R9 9950X Analysis: AMD must Reboot Ryzen 9000 (+ Zen 5 Issues Leak)

Summary

This video critiques AMD's recent Zen 5 processors, the R9 9900x and R9 950x, emphasizing that they are not worth buying, especially for Windows users. Performance issues stem from unfinished software and poor optimization. The speaker highlights inconsistent benchmark results, with some games performing better on Linux than Windows, and accuses AMD of rushing the launch without addressing key problems. The video also suggests AMD could salvage Zen 5 by improving software, launching new SKUs, and adopting aggressive pricing, particularly with V-Cache models to regain user trust.

Takeaways

• 💻 The reviewer does not recommend purchasing the R9 9900x and R9 950x for use on Windows due to poor performance and software issues.
• 📉 Even for productivity tasks, the performance uplift of Zen 5 chips is marginal, offering single-digit improvements compared to previous models like the 7950X.
• ⚙️ There are major software and driver issues with Zen 5 on Windows, causing inconsistencies in performance, especially with core parking and latency between CCDs.
• 🔄 AMD's own performance claims (e.g., a 21% uplift) are not met in real-world benchmarks, where only a 7% improvement is observed.
• 🐞 Some testers, like Tom’s Hardware and der8auer, report nonsensical and unstable benchmark results, which point to Windows failing to utilize Zen 5 properly.
• 🖥️ Performance differences between Linux and Windows are significant, with Zen 5 performing much better on Linux in certain applications and games.
• ⏳ The reviewer suggests Zen 5 was launched prematurely, before the software and microcode were fully ready, leading to these issues.
• 🔍 There are reports that AMD's Zen 5 development was plagued by internal problems, including team conflicts and delays caused by rework and poor communication.
• 💡 AMD may need to fix these issues through software and microcode updates, though it's uncertain how much performance can be recovered.
• 📊 The reviewer proposes that AMD should do a full relaunch of Zen 5, ideally with new X3D products and aggressive pricing, to regain credibility in the market.

Q & A

Why does the speaker not recommend buying the R9 9900X and R9 950X?

The speaker doesn't recommend the R9 9900X and R9 950X because their performance on Windows is poor, with minimal uplift in productivity, issues with software, and a lack of noticeable improvement over the 7950X.

What specific issue did Tom's Hardware face when testing the R9 950X?

Tom's Hardware reported a 7% performance uplift over the 14900K, which was significantly lower than the 21% uplift AMD had claimed in their pre-launch slides, indicating inconsistency in the benchmarks.

What does the speaker suggest is the root cause of the performance issues with Zen 5 CPUs?

The speaker suggests that Zen 5 was launched prematurely, with incomplete software and microcode, leading to performance inconsistencies and improper Windows scheduling.

How did Linux performance differ from Windows with the Zen 5 CPUs?

Linux provided better performance across all applications, including games, compared to Windows, which indicates that the Windows software was not utilizing Zen 5 CPUs properly.

What did Wendell observe in Counter Strike 2 when testing the R9 950X?

Wendell observed that the R9 950X went from losing to an i7-4700K at 1440p to beating the i9-14900K at 4K, an inconsistency that suggests Windows isn't properly utilizing the Zen 5 CPUs.

What information did the speaker obtain from AMD sources about the Zen 5 launch issues?

The speaker's sources at AMD confirmed that the Zen 5's microcode wasn't fully ready at launch, and the development process was hampered by team transitions, communication issues, and rushed software updates.

How did the Zen 2 team impact the development of Zen 5?

The Zen 2 team was in charge of the initial Zen 5 architecture and chose to use their own Zen 2 codebase instead of building on later Zen architectures, which slowed development and led to tribalism within the AMD teams.

What is core parking, and why did it affect Zen 5's performance?

Core parking is the process of putting CPU cores into a low-power state when they're not needed. The lack of proper communication about core parking caused issues during testing, affecting Zen 5's overall performance.

What does the speaker recommend AMD do to fix the Zen 5 issues?

The speaker suggests that AMD should reboot Zen 5 with improved software, possibly alongside new motherboards and x3D products, and re-launch with aggressive pricing to win back consumer trust.

What does the speaker think about the timing of Zen 5's launch?

The speaker believes that AMD rushed Zen 5 to market unnecessarily, as the 800-series motherboards and vcash variants weren't ready, and there was no immediate competition forcing AMD to release the product early.