Ryzen 9 3950X vs Ryzen 5 1500X

VS

Aggregate performance score

Ryzen 5 1500X
2017
4 cores / 8 threads, 65 Watt
5.73
Ryzen 9 3950X
2019
16 cores / 32 threads, 105 Watt
24.39
+326%

Ryzen 9 3950X outperforms Ryzen 5 1500X by a whopping 326% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Ryzen 5 1500X and Ryzen 9 3950X processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking1122205
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation3.1118.01
Market segmentDesktop processorDesktop processor
SeriesAMD Ryzen 5AMD Ryzen 9
Power efficiency8.3421.98
Architecture codenameZen (2017−2020)Matisse (Zen 2) (2019−2020)
Release date11 April 2017 (7 years ago)14 November 2019 (5 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$189$799

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Ryzen 9 3950X has 479% better value for money than Ryzen 5 1500X.

Detailed specifications

Ryzen 5 1500X and Ryzen 9 3950X 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 cores4 (Quad-Core)16 (Hexadeca-Core)
Threads832
Base clock speed3.5 GHz3.5 GHz
Boost clock speed3.7 GHz4.7 GHz
Bus rate4 × 8 GT/sno data
Multiplier35no data
L1 cache96K (per core)96K (per core)
L2 cache512K (per core)512K (per core)
L3 cache16 MB (shared)64 MB
Chip lithography14 nm7 nm, 12 nm
Die size192 mm22 x 72 mm + 125 mm (IO-Die) mm2
Number of transistors4,800 million19,200 million
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility-+
Unlocked multiplier++

Compatibility

Information on Ryzen 5 1500X and Ryzen 9 3950X 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 configuration1 (Uniprocessor)1 (Uniprocessor)
SocketAM4AM4
Power consumption (TDP)65 Watt105 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Ryzen 5 1500X and Ryzen 9 3950X. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsXFR, FMA3, SSE 4.2, AVX2, SMT86x MMX(+), SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, SSE4A,-64, AMD-V, AES, AVX, AVX2, FMA3, SHA, Precision Boost 2
AES-NI++
AVX++
Precision Boost 2no data+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Ryzen 5 1500X and Ryzen 9 3950X are enumerated here.

AMD-V++

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Ryzen 5 1500X and Ryzen 9 3950X. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR4DDR4 Dual-channel
Maximum memory size64 GB128 GB
Max memory channels2no data
Maximum memory bandwidth42.671 GB/s51.196 GB/s
ECC memory support++

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card--

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Ryzen 5 1500X and Ryzen 9 3950X.

PCIe version3.0no data
PCI Express lanes20no data

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.

Ryzen 5 1500X 5.73
Ryzen 9 3950X 24.39
+326%

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.

Ryzen 5 1500X 9104
Ryzen 9 3950X 38737
+325%

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.

Ryzen 5 1500X 1115
Ryzen 9 3950X 1732
+55.3%

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.

Ryzen 5 1500X 3685
Ryzen 9 3950X 10799
+193%

Cinebench 10 32-bit single-core

Cinebench R10 is an ancient ray tracing benchmark for processors by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. Its single core version uses just one CPU thread to render a futuristic looking motorcycle.

Ryzen 5 1500X 4573
Ryzen 9 3950X 6102
+33.4%

Cinebench 10 32-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 10 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R10 using all the processor threads. Possible number of threads is limited by 16 in this version.

Ryzen 5 1500X 20186
Ryzen 9 3950X 53396
+165%

wPrime 32

wPrime 32M is a math multi-thread processor test, which calculates square roots of first 32 million integer numbers. Its result is measured in seconds, so that the less is benchmark result, the faster the processor.

Ryzen 5 1500X 6.9
Ryzen 9 3950X 4.11
+67.9%

Cinebench 11.5 64-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 11.5 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R11.5 which uses all the processor threads. A maximum of 64 threads is supported in this version.

Ryzen 5 1500X 9
Ryzen 9 3950X 44
+388%

Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 15 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R15 which uses all the processor threads.

Ryzen 5 1500X 805
Ryzen 9 3950X 4002
+397%

Cinebench 15 64-bit single-core

Cinebench R15 (standing for Release 15) is a benchmark made by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. It was superseded by later versions of Cinebench, which use more modern variants of Cinema 4D engine. The Single Core version (sometimes called Single-Thread) only uses a single processor thread to render a room full of reflective spheres and light sources.

Ryzen 5 1500X 154
Ryzen 9 3950X 209
+35.7%

Cinebench 11.5 64-bit single-core

Cinebench R11.5 is an old benchmark by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. It was superseded by later versions of Cinebench, which use more modern variants of Cinema 4D engine. The Single Core version loads a single thread with ray tracing to render a glossy room full of crystal spheres and light sources.

Ryzen 5 1500X 1.73
Ryzen 9 3950X 2.37
+37%

TrueCrypt AES

TrueCrypt is a discontinued piece of software that was widely used for on-the-fly-encryption of disk partitions, now superseded by VeraCrypt. It contains several embedded performance tests, one of them being TrueCrypt AES, which measures data encryption speed using AES algorithm. Result is encryption speed in gigabytes per second.

Ryzen 5 1500X 4.9
Ryzen 9 3950X 10.8
+120%

x264 encoding pass 2

x264 Pass 2 is a slower variant of x264 video compression that produces a variable bit rate output file, which results in better quality since the higher bit rate is used when it is needed more. Benchmark result is still measured in frames per second.  

Ryzen 5 1500X 50
Ryzen 9 3950X 168
+239%

x264 encoding pass 1

x264 version 4.0 is a video encoding benchmark uses MPEG 4 x264 compression method to compress a sample HD (720p) video. Pass 1 is a faster variant that produces a constant bit rate output file. Its result is measured in frames per second, which means how many frames of the source video file were encoded per second.  

Ryzen 5 1500X 177
Ryzen 9 3950X 265
+49.7%

WinRAR 4.0

WinRAR 4.0 is an outdated version of a popular file archiver. It contains an internal speed test, using 'Best' setting of RAR compression on large chunks of randomly generated data. Its results are measured in kilobytes per second.

Ryzen 5 1500X 3910
Ryzen 9 3950X 7409
+89.5%

Geekbench 5.5 Multi-Core

Ryzen 5 1500X 4604
Ryzen 9 3950X 12363
+169%

Blender(-)

Ryzen 5 1500X 586
+366%
Ryzen 9 3950X 126

Geekbench 5.5 Single-Core

Ryzen 5 1500X 919
Ryzen 9 3950X 1306
+42.2%

7-Zip Single

Ryzen 5 1500X 3865
Ryzen 9 3950X 5340
+38.2%

7-Zip

Ryzen 5 1500X 21842
Ryzen 9 3950X 99467
+355%

WebXPRT 3

Ryzen 5 1500X 178
Ryzen 9 3950X 239
+34.6%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 5.73 24.39
Recency 11 April 2017 14 November 2019
Physical cores 4 16
Threads 8 32
Chip lithography 14 nm 7 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 65 Watt 105 Watt

Ryzen 5 1500X has 61.5% lower power consumption.

Ryzen 9 3950X, on the other hand, has a 325.7% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 2 years, 300% more physical cores and 300% more threads, and a 100% more advanced lithography process.

The Ryzen 9 3950X is our recommended choice as it beats the Ryzen 5 1500X in performance tests.


Should you still have questions on choice between Ryzen 5 1500X and Ryzen 9 3950X, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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AMD Ryzen 5 1500X
Ryzen 5 1500X
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
Ryzen 9 3950X

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Community ratings

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