In total, Lisa Su, CEO of AMD, announced a total of four Ryzen CPUs: the Ryzen 9 5950X, the Ryzen 9 5900X, Ryzen 7 5800X, and the Ryzen 5 5600X. As you can already surmise, the new CPUs serve as generational updates to the current 3rd generation Ryzen 3000 series desktop CPUs, and while each processor bears a similar core and thread count as their respective predecessor, they also feature performance improvements.
This performance update can be attributed to the series’ new Zen 3 CPU architecture. To break down the technical aspects of it, Zen 3 produces approximately 2.4 times more performance per watt than Zen 2, and up to 19% greater instructions per clock (IPC). Not only that, but AMD’s Zen 3 CPU architecture also uses an all-new layout that also gives users access to a full 32MB L3 Cache, instead of a combined 16MB L3 Cache.
Getting back on point, the Ryzen 9 5950X comes with 16-cores, 32-threads, has a maximum boost clock of 4.9GHz, and a 72MB combined L2 and L3 cache. All while still retaining the same 105W TDP as the 3950X. But the real star of the show in today’s presentation was none other than the Ryzen 9 5900X. Featuring a 12-core, 24-thread layout, the CPU has a base and boost clock of 3.7GHz and 4.8GHz respectively, the same 72MB L2 and L3 cache, as well as a 105W TDP. In terms of performance, AMD averages its overall performance across the board at around 26% better than the 3900X, and with the resolution set at Full HD.
What is even more impressive, though, is the 5900X’s single-core performance and something that AMD was most certainly eager to talk about. Pitting it against Intel’s current 10th generation Core i9-10900K, its CPU was able to achieve a score of 631 on Cinebench R20’s single-threaded test. Making it the first consumer desktop CPU to actually break past the 600 points barrier. As for their availability, AMD says that its new Ryzen 5000 series lineup will be available from 5 November onwards. As for how much each SKU costs, pricing starts at US$299 (~RM1241) for the Ryzen 5 5600X, US$449 (~RM1864) for the Ryzen 7 5800X, US$549 (~RM2280) for the Ryzen 9 5900X, and US$799 (~RM3318) for the Ryzen 9 5950X. Another piece of good news is that these CPUs are compatible with the currently existing X570 chipset.
Now, all that’s left to wait for from AMD is its “Big Navi” Radeon RX 6000 series GPUs, which are slated to be announced in another two weeks. The good doctor did give us a very small teaser, but frankly speaking, it didn’t really do anything to quench our framerate thirst.
