AMD’s new Zen 4 flagship, the Ryzen 9 7950X is a 16-core, 32-thread CPU that clocks between 4.5 GHz and 5.7 GHz relying on the load, with two Core Advanced Dies (CCD) together with a 6nm I/O die. The extra CCD in comparison with extra inexpensive Ryzen fashions means the full L3 cache capability is elevated from 32MB to 64MB, and now there is a whole of 16MB L2 cache.
In case you missed it, we already checked out the 6-core Ryzen 5 7600X yesterday, with the 7700X and 7900X critiques coming over the subsequent few days. In comparison with the mainstream 7600X, the TDP is elevated from 105w from a single CCD to a whopping 170w, although do notice as a result of the identical I/O die has been used the identical 28 PCIe 5.0 lanes are supported.
The Ryzen 9 7950X is ready to interchange the well-regarded 5950X, however fairly surprisingly the launch worth or MSRP has been dropped from $800 the earlier era to $700 for the 7950X — that is a wholesome 13% low cost for what needs to be a a lot quicker processor.
Discount customers and present AM4 house owners will need to know although that at current the 5950X might be had for as little as $550, so the newer Zen 4 16-core mannequin is coming in at premium, in fact.
There’s much more to go over and a ton of testing and benchmarks as traditional, we have been busy over the previous few weeks updating all our CPU knowledge and because of this we’ve got 17 CPUs for comparability.
For the AM4 platform we have got a variety of Zen 2 and Zen 3 CPUs with well-liked fashions such because the Ryzen 9 3950X, Ryzen 7 5800X, and naturally, the 5950X can be included, however there are half a dozen extra fashions additionally included. We have now included necessary Intel Tenth-gen Core collection fashions however as a result of time constraints we determined to skip the Eleventh-gen. Then for the Twelfth-gen Alder Lake CPUs we have examined utilizing DDR4-3200 dual-rank CL14 reminiscence and DDR5-6400 single-rank CL32 reminiscence and we’ve got from the Core i3-12100 as much as the Core i9-12900K for comparability.
The brand new AM5 take a look at system relies on the MSI MEG X670E ACE, for which we adopted AMD’s pointers to make use of the equipped DDR5-6000 CL30 reminiscence. All testing was performed utilizing the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti, Home windows 11, and Resizable BAR enabled for all configurations.
Clock Speeds
This is a have a look at the Ryzen 9 7950X’s clock conduct in Cinebench R23. After an hour of load testing, the CPU maintained an all-core frequency of 5.1 GHz on the first CCD1 and 4.9 GHz on the secondary CCD2, so there is a 4% frequency discrepancy between the 2 core advanced dies.
These outcomes have been achieved utilizing the be quiet! Pure Loop 2 FX 360mm liquid cooler put in contained in the be quiet! Silent Base 802.
For single core workloads the 7950X appeared to take care of a clock frequency of 5.725 GHz, or 25 MHz above the marketed clock frequency. The utmost reported frequency was 5.85 GHz, although this did not look like achieved below load.
Utility Benchmarks
Beginning with Cinebench R23 multi-core outcomes, we… in all probability ought to have included some Threadripper CPUs, rattling this factor is quick.
For reference the 24-core/48-thread Threadripper 3960X scores about 34,000 factors on this take a look at, making the 7950X quicker. Simply as spectacular is the truth that regardless of packing half the cores of the 3970X, it is simply shy of 20% slower, so 50% fewer cores, lower than 20% slower, wonderful.
When in comparison with mainstream desktop CPUs, the R9 7950X is roughly 40% quicker than the Core i9-12900K and nearly 60% quicker than its predecessor, the 5950X. That is unimaginable.
Single core can be sturdy, which means the Ryzen 9 7950X should not have any evident weak spot. Right here we’re a 4% uplift from the 12900K and a 30% enchancment from the 5950X.
Shifting on to 7-Zip compression outcomes we see that the 7950X can be very sturdy on this take a look at, beating the 12900K armed with DDR5 by a 22% margin and the 5950X by a 27% margin. For these , it was 73% quicker than the 7600X and scaling is just not nice as compression does not make the most of AMD’s SMT very effectively.
The place SMT scales effectively is when decompression efficiency, the place the 7950X is 150% quicker than the 7600X — tremendous spectacular scaling given there’s 166% extra cores. When in comparison with the 5950X we’re a 28% uplift and a large 90% enhance from Intel’s Core i9-12900K.
The 7950X can be a beast in Blender, delivering 30% better efficiency than that of the 5950X and 60% greater than the 12900K, so AMD appears to be again to dominating Intel in productiveness benchmarks, although Raptor Lake might change that very quickly.
The Corona benchmark outcomes are additionally mighty spectacular, a 40% enhance from the 5950X is seen together with a 51% enchancment over the 12900K.
The Premiere Professional 2022 Puget Methods benchmark shocked us, although it in all probability should not have given how a lot quicker the Zen 3-based 5950X is when in comparison with the 5600X.
We’re an analogous efficiency pattern right here making the 7950X 40% quicker than the 7600X, which additionally means it is 25% quicker than the 5950X and 42% quicker than the 12900K.
Shifting on to Adobe Photoshop, by no means earlier than have we seen a Ryzen CPU dominate each Premiere and Photoshop. It’s because Photoshop depends closely on single core efficiency and sometimes Intel has had the higher hand. Zen 4 modifications that because the 7950X narrowly edges out the 12900K by a mere 3% margin, making it 24% quicker than the 5950X.
It is the identical story after we have a look at After Results. Beforehand even the 12600K was in a position to match the 5950X, however with the 7950X providing 33% extra efficiency it once more nudged forward of the 12900K.
The final productiveness benchmark we’ve got right this moment appears at code compilation efficiency, and right here the 7950X delivered 25% better efficiency than Intel’s present flagship, the 12900K. The margin from the 5950X was additionally comparable, for one more simple win from AMD’s new 16-core processor.
Gaming Benchmarks
On the gaming entrance we’ll begin with Factorio which may be very cache delicate and solely appears at single core efficiency. Regardless of packing twice the L3 cache of the 7600X, that is cut up into two CCD’s and it will appear capability is not the important thing to finest efficiency seeing the 5800X3D’s consequence.
The R9 7950X was a mere 2% quicker than the 7600X, making it 4% slower than the 12900K when paired with DDR5 reminiscence.
The additional cores of the 7950X helped it bounce forward of the 7600X in Watch Canines Legion, pushing the typical body price 6% greater, to get inside 3% of the 12900K armed with DDR5-6400 reminiscence.
That is a 22% improve from the 5950X, so a formidable generational leap on the subject of gaming efficiency.
Rainbow Six Extraction efficiency was common, although completely high-quality given the 7950X was simply 4% slower than the quickest CPU configuration examined, the 12900K operating DDR5-6400 reminiscence.
Shifting on to Hitman 3, we discover that the 7950X isn’t any quicker than the 7600X, so each have been roughly on par with the 12900K utilizing DDR5 reminiscence. An excellent total consequence despite the fact that Hitman does not require greater than six Zen 4 cores.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is an effective illustration of how CPU demanding many fashionable video games are. This recreation might be helpful for testing low-end CPUs, however for the 7950X it simply reveals us that we’re in a position to max out the RTX 3090 Ti, matching different high-end CPUs.
The 7950X was similar to the 7600X in F1 22 the place it was simply 2% quicker hitting 340 fps on common. That is a 6% uplift over the 5800X3D and an 11% enchancment from the 12900K.
Spider-Man Remastered does not take any benefit of all these additional cores which leads to the 7950X delivering 7600X-like efficiency, which means it is considerably slower than the 12900K operating DDR5 reminiscence, trailing by a 13% margin.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider noticed an affordable 6% enchancment to 1% lows for the 7950X over the 7600 and this positioned it alongside the 12900K because the quickest CPU examined on this title.
Just like the 7600X, the R9 7950X is spectacular in Horizon Zero Daybreak, hitting 212 fps which noticed it lead the 5800X3D by a 7% margin and the 12900K operating DDR5 reminiscence by a 13% margin.
In Cyberpunk 2077 the 16-core flagship solely beats the 7600X by a 1% margin in common body charges, however the 7950X was in a position to enhance 1% lows by a extra spectacular 9% margin. That mentioned, efficiency total was nonetheless underwhelming because the 12900K was 17% quicker.
ACC additionally noticed little enchancment for the 7950X over the 7600X, which means it was a very good bit slower than the 5800X3D, however 5% quicker than the 12900K.
The Riftbreaker knowledge is attention-grabbing because the 7950X was really 6% slower than the 7600X right here. This seems to be a problem with 2 CCD Zen 4 processors as we have additionally seen this body price decline with the 7900X. AMD is conscious of this and are involved with the developer to see if there is a resolution, so this small efficiency challenge may be rectified shortly.
In Counter-Strike: International Offensive the 7950X improves upon the 7600X’s already spectacular consequence by 5%, hitting a mean body price of 511 fps. That is 14% quicker than the 12900K operating DDR5 reminiscence and a large 37% quicker than the 5950X.
12 Sport Common Efficiency
Looking on the 12 recreation common reveals that the Ryzen 9 7950X is barely any quicker than the 7600X for enjoying video games, inserting it roughly on par with the 12900K operating DDR5-6400 reminiscence.
As we noticed within the 7600X overview, Zen 4 CPUs seem to deal with DDR5-6400 effectively and luxuriate in a small efficiency enhance when utilizing the upper clocked reminiscence, so there is a good probability each would nudge simply forward of the 12900K utilizing the identical spec reminiscence, however both means efficiency total goes to be a lot the identical.
The highlights for the 7950X in gaming are that it is 5% quicker than the 5800X3D and 16% quicker than the 5950X, that are nonetheless noteworthy beneficial properties for AMD.
Energy Consumption
As spectacular because the Ryzen 9 7950X’s efficiency is, it comes at the price of energy. The previous-gen 5950X consumed an analogous stage of energy to the 5800X, which was an unimaginable feat, the identical cannot be mentioned for the 7950X which pushed whole system energy consumption as much as 355 watts.
That is a large 60% improve in whole system draw when in comparison with the 5950X, so it is really a lot worse than the 5950X on the subject of efficiency per watt, which is not shocking given the 7600X solely matched the 5800X.
When in comparison with Intel it isn’t a nasty consequence, utilizing barely much less energy than the 12900K for ~60% extra efficiency on this productiveness take a look at, so when it comes to energy effectivity Zen 4 wipes the ground with Alder Lake.
Cooling Efficiency
The Zen 4 CPUs deliberately give the impression that they are troublesome to chill by delivering as a lot efficiency as attainable by taking full benefit of the thermal and energy headroom. AMD says with the brand new AM5 socket and better TDP, Zen 4 processors will run right into a thermal wall earlier than they hit an influence wall. This implies below heavy load they’re going to sit at TJMax which is about 95 levels Celsius for the Ryzen 7000 collection, and this will likely be notably true for the 12 and 16-core fashions.
AMD has burdened that this conduct is by design and add that it is necessary to notice TJMax is the utmost protected working temperature — not absolutely the most temperature.
Within the case of Zen 4, the processors are designed to run at TJMax 24/7 with out danger of injury or deterioration. AMD went on to say that 95C is just not operating scorching, relatively Zen 4 will deliberately go to this temperature below load as a result of the ability administration system is aware of that that is the perfect method to squeeze probably the most efficiency out of the chip with out damaging it.
Most AM4 coolers needs to be appropriate with AM5, the exception being these which can be secured from the rear facet of the motherboard because the backplates aren’t detachable from AM5 boards. Because of this all coolers can now be put in with out requiring rear entry to the motherboard, as is the case with HEDT processors, which is nice information.
For all our testing we used the be quiet! Pure Loop 2 FX 360mm liquid cooler which is 100% appropriate with AM5. After an hour of looping the Cinebench R23 multi-core with the Pure Loop put in contained in the be quiet! Silent Base 802 we recorded a peak CPU temperature of 99C for the first CCD and 96C for the secondary CCD, or simply above the 95c TJMax.
It is going to be attention-grabbing to revisit these Zen 4 processors utilizing a variety of coolers to see how cooling efficiency impacts CPU efficiency. However that is an investigation for one more time.
Value vs. Efficiency
For our price evaluation we’ll begin with the gaming numbers, value per body whereas solely considering the value of every CPU. Now, it is to be anticipated as a result of the 7950X solely matched the gaming efficiency of the 7600X which prices half as a lot cash, the price per body is horrible and far worse than even the 12900K, the 7950X is not a gaming CPU.
When factoring in the complete platform value issues do not enhance for the 7950X. It is a lot worse worth than Intel’s flagship for gaming and also you’d simply go for the 12700K as a gamer, which is analogous to the 7600X when it comes to worth. Once more, this is not a gaming CPU and the identical is true of the 7900X which we’ll absolutely overview quickly. These are primarily productiveness CPUs that additionally occur to recreation very well, but additionally they’re no higher than the 6 and 8-core variations, so for those who’re simply gaming get one of many decrease core rely fashions and save your self a ton of cash.
The place the Ryzen 9 7950X excels is at productiveness. For professionals, worth to efficiency is not that necessary inside motive: a product that saves time, saves cash. So far as desktop CPUs on mainstream platforms go, the 7950X is at the moment unbeatable costing $33.33 per 1000 pts within the Cinebench R23 take a look at when factoring in not simply the CPU value, but additionally the reminiscence and motherboard.
This makes it 16% higher worth than the 5950X, although we might say for many the virtually 60% enhance in efficiency is a far greater draw card. The 12900K cannot reside with it both, not solely is the 7950X 40% quicker, however it’s additionally 7% higher when it comes to worth.
For video professionals it is a comparable story, the 7950X will prevent a very good chunk of time in comparison with different desktop CPUs, and it is also nice from a worth perspective, roughly matching the cheaper 5950X whereas providing round 15% higher worth than the 12900K.
What We Realized
The Ryzen 9 7950X is the brand new efficiency king and the jack of all trades, other than perhaps energy consumption and pricing, in fact. The Zen 4 flagship can do every part exceptionally effectively with no actual weaknesses. Even the value, whereas definitely costly, for what you are getting it is really cheap and as we famous firstly of the overview, it is a $100 drop from the earlier era at launch, so it is onerous to complain about that.
In most productiveness workloads it stomps the Core i9-12900K and it simply occurs to be higher worth, too. As a professional-grade product, the 7950X is sensational, however as a gaming CPU it is overkill and a bit pointless.
That is primarily the identical scenario we noticed with Zen 3, so for those who learn our critiques and purchased a CPU for pure gaming, we hope we saved you some cash. For instance, for those who purchased the 5900X or 5950X in an effort to future-proof your gaming expertise, sadly you’ve got simply thrown cash away. Exterior of streaming, there may be zero profit to the 12 and 16-core fashions over the 8-core and for probably the most half even the 6-core fashions, and the identical will likely be true of Zen 4, if no more so.
After all, for those who plan to work and play utilizing the identical PC, then no CPU has ever achieved each so effectively because the 7950X. We won’t anticipate how competent Intel’s upcoming Core i9-13900K will likely be towards the 7950X, however we suspect we’ll know precisely by this time subsequent month, so it is in all probability finest to attend earlier than making your buy.
For these of you interested by the Ryzen 9 7950X, we really feel the premium it’s a must to pay for X670E motherboards will not be a deterrent, nor will the value of DDR5 reminiscence. Additionally, you will need to guarantee correct cooling, and above all else, convey a giant cooler to the desk for optimum efficiency.
You could have seen among the extra testing we did for the 7600X overview was not included right here. The reason being that there is nothing new to point out: the 7950X scales the identical with reminiscence, it might deal with DDR5-6000 with 4 DIMMs populated, and Resizable BAR scales as anticipated. Overclocking is one thing we’ll in all probability have a look at quickly in a separate characteristic.
The Ryzen 9 7950X is a formidable equipment of {hardware}, it is the last word no compromise resolution and it is arms down the very best at what it does, at the least for now. For a couple of generations now AMD has dominated productiveness efficiency with their 16-core desktop CPU. The 3950X made mockery of the Core i9-9900K again within the day, although it did lag behind for gaming. The 5950X retired Intel’s whole HEDT lineup and demolished the 10900K within the course of, even managing to offer it a tough time within the gaming benchmarks.
The Ryzen 9 7950X has confronted the stiffest competitors from Intel within the 12900K, whereas nonetheless managing to come back out on prime by successful the productiveness benchmarks comfortably and providing comparable gaming efficiency. We are able to extremely suggest the Ryzen 9 7950X, with the one caveat that Intel’s Thirteenth-gen will likely be launched in a matter of weeks, so earlier than pulling the set off we recommend you assess your choices when each chip giants may have their newest and biggest competing face to face.
