The move puts the 16-core and 32-threaded CPU as a direct rival to the Core i9-12900K (8 perf cores and 8 energy-efficient cores / 24 Threads).

To be fair to Intel on this, the price is probably about right as the Zen 3-powered Ryzen 9 5950X has no further upgrade route. The Ryzen 7000 Series will launch on a new platform dubbed as Socket AM5, whereas Intel will reuse LGA1700 for forthcoming Raptor Lake Core i9s.

That said when it first came out last year with its new 7nm manufacturing process and architecture, it was touted as a huge over kill for most computer uses.

The 5950X is better suited to creators and professionals who need to create a good value workstation with plenty of performance. Still, for that power $600 appears good value.