AMD Ryzen 9 3950X Drops 16-Core, 32-Thread Zen 2 Bombshell On PC Gaming Market

Leading up to the Computex unveil, we had been hearing about an even more powerful 16-core/32-thread Ryzen processor, and there were even rumors that the chip had been shown behind closed doors at the show. Today, we have confirmation of this new beast processor, and it is sure to give Intel some sleepless nights.

Witness the Ryzen 9 3950X, which will serve as the new flagship for the Ryzen 3000 family. As previously rumored, the 7nm chip has 16 cores and 32 threads (two dies, using all available cores) and will have 72MB of total cache. More impressively, while the base clock chimes in at relatively sedate 3.5GHz, it will be able to boost all the way to 4.7GHz (the highest of all Ryzen 3000 processors).

And the icing on the cake -- which can be attributed to its power efficient 7nm architecture -- is that the Ryzen 9 3950X has a TDP of just 105 watts, which is the same as the 8- and 12- core Ryzen 7 3800X and Ryzen 9 3900X respectively. To put that in perspective, the 14nm, 16-core/32-thread Intel Core i9-9960X processor ($1,699) has base/boost clocks of 3.1GHz and 4.4GHz respectively along with a much higher TDP of 165W.

Needless to say, AMD is looking to hit Intel right where it hurts in the enthusiast market with the Ryzen 9 3950X. While Intel’s current mainstream Core i9 gaming processors top out at 8-cores, AMD is offering a 12-core chip at comparable prices and the Ryzen 9 3950X has no peer unless you step up to Intel’s Core-X HEDT processors (at much higher price pointa).

AMD says that the Ryzen 9 3950X will be priced at $749 when it launches this September, which is a $250 premium over the Ryzen 9 3900X.