AMD Ryzen 9 9950X “Zen 5” CPU Allegedly Features a FMAX Frequency of 5.85 GHz, Same As 7950X

AMD's Ryzen 9 9950X, the flagship Zen 5 CPU, reportedly features a maximum frequency or FMAX of up to 5.85 GHz, the same as Zen 4.

The FMAX or peak frequency is the maximum default clock limit allowed within the BIOS for the AMD Ryzen CPUs. The last-generation Ryzen 7000 CPUs based on the Zen 4 core architecture had FMAX set to 5.85 GHz for the top 7950X chip and it looks like that will remain the same for the next-generation flagship, the Ryzen 9 9950X which is powered by the Zen 5 core architecture. This latest information comes from Anandtech's Forum member, igor_kavinski, who allegedly sourced it from a user running an ES sample. The same user also revealed some early figures from a 9950X sample a while ago.

The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X is a 16-core chip with 32 threads, 64 MB of L3 cache, and a peak boost clock of 5.70 GHz, the same as the Ryzen 9 7950X. The CPU has the same TDP of 170 Watts and should go above 200W when PBO is activated.

We have talked about how the default operation of this chip will be cooler and consume lower power than the 7950X while offering higher performance and users can boost performance further using the PBO mode. The 5.85 GHz frequency is still a very high figure which these chips would be able to achieve in the right conditions such as better cooling and power when PBO is enabled.

With that said, the FMAX is different for each chip as we have seen in previous generations so while the Ryzen 9 9950X has an FMAX of 5.85 GHz, the rest of the chips will have lower FMAX frequencies. Following is a comparison:

Besides the FMAX numbers, the alleged AMD Ryzen 9 9950X 16-Core CPU was also tested in the Blender benchmark but with a PPT set to just 60W which is 110W less than its default TDP of 170 watts. The notepad states that this is the Blender 3.3 benchmark and was done as a part of the daily PBO/CO (Precision Boost Overdrive / Curve Optimizer) tune. The chip was running under water-cooling and we see a lot of metrics. The performance comes close to the Core i9-12900K at just 60W.

These numbers are just preliminary data based on early engineering samples but things are looking really good for Zen 5 CPUs which spark the next-chapter in AMD's high-performance desktop CPU journey. Expect more information for the Zen 5 CPUs later this month as we get closer to the launch which is expected for 31st of July.