AMD Ryzen 9 9950x CPU Review: Performance, Thermals & Power Analysis

Power Consumption

I use the Powenetics system to measure power consumption in every significant part of the mainboard, with up to 1000 readings per second.

Power_Consumption_IDLE

Power_Consumption_Single_Threaded

Power_Consumption_Multi_Threaded

Power_Consumption_Gaming

The multiple cores increase the CPU’s power consumption when idle. Power consumption also increases in single-threaded apps, which is natural since the extra cores do nothing but still require some energy. In multiple threads, the power consumption reaches 235W, which is high enough but still much lower than Intel’s high-end CPUs results. Lastly, gaming power consumption is increased at 159W.

Peak Power Consumption

I obtained the peak power consumption readings shown in the graph above during the start of the Prime95 benchmark. After the power spike, the CPU’s power consumption is steady at around 240W.

Energy Usage

Energy_Usage_Multi_Threaded

Energy_Usage_Single_Threaded

The energy usage is low in multiple-threads, but I would like it to be even lower in single-threaded ones.