AMD Ryzen 7 9700X vs AMD Ryzen 9 5900XT
- The AMD Ryzen 9 5900XT launched $10 lower ($349 vs $359).
- Different sockets (AM5 and AM4): they need different motherboards.
- The AMD Ryzen 9 5900XT has 8 more cores (16 vs 8).
AMD Ryzen 7 9700X
8 cores · 5.5 GHz · AM5 · DDR5-5600
Launched at $359
AMD Ryzen 9 5900XT
16 cores · 4.8 GHz · AM4 · DDR4-3200
Launched at $349
Specs side by side
10 of 11 differ, marked. Speed isn't compared here: we only list specs we can source.
| Spec | AMD Ryzen 7 9700X | AMD Ryzen 9 5900XT |
|---|---|---|
| Cores | 8 cores, 16 threads | 16 cores, 32 threads |
| Boost clock | Up to 5.5 GHz | Up to 4.8 GHz |
| L3 cache | 32 MB | 64 MB |
| Power (TDP) | 65 W | 105 W |
| Built-in graphics | Yes | No |
| Socket | AM5 | AM4 |
| PCIe | PCIe 5.0 | PCIe 4.0 |
| Official DDR5 speed | DDR5-5600 (DDR5-3600 with 4 modules) | — |
| Segment | Desktop | Desktop |
| Launched | August 8, 2024 | Jul 31, 2024 |
| Official DDR4 speed | — | DDR4-3200 (DDR4-2667 with 4 modules) |
Which motherboards take them
AMD Ryzen 7 9700X
AM5 boards with these chipsets:
- X870E
- X870
- B850
- B840
- X670E
- X670
- A620
- A620A
- B650E
- B650
AMD Ryzen 9 5900XT
AM4 boards with these chipsets:
- X570
- B550 (may need a BIOS update)
- A520 (may need a BIOS update)
- X470 (may need a BIOS update)
- B450 (may need a BIOS update)
- X370 (may need a BIOS update)
- B350 (may need a BIOS update)
- A320 (may need a BIOS update)
- X300
- A300
Outlined: those boards may need a BIOS update before the CPU works.
Sources
AMD Ryzen 7 9700X
- Wikipedia: List of AMD Ryzen processors · CC BY-SA 4.0
AMD Ryzen 9 5900XT
- Wikipedia: List of AMD Ryzen processors · CC BY-SA 4.0
Specs last checked Oct 19, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we'll fix it.