It appears that the Ryzen 5 3500/3500X are not the only new variants of AMD's 3rd Generation Ryzen platform arriving to the market in the near future. Via @Momomo_us on Twitter comes identification of a Ryzen 9 3900, the non-X variant of AMD's current highest performing desktop CPU with 12 physical cores and support for up to 24 threads. Could this be a new 'best bang for your buck' entrant to the 3000-series, or a SKU effectively limited to OEMs?
During AMD's pre-launch preparations for 3rd Generation Ryzen an aspect of the range which merited little discussion at the time was the existence of non-X SKU variants. Plenty of performance-class X variants - from the Ryzen 5 3600X through to the 3950X - had been announced, but non-X launch models were limited to the Ryzen 5 3600. However, thanks to a somewhat throwaway comment, we did discover that non-X variants were planned of the major types (with the exception of the 3950X) - potentially as exclusives for the OEM market.
Fast-forward to day and this particular unintended leak through the CPU support list for BIOSTAR AM4 motherboards. It identifies both the Ryzen 9 3900 and Ryzen 9 3900 PRO alongside the Ryzen 5 3500 and 3500X uncovered prior, plus TDP and base clock values of each.
The listing of a Ryzen 9 3900 is therefore not a surprise, but the chip's TDP and base clock is certainly news. It's a 65W part, a big step down from the 105W TDP of the 3900X, which is reflected in a more restrained 3.1GHz base clock. Maximum boost clock will also be similarly restricted, although the specification neutered the most will be all-core boost clocks.
The Ryzen 9 3900 could be a tempting budget 12-core overclocker with all the taps turned on, but bear in mind that AMD have been exceptionally diligent in binning the Zen 2 CCDs according to performance. Nonetheless, it's surely going to be tough to beat as a 12-core, 24-thread power-efficient workhorse. We anticipate pricing to be somewhere between the 3800X and 3900X if it appears in retail channels, leaning towards the latter.
Expect more to be known about the new Ryzen chips in the near future, including the critical aspect of whether they shall be exclusive to the OEM market.
SOURCE: @Momomo_us on Twitter
