The AMD Ryzen 9 3900X might just be the fastest overall processor in the $500 US segment, with 12 cores and 24 threads based on the Zen 2 core architecture. While the chip has been out in the market for a while, Australian overclocker (via Shaun Fosmark @ Twitter) has pushed the chip to an impressive 5.62 GHz, beating out Intel's own 12 core chips clocked at around 6 GHz.
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12 Core CPU at 5.6 GHz Beats The 12 Core, 6 GHz LN2 Overclocked, Intel Core i9-9920X CPU
The AMD Ryzen 9 3900X is the highest core count CPU you can buy under for $500 US and the only Intel option you can get for that much is the Core i9-9900KS. While Intel may have the general clock speed advantage, the recent overclocking sessions once again show that Intel's IPC lead is no more and Zen 2 has outclassed Intel's aging Skylake architecture and its several revisions.
The AMD Ryzen 9 3900X was overclocked by Australian overclocker, Jordan Hyde, who goes by the handle of JORDAN.HYDE99 over at HwBOT. Jordan overclocked his chip to an impressive 5.625 GHz using LN2 across all cores. A voltage of 1.800V was supplied to the CPU and 16 GB of DDR4 ram at 4400 MHz (G.Skill Trident Z) was featured on the test setup. The processor finished the 1024M run in 35.517 seconds and the 32M run in 1.797 seconds. The wPrime 1024M run is now the top score for any Ryzen 9 3900X tested to this day and the second-highest score in the global 12 core rank list.
Compared to some other runs, the Ryzen 9 3900X at 5.62 GHz beats out Intel's Core i9-7920X at 5.95 GHz and the Core i9-9920X at 5.92 GHz which is almost a 6 GHz overclock. The one Core i9-9920X submission by US overclocker, SPLAVE, still holds the top position with a finishing time of 35.95 seconds at a frequency of 6.105 GHz, which is much higher than the Ryzen 9 3900X.
The AMD Ryzen 9 3900X also holds the top position in Cinebench R11.5 and Cinebench R15 for 12 core CPUs. A 5.5 GHz overclocker by Australian overclocker, KaRtA, yielded 48.43 points whereas the Intel Core i9-7920X with an overclock of 5.98 GHz (SPLAVE) yielded only 43.02 points. Similarly, in Cinebench R15, Jordan managed to top the 12 core leaderboard with his Ryzen 9 3900X that clocked at 5.6 GHz and scoring 4461 points in the multi-thread benchmark compared to Intel's Core i9-9920X, scoring only 4025 points with an overclock of 5.92 GHz. The AMD Ryzen 9 3900X also destroys the Intel Core i9-9920X in Geekbench 3 by scoring 79459 points at 5.57 GHz compared to just 73417 points of the Intel chip at 5.95 GHz.
AMD Ryzen 3000 Series CPU Lineup
| CPU Name | Ryzen 5 3500 | Ryzen 5 3500X | Ryzen 5 3600 | Ryzen 5 3600X | Ryzen 7 3700X | Ryzen 7 3800X | Ryzen 9 3900X | Ryzen 9 3950X |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cores/Threads | 6/6 | 6/6 | 6/12 | 6/12 | 8/16 | 8/16 | 12/24 | 16/32 |
| Base Clock | 3.6 GHz | 3.6 GHz | 3.6 GHz | 3.8 GHz | 3.6 GHz | 3.9 GHz | 3.8 GHz | 3.5 GHz |
| Boost Clock | 4.1 GHz | 4.1 GHz | 4.2 GHz | 4.4 GHz | 4.4 GHz | 4.5 GHz | 4.6 GHz | 4.7 GHz |
| Cache (L2+L3) | 16 MB | 32 MB | 35 MB | 35 MB | 36 MB | 36 MB | 70 MB | 72 MB |
| PCIe Lanes (Gen 4 CPU+PCH) | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 |
| TDP | 65W | 65W | 65W | 95W | 65W | 105W | 105W | 105W |
| Price | $149 US | $179 US | $199 US | $249 US | $329 US | $399 US | $499 US | $749 US |
The fun fact is that this is AMD's second-best mainstream chip as the Ryzen 9 3950X has also been breaking several-world records since its launch. We aren't going to even mention the Threadripper 3rd Gen parts here since they are now in a league of their own with no competition in sight. This just goes to show that Intel has lost all major leads they once had (IPC, efficiency, process, etc) to the Zen architecture and unless Intel brings their next-gen 10nm/7nm cores down to desktop and HEDT segment, they won't make a full revival in these markets anytime soon.
Also, there's good news for our Japanese readers as the AMD Ryzen 9 3900X is back in stock at major retail outlets such as TSUKUMO eX and PC Shop ARC having a good stock in their hands. Prices are suggested at around $550-$600 US which is similar to the $900 US+ situation the JP market experienced during the launch of the Ryzen 9 3950X. The Ryzen 9 3950X is also available but stock is said to be very short and prices are still floating around the $850-$900 US mark but those of you who have been waiting for the 12 / 16 core mainstream processors, this is the right time to buy before the holiday season ends.
