AMD delays Ryzen 9 3950X until November

AMD has pushed back the launch of its flagship 3rd Gen Ryzen desktop processor, the much-anticipated Ryzen 9 3950X, until November this year, when it will also launch ‘initial members’ of the 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen Threadripper family.

Originally slated for a September 2019 launch window following the initial launch of 3rd Gen Ryzen in July, the Ryzen 9 3950X will bring a whopping 16 cores and 32 threads to the mainstream AM4 ecosystem. Sadly, those who were eagerly awaiting its arrival will now have to wait at least six more weeks from now, as confirmed by a brief statement from AMD released to press this evening:

‘We are focusing on meeting the strong demand for our 3rd generation AMD Ryzen processors in the market and now plan to launch both the AMD Ryzen 9 3950X and initial members of the 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen Threadripper processor family in volume this November. We are confident that when enthusiasts get their hands on the world’s first 16-core mainstream desktop processor and our next-generation of high-end desktop processors, the wait will be well worth it,’ the full statement reads.

While you might read into ‘focusing on meeting the strong demand’ as an admission that demand for 3rd Gen Ryzen is outstripping supply, it’s certainly possible that AMD is struggling with yields of the Ryzen 9 3950X specifically, as its frequency and core count demands are higher than any other 3rd Gen Ryzen CPU, although no real reason for the delay has been given. We’re going to leave it there given the time and day, but it now appears the next major desktop CPU launch will be Intel’s Core i9-9900KS, which was recently confirmed to be launching in October.