Not sure about upgrading from 5950x to 9950x/9950x3d
Posted by ArtdesignImagination@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 14 comments
Hi there.
Tltr: is 9950x faster for everyday use vs 5950x? Can you tell the difference in non multicore scenarios?
I'm a 3d freelancer and a pc enthusiast.
Current build is 5950x, 64gb ddr4 (4x16gb @ 3000mhz Cl18), rtx 3080 12gb.
Case use.... So, I mainly do 3d modelling, rigging and rendering in Maya/arnold, sculpting on zbrush, I use substance painter and photoshop and I don't play games other than chess online. I also record and convert 30 min videos with screenpal which takes a lot of time.
I don't do much rendering other thank for visualizing my models and also I'm rendering with gpu.
I'm OK with my setup generally speaking, and the maun thing that is tempting about 9950x or 9950x3d is related to the potential increase in performance and fluidity using windows, opening apps, single thread performance and video encoding.
If I were doing tons of 3d rendering via CPU I wouldn't ask any of this since in that case the gains are very good and worth the upgrade.
So If anyone went from 5950x to 9950x and can give me an idea about overall system performance, it would be great.
I'm thinking about selling my pc to get 9950x3d when is out paired with 2x32gb 6000 cl34 team expert in a rog Strix b650e-e, but not sure if I should wait until Zen 6. I usually do more meaningful upgrades (my previous build was ryzen 1700 gtx 960).
Thanks!!
Koroku_Gaming@reddit
Hey there, I honestly don't think it's worth upgrading to the 9950x in your case from the 5950x just because the 5950x should still be cracking along for your use case. Not worth the hassle or money spent imo.
The 9950X3D However is worth upgrading to especially if you use a lot of single threaded apps or games as the performance advantage in these cases are quite large (up to a 50% boost at stock speeds).
I'm in a similar situation to you and I'm going to hold out with the 5950x for a while longer. It's still a very strong and capable CPU and will be for a while longer. Perhaps I'll upgrade to the successor of the 9950x3D in. Year or two. The x3d cache would be very useful for my needs (I am a gaming live streamer so gaming performance is pretty important).
ArtdesignImagination@reddit (OP)
I already got the 9950x because I just wanted it, and because Zen 6 was confirmed to be supported in am5, so I just built am5 already and then I'll just drop the 24 core later on. To mitigate the expenses I'm selling the am4 pc before it looses value, since as you say, is still very capable cpu. If you ask me if the upgrade is worth it, I'm not 100% sure, mostly because I'm used to more stepped upgrades with cpus that doubled the cores or overall performance x2 or more, while this is a 50% increase in multi and less in the single. Anyhow I don't regret it, because I know me, and I preferred to just get this done and cut the speculation and anxiety about this.
Candid_Exercise9495@reddit
How did you like the upgrade in the end? I'm in the same boat right now. Already got the DDR5 ram to replace my DDR4... just about to bite the bullet on a motherboard and new cpu.
ArtdesignImagination@reddit (OP)
I love the 9950x and Ddr5 stuff, but zen6 is around de corner, and even the new Intel 270k plus (the one that goes for 300 usd and performs almost a 285k) would be a great buy nowadays. So I wouldn't buy a 9950x today, I'd wait for zen 6 to get one or to get the 9950x cheaper, or I would consider the 270 because is too good perf per dolar.
Candid_Exercise9495@reddit
Heya! I still went for it yesterday. Prices here locally are OK, and I think Zen 6 might be quite far away. Might be 2027, plus often they start with server processors first. I don't mind waiting a month or two. Not 12-20 :P
Still curious how you liked your upgrade. I should receive the 9950X3D today :D
ArtdesignImagination@reddit (OP)
Cool!! is a great buy, top of the líne CPU, and is true that zen 6 is not going out soon enough. Answering your question, love the 9950x and Ddr5 stuff, I recently added a used 4090 to the mix and the 9950x is not holding me back for anything. 3d rendering, gaming 4k, local AI, video editon, you name it. I'm squeezing this mofo!!!! 😂😂😂 What is holding me back a little is the ram though, even 64gb are not enough for after effects and falloff space for local AI, to the point that I had to restart the system some times That upgrade to 96 or 128gb will have to wait some years I'm afraid 😂 Hope your build goes smoothly and later on would be cool if you let me know how is working. Note about ram, try to use expo 2, not expo normal if you got an asus mobo. And check the SOC Voltage, it should never go much higher that 1.25 (check it with zen timings or HWINFO, or whatever because some motherboards might let it go wild and is N1 cause of dead cpus.
Candid_Exercise9495@reddit
Awesome to hear and awesome tips! The ram I got (2nd hand good price) is 128GB 6400mt/s. It's CL42 but for productivity it shouldn't matter too much. Paid 750EUR for it. Was noticing quite some stores sell ram for 40% reduction sometimes for a day. At least here in the Netherlands. So keep eyes open for some deals.
Got myself an MSI Ace Max motherboard, it looks quite decent!
ArtdesignImagination@reddit (OP)
128gb for 750EUR is almost a normal price, excellent purchase and now you are set for years and years. 9950x3d+128gb+Ace Max....I guess you are going with a 5090?...5080?
Koroku_Gaming@reddit
Faster is faster and you're on AM5 now with upgrade options so it wasn't a bad decision. For me the X3D CPUs are tempting but not so much the standard x CPUs.
You make a good point on selling the 5950x and recouping some costs while it's still valuable. I'll need to make the jump to AM5 at some point myself, maybe I'll do it next year if I can.
Frimuraren@reddit
Hi Koroku, I am in the thought process right now of switching my CPU from 5950x to 9950x3d too. I am thorougly happy with the 5950 though so i hesitate. Perhaps if i'll upgrade, i'll hardly notice it for what i'm doing i mean. Did you upgrade or are you also still at 5950x ?
Koroku_Gaming@reddit
Staying strong on 5950x although I did upgrade my ram at some point to 128gb ddr4 :)
I'll stay with it as long as possible especially since the ddr5 is so expensive now!!!
I don't think it's wise to upgrade now at all with ddr5 so expensive...
ImpressAdventurous72@reddit
Hey did you upgrade? im also in 3d rendering 3ds max and corona. If you upgraded, was the workflow speed greatly improved? i was vaguely thinking i should upgrade cause ill get into huge scenes this year, and realised i need new mb, cpu AND ram...like 3k euros in total. i currently have 128gb ddr4.
ArtdesignImagination@reddit (OP)
Hi 3d bro 😊 yes I have been using the 9950x all 2025. I definitely noticed a greater jump from 1700 to 5950x than 5950x to 9950x. But, the combo of 9950x with Ddr5 is very nice overall. The thing is that I got an used 4090 and im using that for casual 3d rendering with Arnold in maya, which is a lot faster than cpu rendering. Bottom líne, my suggestion for you is this: if you do a lot of CPU rendering, then absolutely the 9950x is around 65% faster. If you don't cpu render that often and you can do renders with the GPU, i'd put money on the gpu unless you already have a powerful gpu. But, keep in mind zen 6 is probably launching in 2026 with 24 cores and a new node. If you don't really feel that the 5950x is limiting you, then maybe just wait for zen6 and the newer motherboards. Or you could get the 9950x now with the intention to swap it later on for the 24 core cpu since that would be the real upgrade with more than 100% extra performance vs the 5950x. Ask me if you have more questions about it.
Pyr0blad3@reddit
i am on the 5950x and will upgrade to either the 9800x3d or 9950x3d