AMD Ryzen 16-Core Zen 2 CPU Benchmark Leak At 5.2GHz Boost Puts Intel Core i9 On Notice
We have already seen several leaked benchmarks pertaining to AMD's recently announced (but not yet available) Ryzen 3000 series of desktop processors, but what makes this latest one so interesting is that the reported specs possibly hint at there being an entirely new SKU outside of the ones that have already been unveiled.
The mysterious chip found its way to Geekbench. It is identified as having 16 physical cores and 32 threads, the same as the Ryzen 9 3950X. However, the database entry reports a 3.3GHz base clock and a 5.2GHz boost clock (likely overclocked). Both of those are different than the Ryzen 9 3950X, which has a 3.5GHz base clock and a 4.7GHz boost clock.
My hunch is that it is not actually a new SKU. Instead, it's likely either an engineering sample leading up to the launch of the Ryzen 9 3950X, or misrepresented specs. I won't rule it out entirely, though. If the specs are indeed accurate, it would fall just under the Ryzen 9 3950X in the pecking order with a base clock that is 200MHz slower, and whatever the non-oveclocked boost clock settles at.
In any event, this gives us another look at AMD's Zen 2 architecture. Here's how it scored, with a comparison to Intel's Core i9-9980XE...
The Core i9-9980XE is a monster Skylake-X processor with 18 cores and 36 threads clocked at 3GHz to 4.5GHz. You can see its scores in the left column, while the 16-core/32-thread Ryzen processor is represented in the right column.
AMD's chip wins in both rounds— single-core and multi-core performance. Both victories are impressive in their own right, the former because it speaks to closing the IPC gap, and the latter because AMD is working with two fewer cores and four fewer threads. And of course there is the pricing. The Core i9-9980XE is a $1,999 processor, while the Ryzen 9 3950X is set to debut at $749. Even if the Ryzen processor in this database entry is a different SKU, pricing is likely to be similar.
The one thing that should temper enthusiasm here is not knowing what type of cooling was used for this benchmark run. Hitting 5.2GHz on all 16 cores is impressive for sure, but whether or not that will be the norm remains to be seen. We'll find out soon enough, though—AMD's third-generation Ryzen lineup will be available starting July 7.
