While the Ryzen 9 5950X is the over-achieving flagship of the AMD's Zen 3 desktop family, we'd be remiss if we didn't mention its slightly less potent Ryzen 9 5900X sibling.
The Ryzen 9 5900X uses TSMC's now mature 7nm process node and nips at the heels of the Ryzen 9 5950X while offering a much lower price tag. As a result, it delivers an incredible amount of performance for gaming or in single- and multi-threaded professional applications. Pairing the processor with one of the best X570 motherboards is a sure-fire way to build a powerhouse gaming or productivity rig.
Throw in excellent power efficiency compared to its Intel counterparts, and the Ryzen 9 5900X is a definite winner. Unlike the lesser members of the Ryzen 5000 family, the Ryzen 9 5900X doesn't come with a cooler in the box. However, that's probably for the better, as you can use one of the best CPU coolers to keep temperatures in check either at default frequencies or when overclocking.
The Ryzen 9 5900X is a 12-core/24-thread processor with a base clock of 3.7 GHz and a boost frequency of 4.8 GHz. In addition, it features 64MB of L3 cache and a thermal design power (TDP) of 105 watts.
