AMD Ryzen 3 3100 vs AMD Ryzen 9 3950X vs AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT

AMD Ryzen 3 3100

The Ryzen 3 3100 is a cheap entry level desktop processor of the Matisse series with 4 cores and 8 threads. It clocks from 3.6 (base) - 3.9 GHz (boost) and uses the Zen 2 microarchitecture. It uses two CCX clusters with two cores each. Therefore, there are some disadvantages compared to the faster Ryzen 3 3300X that uses all four cores of a single CCX-cluster. The CPU is manufactured on the modern 7 nm process at TSMC. The I/O die that is not part of the main die is manufactured on 12 nm at Globalfoundries. The TDP is 65 Watts and therefore the CPU won't need a big beefy cooler.

In multi-threaded applications the performance of the Ryzen 3 3100 can reach the old Core i7-7700K (a former high end CPU). In games and single threaded applications, the performance is slightly lower as the higher clocked Ryzen 3 3300X is on par with the 7700K. Still, the 3100 can be a good pick for an entry level gaming system.

AMD Ryzen 9 3950X

The AMD Ryzen 9 3950X is a high-end desktop processor with 16 cores based on the Zen 2 architecture. At launch in November 2019 it is the fastest CPU of the Matisse series. The 3950X clocks from 3.5 GHz (base) up to 4.7 GHz (Turbo for a single core). All sixteen cores can reach up to 4.1 GHz.

Thanks to the 16 cores and 32 threads, the 3950X offers excellent application performance - if the number of cores can be used. Thanks to the relatively high Turbo, the single core performance is also situated in the high end. For games however, there are faster CPUs, like the Core i9-10900K.

The Ryzen 9 3950X is manufactured in 7nm (the four CCX-cluster with the cores) at TSMC and 12 nm (I/O die) at Globalfoundries. The TDP is rated at 250 Watt and therefore the CPU needs a very powerful cooling system.

AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT

The AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT is a fast desktop processor with 8 cores (octa core) based on the Zen 2 architecture. At launch it is the fastest 8-core-CPU of the Matisse series. The 3800XT clocks from 3.9 GHz (base) up to 4.7 GHz (Turbo). All eight cores can reach up to 4.2 GHz.

Performance

The average 3800XT in our database is in the same league as the Core i5-12500H, Core i5-13500H, Core i9-10910, Ryzen 7 5700G, Ryzen 7 7735HS, Ryzen 9 6900HS, Ryzen 9 6900HX, as far as multi-thread performance is concerned.

Power consumption

This Ryzen 7 series processor has a default TDP, also known as the long-term power limit, of 105 W. Needless to say, if one was to overclock it, the chip's power consumption would go up by a huge margin.

The R7 3800XT is built with TSMC's 7 nm process making for average, as of mid 2023, energy efficiency.