AMD Ryzen 3950X: What made the 3950X price-wise so unattractive

Applications Hardware
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I have been watching the prices over the last 5+ years of the top-end Ryzen processors and noticed that as of 2024 Q2 the AMD Ryzen 3950X is no longer available from the retail stores. Before it was pulled from the shelves it retailed at 600 EUR (give or take).
Its successor AMD Ryzen 5950X currently goes for circa 300 EUR and AMD Ryzen 7950X for circa 500 EUR. I never understood what made the 3950X price-wise so unattractive.

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This is the kind of question you can ask a genAI like ChatGPT and get a genAI-"what does the Internet think via genAI" type of answer:

Prompt

AMD Ryzen 3950X : what made the 3950X price-wise so unattractive.

ChatGPT Reply

The AMD Ryzen 9 3950X, when it was released, was considered a high-end processor aimed at enthusiasts and professionals who needed significant multi-threading performance. However, several factors contributed to its perception as price-wise unattractive:

  1. High Initial Price: The Ryzen 9 3950X was priced at a premium, which made it less accessible to mainstream consumers. Its launch price was around $749, which was significantly higher than other processors in the Ryzen lineup.
  2. Diminishing Returns for Gamers: For gaming, the Ryzen 9 3950X offered minimal performance improvements compared to cheaper alternatives like the Ryzen 7 3700X or Ryzen 5 3600. Most games do not utilize the 16 cores and 32 threads effectively, making the higher cost hard to justify for gamers.
  3. Alternative Options: Within the AMD lineup and from competitors like Intel, there were several alternative processors that offered better price-to-performance ratios for both gaming and general use. For example, the Ryzen 7 3700X and Intel's i7-9700K provided excellent performance at a much lower cost.
  4. Power Consumption and Cooling: The 3950X has a higher TDP (Thermal Design Power) of 105W, which requires better cooling solutions. This added to the overall cost, as users would need to invest in high-end cooling systems to manage the processor’s heat effectively.
  5. Professional Use Cases: While the Ryzen 9 3950X excelled in multi-threaded applications, such as video editing, 3D rendering, and other professional tasks, the price may have been seen as too high for hobbyists or semi-professionals who do not require such extensive processing power.
  6. Economic Factors: Market dynamics, such as supply and demand, tariffs, and currency fluctuations, can also impact the perceived value of a product. Any disruptions or changes in these factors could have influenced the pricing and attractiveness of the Ryzen 9 3950X.

In summary, the Ryzen 9 3950X's price seemed unattractive to many consumers because it offered more power than necessary for average users and gamers, while the added cost and requirements for cooling and power consumption did not justify the performance gains for most potential buyers.

Reference (Ryzen 3950X Price Concerns, ChatGPT):

Sometimes genAI is useful .... even it not intelligent, especially when the reply is ripe for a genAI blah, blah, blah type of reply :slight_smile:

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