AMD Ryzen 9 3950X Delay Reportedly Caused By Clock Speed Shortfalls
"We are focusing on meeting the strong demand for our 3rd generation AMD Ryzen processors in the market," said AMD at the time. "We are confident that when enthusiasts get their hands on the world’s first 16-core mainstream desktop processor and our next-generation of high-end desktop processors, the wait will be well worth it."
AMD didn't mention any issues that it might have been having with the Ryzen 9 3950X (why would it?), but a new report from DigiTimes is suggesting that performance issues may be holding the processor back from release. Motherboard makers speaking with the publication indicated that "unsatisfactory clock speeds" are the primary problem that AMD is working to resolve at this time.
A number of Zen 2-based Ryzen 3000 desktop processors have been unable to reliably hit their advertised boost speeds, but AMD addressed those concerns with the AGESA 1003ABBA firmware update. It's unknown at this time if the clock speeds issues that AMD is currently facing with the Ryzen 9 3950X are related to the previous boost clock concerns.
Whatever the case, DigiTimes' sources claim that the delay in releasing the Ryzen 9 3950X has nothing to do with supply issues with the TSMC's 7nm production lines.
The Ryzen 9 3950X is a 16-core/32-thread processor with a base clock of 3.5GHz and a boost clock of 4.7GHz. The processor will have a relatively modest TDP of 105 watts despite there being 16 cores on core thanks to its efficient 7nm process tech. When the Ryzen 9 3950X is released in November, it will be priced at $749.
