AMD’s new Ryzen 5000-series processors promise a significant performance boost over the last generation, but based on the specs, it doesn’t seem like much has changed. This couldn’t be more true than with the Ryzen 9 5900X and 3900X, both of which have 12 cores and 24 threads, the same 105W TDP, and slightly different clock speeds.
The TSMC 7nm FinFET process is behind both processors, although a clever redesign by AMD gives the 5900X the upper hand in some situations. Is the improvement still enough? In this guide, we compare the Ryzen 5900X vs. the 3900X so you know which processor to get for your next build.
Prices and availability
AMD’s Ryzen 9 3900X launched on July 7, 2019 with an MSRP of $499. As of late 2020, there are still plenty of stocks of these processors at or below retail price. We’ve seen processors drop to $399 new and as low as $300 on the used market. AMD’s website lists the current price at $464. While there’s plenty of inventory right now, we expect AMD to start phasing out 3000-series processors in 2021, including the 3900X.
The Ryzen 9 5900X was announced during AMD’s Zen 3 unveiling in October 2020 and released shortly after on November 5. It’s $50 more expensive, with an MSRP of $549 (the slightly less powerful Ryzen 7 5800X is also $50 more than the rival next-gen chip). Stock is likely to be an issue for a few weeks after launch. However, we don’t expect the stock issues to persist like they did with the RTX 3080.
Spec by spec: a generational leap?
Comparing the specs directly, the Ryzen 9 5900X doesn’t seem like the generational leap promised by AMD. AMD’s newest chip still has 12 cores and 24 threads, and while it has a higher boost clock, it’s just little higher. Otherwise, the specs are the same, right down to the amount of L2 and L3 cache and overall power consumption.
| Ryzen 9 5900X | Ryzen 9 3900X | |
| cores | 12 | 12 |
| neither | 24 | 24 |
| basic class | 3.7 | 3.8GHz |
| turn up the clock | 4.8 | 4.6GHz |
| L2 cache | 6MB | 6MB |
| L3 cache | 64MB | 64MB |
| unlocked | That | That |
| TDP | 105W | 105W |
However, the numbers do not tell the whole story. The Zen 3 architecture inside the Ryzen 9 5900X has some big differences compared to Zen 2, the most notable of which is direct access to the L3 cache. Instead of sharing a cache pool like the Zen 2 chips, the Zen 3 chips draw from a shared pool. In games or applications that use a dominant thread, this means that the thread has access to the full set of L3 cache without having to travel across the array. The number of instructions per clock (IPC) has also increased compared to the third generation Ryzen, up to 19%.
Benchmarks are still thin on AMD’s new chip. According to AMD’s internal benchmarks, the 5900X outperforms the 3900XT, the same chip as the 3900X with a slightly faster clock speed, in Shadow of the Tomb Raider quite significantly. The 3900XT put out an average of 141 frames per second, while the 5900X put out 181 fps at 1080p on high settings. AMD has shown framework improvements in the League of Legends, battlefield vand singularity ashes, also – as much as 50%.
Early GeekBench results support AMD’s claims. In a benchmark, the 5900X got a single-core score of 1,681 and a multi-core score of 14,613, and the benchmark shows that the 5900X pushes beyond its 4.94Ghz boost clock. By comparison, the 3900X scored a single-core score of 1,299 and a multi-core score of 12,381 on this test, only going up to 4.38 Ghz.
Single-core performance has been a winning strategy for Intel for many years, though that may change with the 5900X. Early benchmarks show the 5900X outperforming the 10900K in single-core performance (read our 3900X vs. i9-9900K comparison to see how Intel and AMD stack up against the last generation).
While the 5900X’s specs don’t look impressive compared to last-gen offerings, early benchmarks are promising, and the underlying die design supports the results we’re seeing. While the 5900X is technically only $50 more than the 3900X, you’ll likely spend around $150 more if you go with AMD’s newer chip. We’ll have to wait for more confirmed benchmarks to get the full story, but based on the results we’ve seen so far, the 5900X justifies that higher price.
Do you need to update?
Ryzen 3000 series processors Dan Baker/Digital Trends
The 3900X is still a great processor, and with its recent frequent price drops, it’s a great deal too. However, early results are in favor of AMD’s new chip. The resigned architecture of the 5900X allows cores to have full access to the L3 cache, which means better performance per core. We can see some clear IPC improvements due to the update, which means higher frames per second in games and faster performance in productivity apps.
Comparing the two head-to-head, most people aren’t sacrificing much with the 3900X (and will save around $150). However, there are a few other things to consider besides price and performance. The 3900X supports AMD’s older 300 series chipset with a BIOS update, while the 5900X only supports 500 and 400 series chipsets (with a BIOS update). If you’ve been following the last few generations, you may need to upgrade your motherboard to use the 5900X, even though all three generations of chipsets share the same AM4 socket.
That’s a point against the 5900X, but it also has a point in its favor. AMD’s upcoming RX 6000 GPUs come with Smart Access Memory, which allows users with a 5000-series processor and 500-series motherboard to directly access the processor’s ultra-fast GPU memory. We don’t have third-party benchmarks for this feature yet, although AMD’s internal benchmarks are promising. IN battlefield v at 1440p, AMD claims the RX 6800, 6800 XT, and 6900 XT outperformed Nvidia’s $1,500 RTX 3090 when all four were paired with the 5900X with Smart Access Memory enabled.
Although these results are probably more than a bit exaggerated, they do show one of the benefits of adopting AMD’s new platform. If you’re building a PC from the ground up or ready for a significant upgrade, the 5900X is a better choice. It has features like smart access memory and is only slightly more expensive, all things considered. However, if you’re just looking to upgrade your processor, you may also need to factor in the cost of the motherboard. In that case, the best option is to stick with the 3900X.
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Source: newstars.edu.vn