AMD Ryzen 7 5800X & Ryzen 9 5950X
There’s a new sheriff in town.
When AMD launched its first generation Ryzen processors in 2016, we applauded the massive performance uplift they brought, particularly the strong multithreaded performance. One area they tended to lag behind Intel in, though, was in single threaded performance and gaming. Though the Zen+ and Zen 2 generations closed the gap, Intel was always able to compete by refreshing its Skylake architecture with significant frequency increases.
AMD believes it has reached the inflection point where it has achieved undisputed leadership. The company claims that its CPU options win in not some, but all the relevant categories, including multithreaded performance, single threaded and gaming performance, performance per watt and value for money. Big claims indeed! Should your next upgrade be AMD? We have the Ryzen 7 5800X and Ryzen 9 5950X on hand to answer that question.
The big changes
AMD describes the Zen 3 architectural overhaul as the biggest since the firstgeneration Ryzen. The chiplet design and 7nm process node remain the same. Changes include improved branch prediction, reduced latency and improved caching performance. Improving latency was a key focus given this is an area where Ryzen 3000 processors lost some gaming performance. All in all, AMD claims up to a 19 percent uplift in instructions per cycle. Combine this with the increases in frequency and it’s clear that 5000 series processors promise to be much faster than their predecessors.
While the I/O die remains unchanged, the core dies have undergone some fundamental changes. Six and eight core CPUs are all contained on the one so called CCX whereas before they were spread across two. These cores can now access the full 32MB of cache directly which accelerates core and cache communication and reduces latency. This is key for gaming. The Infinity Fabric clock is unchanged at 1800MHz, meaning the IF clock and DDR4-3600 (or 1800MHz Double Data Rate) remains the memory sweet spot.
The 5800X is an 8-core/16 thread model with a 105W TDP. Its base clock is 3.8GHz and its boost clock is listed at 4.7GHz, though our software readings were sometimes higher than this, in fact as high as 5.0GHz. As mentioned earlier, it’s got 32MB of L3 cache that all cores can access. It’s priced at $699. It can be considered a replacement for the 3800X and XT. For now there isn’t a 65W option. Given the popularity of the retiring 3700X, we’re a little surprised, though we may well see one later. If you wish to ‘create your own’ 65W processor though, you can with AMD’s under-appreciated ECO mode. You’ll lose a bit of performance of course but it’s a game changer for some users.
The 5000 series might be killer CPUs, but only the six-core 5600X
“The company claims that its CPU options win in not some, but all the relevant categories, including multithreaded performance, single threaded and gaming performance, performance per watt and value for money.”
includes a cooler, which is a tick against them. All Ryzen 5000 CPUs are compatible with X570 and B550 motherboards. X570 boards in particular will require a BIOS update, with most, if not all X470 and B450 models adding BIOS support in early 2021.
Performance gains
The 5950X is the top model in the range with 16 cores and 32 threads. Its base clock is 3.4GHz and its boost clock is 4.9GHz. It packs in 64MB of L3 cache. This is impressive when you consider the TDP is still 105W. It’s pretty safe to say that Intel doesn’t have anything to compete with this CPU unless you go to ultraexpensive enterprise options. All 5000 series models are unlocked for easy overclocking, support PCIe 4.0, DDR4-3200 (officially) and other AMD technologies such as StoreMI, Precision Boost Overdrive and all can be controlled by the impressive Ryzen Master software.
Now we come to it. Performance. Ryzen 3000 was already competitive with Intel in multithreaded and content creation applications, but with Ryzen 5000 there is now daylight between them. Where the most impressive gains are is in gaming. The 5800X can match and even exceed the 10900K, with the 5950X trending a little behind, likely due to the underutilisation of all those cores. It’s definitely no slouch though. Just look at the numbers. AMD is matching or leading everywhere in performance. Well done! Power consumption levels are also impressive. In fact the 5950X system pulled 216W from the wall, less than the 231W we measured from the 12-core 3900X. This again points to a small underutilisation. The 5800X system pulled 206W.
Overclocking is not really recommended. We were able to hit 4.6 and even 4.65GHz on all cores with our 5800X, but this is quite a way below the singlethreaded boost clock. With this in mind, if you are gaming or using single threaded applications, you’re better off leaving the processor at stock. The processor will boost to a higher level when
“It’s pretty safe to say that Intel doesn’t have anything to compete with this CPU, unless you go to ultra-expensive enterprise options.”
conditions allow without the heat and power consumption penalty associated with a heavy all core overclock. It’s a similar story with the 5950X.
Returning to our original question – should an AMD 5000 series processor be your next upgrade? The answer is yes. Gamers using current Intel Z490 systems will see more of a side grade, though only in terms of gaming performance. Anything related to content creation, power consumption and cooling requirements see AMD take a bigger lead than it had already. With a hot summer coming, cooling is key and AMD has a huge lead there. Upgrading from early Ryzen or pre-Skylake systems will see massive performance improvements as well as better feature support.
The 5800X has killed Intel’s gaming leadership narrative. It doesn’t make gaming on Intel irrelevant by any stretch, but if you add the other strengths including energy efficiency, multi-threaded performance and platform feature advantage then it’s a clear winner. The 5950X is also a stellar CPU but for some different reasons. A 16-core CPU isn’t yet ideal for gaming as we see some games struggle to optimally utilise the cores or the chiplet topology. It should be considered the king of multithreading and content creation. Intel has nothing at the consumer level to compete with it at all.
AMD knows it’s got a winner on its hands so pricing has trended upwards, plus you’ll need to buy a cooler. But if you’re upgrading a compatible AM4 system, this is a moot point. It’s really only the price creep that causes Ryzen 5000 to lose a smidgen of its shine. The king sets the rules though, and for now, the king is AMD. Oh, to be a fly on the wall at Intel headquarters right now.
AMD’s Ryzen 5000 series takes the outright performance crown. Full stop.
5800X:
5950X:
“The 5800X has killed Intel’s gaming leadership narrative. It doesn’t make gaming on Intel irrelevant by any stretch, but if you add the other strengths including energy efficiency, multi-threaded performance and platform feature advantage then it’s a clear winner.”