AMD Ryzen 9 5900XT vs Ryzen 9 5900X: What's the difference?

It is time for a new generation of AMD CPUs so we once again have to figure out how all these new chips perform, how they stack up to the competition, and how they compare to each other. In this article, we will be specifically comparing the Ryzen 9 5900XT to the very similarly named Ryzen 9 5900X. With only a one letter difference, they must be super similar right?

With CPUs being so defined by their performance it’s important to bring up the specs early. This will tell us how much power we should expect, who these CPUs would be best for, and if the price makes sense. Starting off the comparison, these two processors have the same foundation to compare these numbers. Same architecture, same socket, same generation. This allows for a direct apples to apples comparison between the two.

Just by directly comparing the two processors, we can see that there is actually a sizeable difference. The 5900XT has 4 more cores and 8 more threads with a lower base clock while the 5900X. This makes the multi-core performance much better for the 5900XT. The lower base clock may seem big at first glance but with the same boost clock, the single core performance should be very similar, with a slight edge to the 5900XT for the larger cache. All of this while keeping the same TDP, really showing the extra efficiency of the newer cores.

• Ryzen 9 5900XT Price: $349.99/£349.99
• Ryzen 9 5900X Price: $249.99/£249.98

Given that the 5900X has been around for a while now, it's no surprise that the price has dropped considerably, which has brought it in line at exactly $100 less than the newly-released 5900XT. $100 is not an insignificant amount of money for most people, and given the modest increase in specs, the 5900X is still the superior CPU from a value for money perspective, if not from a pure performance one.

The 4 extra cores and 8 extra threads are the major differences between these two chips. With so many specs being exactly the same, anything other aspect of their performance will be similar. The extra cores of the 5900XT are important in productivity workloads like video rendering or machine learning but the 5900X’s 12 cores will still give a respectable performance and will likely be enough for most people. In single core tasks like gaming won't see the benefits from those extra cores so there isn't any major improvements for gamers.

Since both chips have the same TDP, they’ll have the same amount of energy going in and should have similar amounts of heat going out. Both these chips are considered high end, so strong cooling is recommended. Coolers like the A115 Air Cooler or and of our larger AIOs will provide adequate cooling, enabling these CPUs to run at their full potential.

The older 5900X is already a great processor with lots of cores and a high clock speed. Upgrading to 5900XT improves on it but only in one way, more cores. And unless you can confidently say that those cores will be important to your workload, the 5900XT might not be a worthwhile upgrade. For the vast majority of users who are gamers or even more casual content creators, it is not likely that you will benefit from the extra cores that the 5900XT provides. Is it a good chip? Yes of course. But not everyone needs the best of the best, and the 5900X is exactly the same in most situations. Remember to check out CORSAIR's considerable cooling range, though, as neither the 5900X nor the 5900XT come with coolers, so you'll need an AIO, Air Cooler, or even a custom water cooling loop if you're looking to get super fancy.