Ryzen 5 2600 vs AMD Ryzen 9 3950X — Specs & Performance Compared

Verdict: The AMD Ryzen 9 3950X is ahead of the Ryzen 5 2600 on all 6 shared benchmarks on file, by 21% to 261%, including 261% in Cinebench R23 multi (26,375 vs 7,306).

Side-by-side CPU comparison of the Ryzen 5 2600 and the AMD Ryzen 9 3950X. Released 2018 (Ryzen 5 2600), 2019 (AMD Ryzen 9 3950X). MSRP range: $199 · $749. Specs, synthetic benchmarks, AI inference tok/s, and Amazon availability below; each column header links to that part's benchmark page.

AMD

Ryzen 5 2600

6 cores65W TDP$199 MSRP2018

Full Ryzen 5 2600 benchmarks →

AMD · Zen 2

AMD Ryzen 9 3950X

16 cores105W TDP$749 MSRP2019

Full AMD Ryzen 9 3950X benchmarks →

*Price sourced from Amazon.com. Price and availability subject to change.

Where to buy

A listing for each part; the current price and stock are on the retailer's page.

Specs side-by-side

Spec	Ryzen 5 2600	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
cores	6	16
threads	12	32
base clock ghz	3.4	3.5
boost clock ghz	3.9	4.7
tdp w	65	105
l3 cache mb	16	64
process nm	12	7
socket	AMD Socket AM4	AM4

Synthetic benchmarks

Each row says whether a higher or a lower number is better (ranks and times are lower-is-better). Scores come from CGDirector, CPU-Monkey, Geekbench Browser, PassMark Software and numberworld.org; each row links its sources, and where they differ the cell shows their median. Empty cells mean we don't yet have that benchmark on file for the SKU.

Benchmark	Ryzen 5 2600	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
Cinebench R23 multi (higher is better) Source: CGDirector, CPU-Monkey	7,306 points	26,375 points
Cinebench R23 single (higher is better) Source: CGDirector, CPU-Monkey	1,053 points	1,406 points
Geekbench 6 multi (higher is better) Source: Geekbench Browser	5,239 points	11,367 points
Geekbench 6 single (higher is better) Source: Geekbench Browser	1,162 points	1,782 points
PassMark CPU Mark (higher is better) Source: PassMark Software	13,133 points	38,432 points
PassMark single thread (higher is better) Source: PassMark Software	—	2,701 points
PassMark Single Thread (higher is better) Source: PassMark Software	2,413 points	—
PassMark Single Thread Rating (higher is better) Source: PassMark Software	2,234 points	2,700 points
Y-cruncher 1B (lower is better) Source: numberworld.org	110 seconds	—
Y-cruncher 1B digits (lower is better) Source: numberworld.org	—	29 seconds

Quick answers

Which is faster, the Ryzen 5 2600 or the AMD Ryzen 9 3950X?

The AMD Ryzen 9 3950X is ahead of the Ryzen 5 2600 on all 6 shared benchmarks on file, by 21% to 261%, including 261% in Cinebench R23 multi (26,375 vs 7,306).

What did the Ryzen 5 2600 and the AMD Ryzen 9 3950X cost at launch?

The Ryzen 5 2600 launched at a $199 MSRP and the AMD Ryzen 9 3950X at $749. Street prices drift from launch pricing; the Where to buy section links current listings.