Yes Yes

Misc

Official Site AMD Ryzen 9 5950X official page AMD Ryzen 9 3950X official page
PCI Express Version 4.0 4.0
PCI Express Lanes 20 16

Cast your vote

Choose between two processors
459 (66.9%)
227 (33.1%)
Total votes: 686

Competitors

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4. AMD Ryzen 9 5950X vs AMD Ryzen 9 9950X
5. AMD Ryzen 9 5950X vs AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D (1)
6. AMD Ryzen 9 5950X vs AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D
7. AMD Ryzen 9 5950X vs AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
8. AMD Ryzen 9 3950X vs AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D
9. AMD Ryzen 9 3950X vs AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
Compare other CPUs (460+)

Comments

So which CPU will you choose: AMD Ryzen 9 3950X or Ryzen 9 5950X?
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Avatar
Hithammer November 17, 2020 at 04:42 PM
I have i7 7700k(3 1/2) planning upgrade to amd processor should I get 3900 or 3950 or 5900? Also I got b550 mag tomahawk motherboard. Is it compatibility those processor ? 😒😒
+34 Reply
Avatar
CW74 November 28, 2020 at 06:36 PM
No. Your motherboard is designed for Intel processors. You'll need to buy one made for AMD processors.
+19 Reply
Avatar
Ben December 2, 2020 at 02:47 AM
b550 is compatible with both 3950x and 5950x.. no idea what they are saying
+12 Reply
Avatar
Kins February 1, 2021 at 06:38 AM
Ben, I mean technically it is but it'd be a waste of a CPU using a B550
+1 Reply
Avatar
John smith February 2, 2021 at 02:20 AM
If he has a 7700k then he don't have a b450 mb!
+2 Reply
Avatar
Rajiv October 23, 2020 at 05:45 PM
I plan on buying several computers with either 3950x or 5950x for CFD calculations. Given the $50 price difference I will definitely wait a bit and buy 5950x. All my current computers have Intel processors. I am now moving to AMD for performance.
+16 Reply
Avatar
root October 23, 2020 at 08:21 PM
Good choice! 5950x is really powerful CPU.
+2 Reply
Avatar
Zippy January 1, 2021 at 06:18 PM
I'm considering something similar except I decided to go for the 3950x. It's only about 15% slower in all core clock speed. Plus I can get them used for about $650 now.
+6 Reply
Avatar
Greg October 15, 2020 at 11:32 PM
As much as I'd like to upgrade as my mobo supports it, it's probably not worth it for the incremental performance gain over my 11month old 3950. I still haven't pushed my current one to its limits yet & the diff in clock speed is within my OC window.
+29 Reply
Avatar
Malmoth October 31, 2020 at 06:18 PM
Definitely not worth the upgrade if you already own a 3950X. The 3950X is still a damn good CPU that'll keep you happy for years to come.
+53 Reply
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