AMD last year released two of its best products in terms of CPUs and GPUs – the 16 core Ryzen 9 5950X based on the latest Zen 3 architecture and the flagship Radeon RX 6900 XT GPU based on RDNA 2 architecture. So, we were fortunate enough to get these rare parts and test them for a prolonged amount of time.
With AMD “Zen 3” core architecture, AMD has achieved extensive improvements throughout the core including a unified 8-core complex with direct access to 32MB L3 cache. Zen 3 delivers 19% generational increase in instructions per cycle (IPC), the largest since the introduction of the original “Zen” processors back in 2017.
These new processors provide up to 16 cores, 32 threads, and 72 MB of cache with their top-of-the-line AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, a successor to last-gen Ryzen 9 3950X. So, having already reviewed the Ryzen 7 5800X and the Ryzen 5 5600X, we now have the beast – the Ryzen 9 5950X with all its 16 cores and 32 threads for testing!
The Radeon RX 6900 XT, on the other hand, is the best GPU from AMD, and it can give a handsome 4K gaming experience without sacrificing quality. This article will tell you which GPU is the best and why AMD Radeon RX 6900XT is a worthy competitor to NVIDIA in all respects except ray tracing.
AMD is struggling with NVIDIA in terms of ray tracing but in terms of raw graphics performance, AMD has come a long way ahead with RDNA 2. Also, they have introduced features like AMD Smart Access Memory, Rage Mode, Precision Boost 2 and other features to make the best out of an AMD CPU + GPU pair.
So, here we will take a look at the “true flagship” level performance from AMD and it is the only company to deliver such a level of computing performance to overcome a lot of difficult workloads.
Test Config Specifications:
- Motherboard: Gigabyte X570 UD
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 5950X
- RAM: 32GB 3200MHz memory
- SSD: 240GB WD Sn550, 480GB Crucial SATA SSD
- Power Supply: Cooler Master 750W
- GPU: AMD Radeon RX 6900XT
- CPU Cooler: Deepcool Gammaxx GTE V2
- Cabinet: MSI Mag Forge 100R
The CPU and GPU were tested at around 30 degrees Celsius room temperature, and at that, the performance seems to be incredible. I used Windows 10 Pro version 20H2(build 19402) for the test and here are the results I got at stock settings.
Performance Benchmarks
In this segment, we will explore how this AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and Radeon RX 6900 XT combo is the best when it comes to productivity-centric workloads. Well, I will skip the general CPU related benchmarks like Cinebench, Geekbench, which you can see in our detailed AMD Ryzen 9 5950X review.
Now, here are some of the best tests that shows the power of 16 Zen 3 cores paired with AMD’s RDNA 2 GPU architecture:
PCMark 10
When paired with the flagship Radeon RX 6900 XT, the Ryzen 9 5950X just blows away all the records. This killer combo manages to grab the PCMark 10 score of 8,406 points while managing a Productivity score of 9,481 points and a phenomenal score of 15,884 points in Digital Content Creation.
In content creation, that extra bit of GDDR6 VRAM does really help to push the performance to some other level compared to the NVIDIA GPUs. On top of that, the loading speeds and rendering time are greatly reduced, thanks to the beefier Ryzen 9 5950X with all its mighty 32 threads.
3DMark Fire Strike Ultra
The sheer performance of this beast continues even in our final benchmark as well. In 3DMark’s Fire Strike Ultra test, the Ryzen 9 5950X managed to score an impressive 37,463 points. With 32 threads, this monstrous CPU has got no competition and still manages to stay well within thermal limits, not drawing an enormous amount of power.
3DMark Time Spy
In 3DMark’s most acclaimed Time Spy benchmark, we see this combo setting some new records, scoring a total score of 16,537 points. Even the graphics score of 17,803 points is insane, much higher than that of the RTX 3080, and you have a great score of 11,788 points.
3DMark Time Spy Extreme
In the Time Spy Extreme benchmark also this flagship combo just tears apart the competition and shows how powerful this combo is. You get a high score of 8,452 points while in terms of graphics score you get 8559 points and 7897 points when it comes to CPU score.
3DMark DirectX Raytracing feature test
AMD has a clear lead over NVIDIA’s flagship RTX 3080, showing how these new RX 6000 series GPUs are good for content creation. However, one area AMD still lacks by some margin is in ray tracing, as you see in the Port Royal test, NVIDIA is ahead of AMD.
In 3D Mark’s DirectX Raytracing feature test, you get only 28 fps, which shows AMD’s weakness in Raytracing.
3DMark Port Royal Test
AMD’s first attempt in terms of raytracing is not bad but lags behind NVIDIA, and the 9469 points are still respectable.
PCI Express feature test
The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X + Radeon RX 6900 XT combo uses the best of PCI Express gen 4 and so you get high bandwidth of 25.81 GB/s.
Mesh Shader feature test
In 3DMark’s Mesh Shader test, you also see this combo scoring 34.36 FPS; when Mesh Shaders off, you get 550.15 FPS when Mesh Shaders on.
Overall, when it comes to productivity, both the Ryzen 9 5950X and Radeon RX 6900 XT gives the best performance. In tasks like editing, encoding, compression, decompression, coding and every other high-performance computing tasks, this combo excels.
Gaming benchmarks
Previously, gaming wasn’t a strong point for AMD, but things have changed within a year, now with Zen 3 architecture, you can expect top-of-the-line performance from a monster like Ryzen 9 5950X. Also, in terms of GPU power, AMD has come a long way and finally meet the performance of NVIDIA’s top-of-the-line GPUs.
We have already seen the Radeon RX 6800 series GPU gives stiff competition to AMD and now with Radeon RX 6900XT, AMD enjoys the be one of the best 4K gaming cards available in the market. Paired with its own best Ryzen 9 5950X, you can expect the best gaming performance from the manufacturer.
Here are some gaming benchmarks across a wide range of modern gaming titles:
As you see in the above 10 modern games, you get great frame rates you expect from a high-end CPU+GPU combo. You get high 1440p frame rates while giving a healthy 4K 60 FPS in all the modern triple-A as well as eSports titles.
In our Radeon RX 6900 XT review, we see the GPU is way ahead of NVIDIA’s RTX 3080 and enjoying the edge of sporting a massive 16GB GDDR6 VRAM.
While, in our AMD Ryzen 9 5950X review, we have seen the CPU crushing the competition and you cannot find anything best to this. With all its 16 cores and 32 threads, you can master any productivity workload and crush in games as well, which was unbelievable for an AMD CPU and GPU combo until now.
Note
AMD’s only thing to do in terms of gaming is to bring the NVIDIA DLSS replacement soon as the graphics giant is adding more and more games to DLSS 2.0. So, to give some extra frame rates in games, AMD badly needs that, and the ray-tracing performance is still in its child stage, and NVIDIA has the edge over this from AMD.
Then comes the stock situation of these CPUs and GPUs; even if I can get both of these for review, getting one in the market is the most difficult situation. You can even get a Ryzen 9 5900X, but the 5950X is a very rare CPU. To be honest, it will be better if I just won’t talk about GPUs.
Yes, this is the toughest time in the semiconductor industry, and getting a Radeon RX 6900 XT is adamant. Also, the situation is set to last for some more months; however, catching up with the demand is a hard job for AMD. So, even if this combo is the best you can get, getting it is very hard, so consider yourself lucky if you do end up getting one.
Both the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and Radeon RX 6900 XT are quite efficient in HPC workloads. However, these are flagship products and you have lot of horsepower inside them, although the Ryzen 9 5950X is a good boy but the RX 6900 XT sometimes end up drawing more power and causing power spikes, so at least use a 1000W TDP PSU to keep your PC safe.
While during prolonged gaming sessions, the AMD reference GPU did end up getting hotter, which is a bit of concern but in terms of performance, you can’t even complain. So, try to get a good custom Radeon RX 6900 XT to get the best out of the AMD Navi chip inside.
Verdict
Overall, as a combo, AMD is reigning high for the first time in both CPU and GPU; both the Ryzen 9 5950X and Radeon RX 6900 XT are the sheer examples of AMD’s hard work put in for years. You have got no competition in terms of CPU performance and efficiency, whereas this is the first time AMD has gone head-to-head with NVIDIA’s dominance.
So, AMD’s future looks great under the leadership of Dr. Lisa Su, and these phenomenal products are just an example of AMD’s innovation in the semiconductor industry. Obviously, getting even of these is really tough, but having tested both of them, I can assure you that you won’t regret it.
Buy the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X: https://amzn.to/3cKzs2s
