AMD Ryzen 9 3950X Reviews - 16 core beast

There are no 'enthusiast' CPUs, no 'mainstream' GPUs?

They're segmented differently. Consumer GPUs are segmented more than consumer CPUs. 'Mainstream, 'HEDT', 'Enterprise', ect are all official terms for specific classes of CPUs. All consumer CPUs are placed under the 'mainstream' segment.
 
Interesting. You guys are including price in the definition of what "mainstream" means, whereas I don't think of it that way. The definition linked above http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/mainstream.html doesn't mention price either.

I don't view "mainstream" to have any relationship with price*. It's more a "category" to me.
There is the "mainstream" socket for AMD, which is AM4. And there is the "HEDT" socket called TR4. There are many CPUs to choose from in each category, some cheaper, some very expensive.

Here's an example of what I mean:
It does not matter if the ThreadRipper 1900X drops in price to less than $200 these days - it's still a HEDT part and will always be a HEDT part, not a mainstream part, to me. That is because when it came out, it was socket TR4, which is HEDT by definition.
Sure, it is no longer fast now when compared with today's CPUs, and is even surpassed by current AM4 CPUs, but the 1900X is still a HEDT part to me.

To me, the 3950X is still a "mainstream" CPU. Yes, it's expensive, but it's on socket AM4, not TR4 or the upcoming sTRX4 socket, and therefore it is still "mainstream" - meaning that it is on the "common", non HEDT socket AM4. I would call it "high-end mainstream".

Maybe I'm warped in how I view what "mainstream" is.

* I'll note here that I think the alternative viewpoint on what "mainstream" is includes price in order to follow the bell curve of what "most people" buy for their CPU in their computer. "Most people" don't spend over $300 for their CPU, so it's "mainstream". I think I understand this viewpoint, but my definition follows the hardware/design/intent rather than price or bell curves which change over time.
 
Mainstream = Most popular or best selling in this instance “desktop cpu”

price is generalized from the sales volume. Not the other way around.
 
That's a high-end argument right there. Did it cost over $300 though?
 
IMO only Intel fanboi's would not call the 3950x mainstream...why? Cause it make Intel look bad. There is no other way to put it.

Thats why people sometimes, you just need to put certain people on ignore. It helps so much!
 
The 3950X looks great. I am extremely impressed by the amount of performance it offers, and look forward to the reinvigorated competition between the chip makers that will surely follow.

I am happy with my launch-week 3900X for now, but it is certainly good to know there is an upgrade path if I ever need one (not even counting the possibility of another generation on AM4).
 
IMO only Intel fanboi's would not call the 3950x mainstream...why? Cause it make Intel look bad. There is no other way to put it.

Thats why people sometimes, you just need to put certain people on ignore. It helps so much!

It's not an Intel/AMD thing. I already said the i9-9900K isn't mainstream either.

These are enthusiast parts.
 
Also I want one. Gonna see if i can get my 3900x working in my old X370 Prime Pro. If that works then i will be putting one of these in my main rig.
 
if you can go into multiple popular brick and mortor stores as a normal person not connected to any business or require a special membership to a certain organization/business partnership or have a bank account that would put you in the evil 1% category and buy it. it's mainstream.
 
After seeing all of the benchmarks and reviews, I REALLY want a 3950X even though I have absolutely NO USE CASE for it.
Why do I want it? Because it's the fastest AM4 socket CPU right now and it's faster in games than the 3700X and 3800X which would be the two CPUs I'd be looking to upgrade to given my lack of need for > 8 cores/16 threads.
But my 2700X is fine. Just fine. I don't need to upgrade. Nope. Must resist. Literally drop the CPU in, everything else can stay the same. Nope. Don't need it. Dear Santa...
 
After seeing all of the benchmarks and reviews, I REALLY want a 3950X even though I have absolutely NO USE CASE for it.
Why do I want it? Because it's the fastest AM4 socket CPU right now and it's faster in games than the 3700X and 3800X which would be the two CPUs I'd be looking to upgrade to given my lack of need for > 8 cores/16 threads.
But my 2700X is fine. Just fine. I don't need to upgrade. Nope. Must resist. Literally drop the CPU in, everything else can stay the same. Nope. Don't need it. Dear Santa...
At this point you might as well wait for the 4000 series AMD CPUs and get an even better upgrade over your 2700x.
 
I'm pretty sure the argument is about price not brand loyalty.

And arguing about price is pointless because price doesn’t really define these specific segments. People are just really hung up on the terminology for some insane reason.
 
And arguing about price is pointless because price doesn’t really define these specific segments. People are just really hung up on the terminology for some insane reason.

And I don't know why anyone would be surprised at being called out for calling a >US$700 CPU 'mainstream' ;)
 
I see this chip as a possible cheap upgrade for my 2700X (or 3700X if I jump on a deal within the next year or so) a few years down the line after the next platform is out and this will still be a bit cheaper than a whole new platform. We'll see.. this is the last of the AM4 socket chips, right? Or will there be another Zen 2+ as well?
 
We'll see.. this is the last of the AM4 socket chips, right? Or will there be another Zen 2+ as well?

Really unknown. Zen 2 will take us into 2020, and that's when AMD said they would support AM4 to.

My guess is that Zen 2+ will come on AM4 as well, as DDR5 isn't close to ready for desktops and new DDR revisions are the main reason to change sockets if the CPU architecture itself isn't changing much.
 
And I don't know why anyone would be surprised at being called out for calling a >US$700 CPU 'mainstream' ;)

Because that is the INDUSTRY STANDARD TERMINOLOGY for the class/segment the CPU is in. Price has absolutely nothing to do with it. If it was $7000 it would still be a 'mainstream' CPU solely because of the socket it goes into. If it was $70,000 it would still be 'mainstream' because of the socket it goes in to. Why is this so hard for people to understand?
 
When Intel released the Pentium III 1.0Ghz (socket 370) in March 2000, its MSRP was $990 ($1480 today adjusted for inflation)
When AMD debuted the FX-51 (socket 939) in 2003, its MSRP was around $730. ($1020 today adjusted for inflation.)

I'd say the 3950X at $750 is actually pretty decent. (But we'll have to see what kind of gouging the retailers are gonna inflict).
 
Pretty sure that's where the disagreement is. Class and segment are not defined without some input from price.

It's divided by socket, for the most part. AMx and LGA 11xx are 'mainstream' sockets so any CPU released for those sockets are classified as 'mainstream'. The prices for CPUs that use the 'mainstream' socket have always fluctuated a bit. Prior to HEDT being a thing there were $1000 CPUs on the 'mainstream' socket. Even on the HEDT socket side the break between HEDT and Enterprise is less about price and more about feature set. Intel has had HEDT class CPUs with the same price as previous Xeons.

For whatever reason, people just get hung up on the term itself. Yes, it's a dumb name for such a wide market of CPUs. Yes, it would be better if it was called something else like 'consumer'. Not really sure why it matters so much that people get their panties in a wad when people refer to these CPUs by their official class terminology however. It's been this way since Intel started breaking things off between 'mainstream' and HEDT. HEDT has been a thing for what, over a decade at this point? Why are people getting so hung up on the term now? Arbitrarily changing it is only going to mean more confusion.
 
People are making a deal now so they can define away amd's top end am4 based cpu because it laughable humiliates Intel's offerings even at a 2x+ price point and people who pay those prices don't like facing reality that they overpaid
 
Lol no. If Intel doesn't counter with anything in the next several year you will see AMD's prices start going up not down. Just look at TR.
I love these arguments... Intel is cutting prices in half because they've been overcharging by that much... Now that AMD is charging prices simar to Intel's cut in half prices... They are excessive?? No, they made Intel come down to reality for you. Yes, they are a business and want to make money, and now that Intel finally had to cut prices to even come within 100% $/perf of AMD, you act as if AMD asking for 1/2 of what Intel was charging 2 months ago is an insult to you and your family, while giving Intel a pass. How dare AMD charge price/performance only 20-40% better than Intel, it should be 1/2 off of Intel's new half off... Great argument :).
 
I'm not saying they are excessive now but they will if Intel doesn't release a competitive product. AMD is not a charity and will start reading prices on future products. They will be no better then Intel was.
 
amd will keep competitive prices for as long as they need to gain market share.. which will be for a long time still, especially while intel still has their ability to leverage cash for extreme support / oem agreements that amd just can't offer yet.

so dont worry. Intel's garbage cpu's and ever increasing exploits to slow them down and delayed move to 7nm will not cause amd to adopt intel pricing.
 
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