AMD Ryzen 9 9950X & Ryzen 9 9900X CPUs Review: Zen 5 For High-End Desktops

Conclusion - Good Uplift For High-End Users But Not A Major Leap

And there you have it, a fresh new batch of AMD Zen chips are now official. Today's review focuses on the high-end Zen 5 CPU stack which includes two chips, the Ryzen 9 9950X & the Ryzen 9 9900X. These chips aim at the $500 US+ segments and tackle Intel's high-end Core i9 lineups with higher efficiency and multi-threading capabilities than the Zen 4 family.

Ryzen 9 9950X & Ryzen 9 9900X Offer A Solid Boost In Multi-Threading Capabilities

The higher-end Ryzen 9 9950X & Ryzen 9 9900X deliver around 15-20% performance uplifts in multi-core applications. In our 12-benchmark application tests, the Ryzen 9 9950X edged out the Core i9-14900KS in 4 tests while being on par with the flagship Intel offering. The Ryzen 9 9900X was faster than the Core i7-14700K in 6 benchmarks and even managed to outperform the 14900K in 4 tests but in applications that love more cores, the Intel CPUs still have the benefit due to their higher E-Core counts which retail a lead. In single-core applications, the Ryzen 9 9950X and Ryzen 9 9900X were close to 12% ahead of their predecessors on average.

Zen 5 Matches Current-Gen Core i9 Gaming Performance

Now for the gaming performance, the first thing that gamers will compare the two chips against are the Ryzen 7 7800X3D and the Intel K-series SKUs. Once again, the last-gen X3D parts from AMD still retain the best gaming performance in a variety of games but the lead is narrowed down by the Ryzen 9 "Zen 5" offerings against Intel's Core i9 SKUs. The Ryzen 9 9950X mostly offers the same performance as the Core i9-14900K in games while the Ryzen 9 9900X is slightly ahead of the Core i7-14700K. These make them a suitable CPU solution for existing and upcoming high-end graphics cards which are massively CPU bottlenecked and were noticeable in the last-gen Zen 4 parts with the 3D V-Cache chips only helping in cache-limited scenarios.

The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X ends up 8% faster on average while the Ryzen 9 9900X ends up 9% faster on average versus their predecessors in gaming tests.

Efficiency King, Zen 5 Better Than Ever on Desktops

When it comes to efficiency, AMD's Ryzen CPUs have been super strong, and with the Zen 5 CPU architecture, AMD is extending this lead. The best part is that AMD's Ryzen 9000 CPUs stick close to their default TDPs of 170/120W (9950X and 9900X) at stock and you can go the PBO route for additional performance though we only managed to get an extra 5-10% boost with it enabled so it's better to just let the chips run at default. Even with PBO enabled, the chips still retain a decent efficiency.

The advantage you get from lower power consumption can be seen in the temperatures with bot chips running much cooler than the previous generation offerings. The reason why Zen 4 ran hot was due to them being PBO'd by default and that isn't the case here. The Zen 5 chips run in the 80s range by default and PBO can push them in the high 80s. Once again, you are getting lower power, and lower temperatures but added performance.

Pricing Is An Issue For Ryzen 9000 (Right Now)

AMD's Ryzen 9 9950X CPU will hit retail for $649 US which is a high price and to be expected of a flagship product. It is certainly $50 US cheaper than the MSRP of the Ryzen 9 7950X but that chip currently retails for around $100-$130 US lower. The same is the case with the Core i9-14900K which retails for around $100 US lower or the Core i9-13900K which is close to $200 US cheaper. The Ryzen 9 7950X3D is also a good option in this category since the chip offers great gaming performance with 16 cores for around $525 US.

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The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X will hit retail for $499 US which is also $50 US lower than the MSRP of the Ryzen 9 7900X but this chip is positioned against the Core i9-14900K. We don't particularly find it to be a competitor to the 14900K but more so the 14700K which it trades blows with and manages to lead in a few applications but it still isn't a conclusive victory. The Core i7-14700K is also a cheaper CPU, priced almost $120 US lower at the moment and the Ryzen 9 7900X can be found for around $350 US.

For those who want slightly better prices, you can wait a bit more, say Q4 2024 when the prices are expected to see their first drops accompanied by the launch of the next-gen Zen 5 parts but at the moment, I personally think that Ryzen 9 9000 offerings are expensive for the performance they've on offer.

AMD Ryzen 9 9950X & Ryzen 9 9900X Deliver Great Performance Uplifts While Delivering Superb Efficiency

If you look at the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X and Ryzen 9 9900X, they offer very nice uplifts in multi and single-threaded applications and the gaming performance has been improved by a notch, now landing in the same category as Intel's high-end Core i9 CPUs. The efficiency is still there and you are looking at lower power and temperatures. The pricing might be a miss for now but given that Ryzen 9000X3D CPUs are on the horizon, we can see retailers adjust them another $50 US or less which will make them more favorable for buying versus current-generation parts.

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