Ryzen 5 5500 vs Ryzen 9 3950X
Aggregate performance score
Ryzen 9 3950X outperforms Ryzen 5 5500 by a whopping 100% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Ryzen 9 3950X and Ryzen 5 5500 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 205 | 626 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | 1 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 18.03 | 48.98 |
| Market segment | Desktop processor | Desktop processor |
| Series | AMD Ryzen 9 | no data |
| Power efficiency | 21.98 | 17.78 |
| Architecture codename | Matisse (Zen 2) (2019−2020) | Cezanne (2021−2024) |
| Release date | 14 November 2019 (5 years ago) | 4 April 2022 (2 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $799 | $159 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Ryzen 5 5500 has 172% better value for money than Ryzen 9 3950X.
Detailed specifications
Ryzen 9 3950X and Ryzen 5 5500 basic parameters such as number of cores, number of threads, base frequency and turbo boost clock, lithography, cache size and multiplier lock state. These parameters indirectly say of CPU speed, though for more precise assessment you have to consider their test results.
| Physical cores | 16 (Hexadeca-Core) | 6 (Hexa-Core) |
| Threads | 32 | 12 |
| Base clock speed | 3.5 GHz | 3.6 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 4.7 GHz | 4.2 GHz |
| L1 cache | 96K (per core) | 64K (per core) |
| L2 cache | 512K (per core) | 512K (per core) |
| L3 cache | 64 MB | 16 MB |
| Chip lithography | 7 nm, 12 nm | 7 nm |
| Die size | 2 x 72 mm + 125 mm (IO-Die) mm2 | 180 mm2 |
| Maximum case temperature (TCase) | no data | 95 °C |
| Number of transistors | 19,200 million | 10,700 million |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | + | + |
| Unlocked multiplier | + | + |
Compatibility
Information on Ryzen 9 3950X and Ryzen 5 5500 compatibility with other computer components: motherboard (look for socket type), power supply unit (look for power consumption) etc. Useful when planning a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. Note that power consumption of some processors can well exceed their nominal TDP, even without overclocking. Some can even double their declared thermals given that the motherboard allows to tune the CPU power parameters.
| Number of CPUs in a configuration | 1 (Uniprocessor) | 1 |
| Socket | AM4 | AM4 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 105 Watt | 65 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Ryzen 9 3950X and Ryzen 5 5500. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | 86x MMX(+), SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, SSE4A,-64, AMD-V, AES, AVX, AVX2, FMA3, SHA, Precision Boost 2 | no data |
| AES-NI | + | + |
| AVX | + | + |
| Precision Boost 2 | + | + |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Ryzen 9 3950X and Ryzen 5 5500 are enumerated here.
| AMD-V | + | + |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Ryzen 9 3950X and Ryzen 5 5500. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR4 Dual-channel | DDR4-3200 |
| Maximum memory size | 128 GB | no data |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | 51.196 GB/s | no data |
| ECC memory support | + | - |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Ryzen 9 3950X and Ryzen 5 5500.
| PCIe version | no data | 3.0 |
Synthetic benchmark performance
Various benchmark results of the processors in comparison. Overall score is measured in points in 0-100 range, higher is better.
Combined synthetic benchmark score
This is our combined benchmark performance rating. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.
Passmark
Passmark CPU Mark is a widespread benchmark, consisting of 8 different types of workload, including integer and floating point math, extended instructions, compression, encryption and physics calculation. There is also one separate single-threaded scenario measuring single-core performance.
GeekBench 5 Single-Core
GeekBench 5 Single-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses only a single CPU core.
GeekBench 5 Multi-Core
GeekBench 5 Multi-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses all available CPU cores.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 24.39 | 12.21 |
| Recency | 14 November 2019 | 4 April 2022 |
| Physical cores | 16 | 6 |
| Threads | 32 | 12 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 105 Watt | 65 Watt |
Ryzen 9 3950X has a 99.8% higher aggregate performance score, and 166.7% more physical cores and 166.7% more threads.
Ryzen 5 5500, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 2 years, and 61.5% lower power consumption.
The Ryzen 9 3950X is our recommended choice as it beats the Ryzen 5 5500 in performance tests.
Should you still have questions on choice between Ryzen 9 3950X and Ryzen 5 5500, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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