AMD Ryzen 9 9950X & Ryzen 9 9900X Now Available, High-End Zen 5 With 16 Cores For $649 & 12 Cores For $499

AMD has officially launched high-end Zen 5 Desktop CPUs, the Ryzen 9 9950X & Ryzen 9 9900X, now available for $649 & $499 US, respectively.

AMD's High-End Zen 5 Desktop CPUs Hit Retail, Ryzen 9 9950X Available For $649 US & Ryzen 9 9900X Available For $499 US

The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X & Ryzen 9 9900X CPUs mark the second wave of Zen 5 chips to hit desktop platforms, offering high-end performance catered towards enthusiasts and content creators. These chips are priced at a premium but feature prices lower than the MSRPs of the last-gen Ryzen 7000 "Zen 4" lineup.

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We tested both chips in our review yesterday and while we found them to be great uplifts over the previous parts, especially in terms of multi-threaded performance and efficiency, their value compared to Ryzen 7000 chips such as the Ryzen 9 7950X & Ryzen 9 7900X is slightly lower which would improve over time as the discounts hit the streets. Regardless, for those who have been waiting for a Ryzen 9000 CPU, they are now available and can be found at the retail links below:

• Ryzen 9 9950X - $649 (Newegg US)
• Ryzen 9 9950X - $649 (B&H Photo)
• Ryzen 9 9900X - $499 (Newegg US)
• Ryzen 9 9900X - $499 (B&H Photo)

AMD Ryzen 9 9950X 16-Core Desktop CPU

The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X "100-000001277" CPU is the flagship offering with two Zen 5 CCDs and a single IOD. The CPU offers 16 cores, 32 threads, a base clock of 4.3 GHz, and a max boost clock of up to 5.7 GHz. It comes with 80 MB of cache (64 MB L3 + 16 MB L2) and has a TDP of 170W. Now in terms of clock speed, while the boost clock is identical to the Ryzen 9 7950X, the base clock is slightly dialed down by -200 MHz but we can expect a lot of efficiency coming out of this flagship product, especially in terms of multi-threaded performance.

The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X also packs 3 chiplets, two of which are the Zen 5 CCDs, each with 8 cores, 16 threads, and 32 MB of L3 cache