AMD’s new Zen 3 processors perfect their already strong Ryzen lineup. When before Intel could still claim to have the best single thread performance, that is no longer the case. Too strong are the new processors also in that category: The Ryzen 9 5950X with its 16 cores and a turbo clock of 4.9GHz, followed by the just slightly weaker 5900X with 12 cores and a 4.8GHz turbo, then there is the Ryzen 7 5800X with 8 cores at 4.7GHz and finally the mainstream option, the Ryzen 5 5600X with 6 cores and 4.6GHz turbo. They all feature double their core amount in threads. But just the 5600X comes with a Wraith cooler that is supposed to work with the moderate 65W TDP, while the bigger units with their 105W will need a better aftermarket solution.
AMD’s prior generation has already been strong, not only in multithreaded benchmarks, but also in singlethreaded benchmarks and those workloads that profit from good performance in that category, like games. But Intel has always been a bit stronger there, lately again with processors like the Intel i5-10600K. But this time AMD completely takes the lead:
It is astonishing how well the 5950X can scale its many cores in workloads that run only on a few of them, which helps in games and many other applications thare are not as easy to parallelize. But also the cheaper Ryzen 5 5600X shows excellent performance, making it a strong alternative to the i5-10600K, even the i7-10700K, even with the 10900K being close enough.
The one thing not to like about this release: The processors got more expensive. The 5600X starts with a suggested price of $299 (and 299€), which would make it more expensive than the Ryzen 7 3700X. But: It is also stronger. That price increase does however keep the Ryzen 5 3600 attractive, at below $200 it is still a worthy option to consider. And there is also the fact that the motherboard socket AM4 is on its way out, it will likely see no better processor series as an upgrade option, which means there is no reason to futureproof on that platform. Supported are only B550 and X570 chipsets though, for now, with B450 and X470 promised to get support via a BIOS update at the beginning of next year.
If you want to read more about these processors, have a look at these reviews:
- Computerbase (german): AMD Ryzen 5000 im Test: 5950X, 5900X, 5800X & 5600X sind Hammer 2.0
- Anandtech: AMD Zen 3 Ryzen Deep Dive Review: 5950X, 5900X, 5800X and 5600X Tested
- Gamers Nexus (video): RIP Intel: AMD Ryzen 9 5950X CPU Review & Benchmarks (Workstation, Gaming, Overclocking)
And if you intend to build a new PC soon, and a (at least) $300 processor fits into your budget, maybe wait until those processors are in stock and the launch price calmed down a bit. The benchmark results show that they are very strong options, pc-kombo will include them in its builds as soon as they are widely available.