EPYC 7542 vs Ryzen 9 3950X

Primary details

Comparing Ryzen 9 3950X and EPYC 7542 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking	206	162
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	18.03	5.11
Market segment	Desktop processor	Server
Series	AMD Ryzen 9	AMD EPYC
Power efficiency	21.98	11.92
Architecture codename	Matisse (Zen 2) (2019−2020)	Zen 2 (2017−2020)
Release date	14 November 2019 (5 years ago)	7 August 2019 (5 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$799	$3,400

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Ryzen 9 3950X has 253% better value for money than EPYC 7542.

Detailed specifications

Ryzen 9 3950X and EPYC 7542 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	16 (Hexadeca-Core)	32 (Dotriaconta-Core)
Threads	32	64
Base clock speed	3.5 GHz	2.9 GHz
Boost clock speed	4.7 GHz	3.4 GHz
Multiplier	no data	29
L1 cache	96K (per core)	96K (per core)
L2 cache	512K (per core)	512K (per core)
L3 cache	64 MB	128 MB (shared)
Chip lithography	7 nm, 12 nm	7 nm, 14 nm
Die size	2 x 72 mm + 125 mm (IO-Die) mm2	192 mm2
Number of transistors	19,200 million	4,800 million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	+	+
Unlocked multiplier	+	+

Compatibility

Information on Ryzen 9 3950X and EPYC 7542 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)	2 (Multiprocessor)
Socket	AM4	SP3
Power consumption (TDP)	105 Watt	225 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Ryzen 9 3950X and EPYC 7542. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	86x MMX(+), SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, SSE4A,-64, AMD-V, AES, AVX, AVX2, FMA3, SHA, Precision Boost 2	no data
AES-NI	+	+
AVX	+	+
Precision Boost 2	+	+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Ryzen 9 3950X and EPYC 7542 are enumerated here.

AMD-V

+

+

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Ryzen 9 3950X and EPYC 7542. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR4 Dual-channel	DDR4 Eight-channel
Maximum memory size	128 GB	4 TiB
Max memory channels	no data	8
Maximum memory bandwidth	51.196 GB/s	204.763 GB/s
ECC memory support	+	+

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.

---

Pros & cons summary

---

Performance score	24.39	28.33
Recency	14 November 2019	7 August 2019
Physical cores	16	32
Threads	32	64
Power consumption (TDP)	105 Watt	225 Watt

---

Should you still have questions on choice between Ryzen 9 3950X and EPYC 7542, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

Vote for your favorite

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite CPU.

---