As AMD prepares to roll out its next-generation Ryzen 9000 series of CPUs based on Zen 5 architecture, we are starting to see some systems being tested by third-party OEMs and system integrators. Today, we have Geekbench 6 scores of the Ryzen 9 9900X CPU, and the 12-core, 24-thread processor that has demonstrated impressive performance gains. Boasting a base clock of 4.4 GHz and a boost clock of up to 5.6 GHz, the CPU features only 120 W TDP, a significant reduction from the previous 170 W of the previous generation. In Geekbench 6 tests, the Ryzen 9 9900X achieved a single-core score of 3,401 and a multicore score of 19,756.

These results place it ahead of Intel's current flagship Core i9-14900KS, which scored 3,189 points in single-core performance. Regarding multicore tasks, the i9-14900K scored 21,890 points, still higher than AMD's upcoming 12-core SKU. The benchmark of AMD's CPU was conducted on an ASUS ROG Crosshair X670E Gene motherboard with 32 GB of DDR5 memory. As anticipation builds for the official release, these early benchmarks suggest that AMD will deliver a compelling product that balances high performance with improved energy efficiency. The top tier models will still carry a 170 W TDP, while some high-end and middle-end SKUs get a TDP reduction like the Ryzen 7 9700X and Ryzen 5 9600X dial down to 65 W, decreased from 105 W in their previous iterations.