AMD Ryzen 5 5500 vs AMD Ryzen 9 3900

Processor comparisons 31-01-2023

   Perhaps you are thinking about choosing a CPU, you will be able to make a decision after reading the full tests AMD Ryzen 5 5500 vs AMD Ryzen 9 3900 and see which is better for games or simple use for programming, rendering, video editing, machine learning, streaming. Here is all information from different benchmarks or real streaming and video editing tests. A thorough review of all the technical characteristics, so that it can be easier to read, is made by the table.
   From the comparison video, you can get the results of parallel examination in synthetic type tests such as Dolphin Emulator, AIDA64, Prime95, VeraCrypt, Gears 5, Handbrake, GeekBench 6, 5.2, Blender, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, Furmark, DaVinci Resolve Studio, 7zip, 3DMark, PassMark, PCMark 10, RealBench, MATLAB, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), SuperPi, Blender, UserBenchmark, WPrime.
   Gaming performance of CPUs in:

DOOM: Eternal
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone
Halo Infinite
Grand Theft Auto V
Cyberpunk 2077
Death Stranding
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands
Assassin's Creed Valhalla
Last Man Standing
Red Dead Redemption 2
Valheim
Fortnite
Borderlands 3
Rainbow Six Siege
Fallout 76
Valorant
Overwatch
Apex Legends
Watch Dogs Legion

After reading the results these benchmarks and videos, you can already make an informed decision about which processor is better to buy for gaming AMD Ryzen 9 3900 or AMD Ryzen 5 5500.

Summary benchmark results

As a percentage of the maximum value based on a sample from the entire base of all processors
Processor Benchmark

Ryzen 5 5500

56%

Ryzen 9 3900

59%

This shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, Ryzen 9 3900 is 5% better than Ryzen 5 5500. The data source is several popular tests. More detailed information of the benchmarks is below.

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Ryzen 5 5500

54%

Ryzen 9 3900

57%

The maximum result in this parameter is 100 percent, which is the performance of the most powerful processor currently available. And of course, this is a server processor, on which no one will play games. Because this processor costs several tens of thousands of dollars. And if it seems to you that the selected CPU has a low game result, just look at the FPS that it produces in real games in the final table below.
List of other games in which processors were compared: Battlefield V, Forza Horizon 4, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Hitman 3, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), Metro Exodus, DOTA 2A, League of Legends (LOL), Monster Hunter World, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Half-Life: Alyx, Ghostrunner, NBA 2K20, Control, Horizon Zero Dawn, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	95.8	101.6
Valorant	108.9	115.5
Cyberpunk 2077	61.0	64.7
Apex Legends	102.4	108.6
Call of Duty Warzone	81.7	86.6
Overwatch	88.2	93.5
Red Dead Redemption 2	75.1	79.7
DOOM Eternal	54.5	57.7
Warzone	84.9	90.1
Assassin's Creed	91.5	97.0
Valheim	90.4	95.9

The numbers in this table indicate the maximum FPS that was received on the device with the corresponding processor. Depending on the configuration of the computer (RAM size and Video Card) and graphics quality settings (Ultra, Medium, Normal), the results may differ quite significantly. We recommend that you better study the results of the Cinebench, GeekBench and Passmark becnmarks.
The tested computers not only did they have different amounts of RAM and different video cards. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: 2K, 4K or FullHD. Therefore, the game benchmark data is approximate. But all video cards met the average system requirements of games. To be sure exactly how much performance the processor will be in games, if you get acquainted with the benchmarks that are made with the same video card that is installed in your computer.

Power consumption

Ryzen 5 5500

75%

Ryzen 9 3900

67%

To make a finishing resolution on which processor is better, you should also consider the generation of its core. The newer the processor generation, the better its performance in games and benchmarks, as well as its energy efficiency. In this case the Ryzen 5 5500 is more energy efficient than the Ryzen 9 3900 as it consumes less power: 65W vs. 65W. Power consumption is particularly important for laptops. And TDP should be taken into account when choosing a processor cooling system. It is necessary to count so that the TDP data specified in the cooler specification is greater than the TDP of the compared processor.

Software benchmarks

Let's say you want to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for programming, streaming, video editing or video rendering, machine learning, then the main parameter for you is its performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to reach maximum efficiency, the CPU uses all cores and threads that it has. You will learn this data from the benchmark tables below. Before using the data from these tests, be sure to check whether the software you are going to use on your computer supports multi-threaded mode. Because there are still many programs that use only one core to work, and all the advantages of multi-core mode turns out to be unnecessary.

Cinebench 23, 20 an 15
The results of this benchmark show Single-threaded and Multi-threaded CPU performance

	AMD Ryzen 5 5500	AMD Ryzen 9 3900
Cinbench 15 Single-core	203	196
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	1844	2922
Cinbench 20 Single-core	454	485
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	4026	6789
Cinbench 23 Single-core	1107	1149
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	11181	16943

Passmark
This popular benchmark displays Multi-threaded and Single-threaded processor performance

	AMD Ryzen 5 5500	AMD Ryzen 9 3900
Single-Core	2453	2627
Multi-Core	20203	30807

GeekBench 6, 5.2
This benchmark shows Multi-threaded and Single-threaded processor performance

	AMD Ryzen 5 5500	AMD Ryzen 9 3900
Single-Core	1479	1324
Multi-Core	7682	13362

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the most helpful will be the release date of the processor and the possibility of overclocking it. The later the processor is released, the longer it will last you. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system later. The same benefits from the presence of overclocking. If the processor can be overclocked, increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain maximum FPS even in new games. The savings are obvious! It turns out that you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	AMD Ryzen 5 5500	AMD Ryzen 9 3900
Announcement date	April 04, 2022	September 30, 2019
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	AM4	AM4
Core name	Cezanne	Matisse
Architecture	Zen 3	Zen 2
Generation	5	2
Turbo Frequency	4.2 MHz	4.2 MHz
Frequency	3.6 MHz	3.1 MHz
Cores	6	12
Threads	12	24
Bus rate
Bit	64	64
Lithography	7 nm	7 nm
Transistors count	6200 millions	7800 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	65 W	65 W
Memory type	DDR4	DDR4
Max. Memory
Memory Frequency	3200	3200
Memory bandwidth
L1 cache		768KB
L2 cache	4MB	6MB
L3 cache	32MB	64MB
Overclocking	Yes	No
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number	100-000000457	100-000000072

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Ryzen 5 5500 is 13% better than Ryzen 9 3900 in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Ryzen 9 3900 has 6 more core than Ryzen 5 5500. Also keep in mind that high CPU frequency affects battery life through power consumption (relevant for laptops).

Result:
The number of parameters for which AMD Ryzen 5 5500 is better: 6
The number of parameters for which AMD Ryzen 9 3900 is better: 25
Although it should be realized that the summary data in the text above do not mean that you should be guided entirely by them and trust a simple quantitative comparison. Better to watch benchmarks video and read the reviews of real owners of AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and AMD Ryzen 9 3900 before making a decision which processor to buy for gaming and which not.

AMD Ryzen 5 5500 - all data

• Cinebench r15 score
• Cinebench r20 score
• Cinebench r23 score
• GeekBench 6, 5.2 score

• AMD Ryzen 5 5500 specs and review.

• AMD Ryzen 9 3900 specs and review.