AMD's Ryzen 9 9950X "Zen 5" Desktop CPU is able to outperform the Intel Core i9-14900K with a TDP of just 120W, showcasing the incredible multi-threaded efficiency of the flagship 16-core chip.
AMD To Retain Efficiency Crown With Zen 5 Architecture As Ryzen 9 9950X CPU Shown Beating The Intel Core i9-14900K With 120W Power Limit In Blender
In his ongoing series of AMD Ryzen 9 9950X Blender performance tuning and testing, Anandtech forum member, Igor_kavinski has shown us how the 16-core flagship scales at lower TDPs within the Blender benchmark. So far, he has shown 60W and 90W PPT results and now, we have a new 120W PPT result which shows even better results.
The chip being used by Igor's source is an engineering sample which should have slightly lower clocks than the retail chip. At 60W, the chip was able to come close to the Intel Core i9-12900K while boosting up to 4084 MHz, and at 90W, it was able to outperform the Ryzen 9 5950X while boosting up to 5053 MHz. Do keep in mind that the other chips tested here are running at their peak power ratings. It's only the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X ES CPU that has been tuned.
So coming to the 120W PPT test, the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X CPU clocked up to 5220 MHz which is still much below its 5700 MHz official boost clock and the minimum clock speed at load was 4102 MHz. The maximum temperatures reached 55C and we can see that the chip didn't exceed the 120 Watts power consumption.
Blender Performance (Samples Per Minute)
In terms of performance, the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X ES CPU scored 268.7 points in the Monster test, 177.5 points in the Junkshop test, and 129.8 points in the Classroom test in Blender. Compared to the Core i9-14900K, the Zen 5 CPU at 120W not only matches it in the Monster test but is also able to outperform it in Junkshop and Classroom tests. The CPU also comes close to the Ryzen 9 7950W which has a peak PPT of 230W or almost twice as much as this Zen 5 ES CPU. Compared to the 90W configuration, the 120W PPT tune delivers close to a 19% gain in performance with a 33% increase in power.
We also recently saw the comparisons of various AMD Ryzen 9000 Desktop CPUs such as the Ryzen 9 9900X, Ryzen 7 9700X, and Ryzen 5 9600X at their PBO and default profiles. You can check those out here.
AMD has been leading the efficiency race with its strong Zen portfolio in the past releases and that is looking to be true for the next-generation lineup too. We are fast approaching the launch of the AMD Ryzen 9000 "Zen 5" Desktop CPUs which are expected to hit retail later this month and we can expect many more tests and reviews in the coming weeks.
