Ryzen 9 7950X vs Ryzen 5 3600
Aggregate performance score
Ryzen 9 7950X outperforms Ryzen 5 3600 by a whopping 253% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Ryzen 5 3600 and Ryzen 9 7950X processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 692 | 66 |
| Place by popularity | 9 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 23.26 | no data |
| Market segment | Desktop processor | Desktop processor |
| Series | AMD Ryzen 5 | no data |
| Power efficiency | 16.25 | 21.96 |
| Architecture codename | Matisse (2019−2020) | Raphael (Zen 4) (2022) |
| Release date | 7 July 2019 (5 years ago) | 27 September 2022 (2 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $199 | no data |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Detailed specifications
Ryzen 5 3600 and Ryzen 9 7950X 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 cores | 6 (Hexa-Core) | 16 (Hexadeca-Core) |
| Threads | 12 | 32 |
| Base clock speed | 3.6 GHz | 4.5 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 4.2 GHz | 5.7 GHz |
| L1 cache | 384 KB | 64K (per core) |
| L2 cache | 3 MB | 1 MB (per core) |
| L3 cache | 32 MB (shared) | 64 MB (shared) |
| Chip lithography | 7 nm, 12 nm | 5 nm |
| Die size | no data | CCD = 2x 70 sq. mm, I/O = 122 mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | no data | 95 °C |
| Maximum case temperature (TCase) | no data | 47 °C |
| Number of transistors | 4,800 million | 13140 Million |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | + | + |
| Unlocked multiplier | + | + |
Compatibility
Information on Ryzen 5 3600 and Ryzen 9 7950X 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 configuration | 1 (Uniprocessor) | 1 |
| Socket | AM4 | AM5 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 65 Watt | 170 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Ryzen 5 3600 and Ryzen 9 7950X. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | no data | CCD = 5 nm, I/O = 6 nm, 0.650 - 1.475 V |
| AES-NI | + | + |
| AVX | + | + |
| Precision Boost 2 | + | + |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Ryzen 5 3600 and Ryzen 9 7950X are enumerated here.
| AMD-V | + | + |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Ryzen 5 3600 and Ryzen 9 7950X. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR4 Dual-channel | DDR5-5200 |
| Maximum memory size | 128 GB | no data |
| Max memory channels | 2 | no data |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | 51.196 GB/s | no data |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | - | AMD Radeon Graphics (Ryzen 7000) |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Ryzen 5 3600 and Ryzen 9 7950X.
| PCIe version | no data | 5.0 |
| PCI Express lanes | no data | 24 |
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.
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.
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.
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.
Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core
Cinebench Release 15 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R15 which uses all the processor threads.
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.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 11.21 | 39.62 |
| Recency | 7 July 2019 | 27 September 2022 |
| Physical cores | 6 | 16 |
| Threads | 12 | 32 |
| Chip lithography | 7 nm | 5 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 65 Watt | 170 Watt |
Ryzen 5 3600 has 161.5% lower power consumption.
Ryzen 9 7950X, on the other hand, has a 253.4% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 3 years, 166.7% more physical cores and 166.7% more threads, and a 40% more advanced lithography process.
The Ryzen 9 7950X is our recommended choice as it beats the Ryzen 5 3600 in performance tests.
Should you still have questions on choice between Ryzen 5 3600 and Ryzen 9 7950X, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
Similar processor comparisons
We picked several similar comparisons of processors in the same market segment and performance relatively close to those reviewed on this page.
