Skip to content
Main Navigation Puget Systems Logo
  • Solutions
    • Content Creation
      • Photo Editing
        • Recommended Systems For:
        • Adobe Lightroom Classic
        • Adobe Photoshop
        • Stable Diffusion
      • Video Editing & Motion Graphics
        • Recommended Systems For:
        • Adobe After Effects
        • Adobe Premiere Pro
        • DaVinci Resolve
        • Foundry Nuke
      • 3D Design & Animation
        • Recommended Systems For:
        • Autodesk 3ds Max
        • Autodesk Maya
        • Blender
        • Cinema 4D
        • Houdini
        • ZBrush
      • Real-Time Engines
        • Recommended Systems For:
        • Game Development
        • Unity
        • Unreal Engine
        • Virtual Production
      • Rendering
        • Recommended Systems For:
        • Keyshot
        • OctaneRender
        • Redshift
        • V-Ray
      • Digital Audio
        • Recommended Systems For:
        • Ableton Live
        • FL Studio
        • Pro Tools
    • Engineering
      • Architecture & CAD
        • Recommended Systems For:
        • Autodesk AutoCAD
        • Autodesk Inventor
        • Autodesk Revit
        • SOLIDWORKS
      • Visualization
        • Recommended Systems For:
        • Enscape
        • Lumion
        • Twinmotion
      • Photogrammetry & GIS
        • Recommended Systems For:
        • ArcGIS Pro
        • Agisoft Metashape
        • Pix4D
        • RealityCapture
    • AI & HPC
      • Recommended Systems For:
      • Data Science
      • Generative AI
      • Large Language Models
      • Machine Learning / AI Dev
      • Scientific Computing
    • More
      • Recommended Systems For:
      • Compact Size
      • Live Streaming
      • NVIDIA RTX Studio
      • Quiet Operation
      • Virtual Reality
    • Business & Enterprise
      We can empower your company
    • Government & Education
      Services tailored for your organization
  • Products
    • Puget Mobile
      Powerful laptop workstations
      • Puget Mobile 16″
    • Puget Workstations
      High-performance desktop PCs
      • AMD Ryzen
        • Ryzen 9000:
        • Small Form Factor
        • Mini Tower
        • Mid Tower
        • Full Tower
      • AMD Threadripper
        • Threadripper 7000:
        • Mid Tower
        • Full Tower
        • Threadripper PRO 7000WX:
        • Full Tower
      • AMD EPYC
        • EPYC 9004/9005:
        • Full Tower
      • Intel Core Ultra
        • Core Ultra Series 2:
        • Small Form Factor
        • Mini Tower
        • Mid Tower
        • Full Tower
      • Intel Xeon
        • Xeon W-2500:
        • Mid Tower
        • Xeon W-3500:
        • Full Tower
    • Custom Computers
    • Puget Rackstations
      Workstations in rackmount chassis
      • AMD Rackstations
        • Ryzen 9000:
        • R132-4U
        • R550-6U 5-Node
        • Threadripper 7000:
        • T121-4U
        • T120-5U
        • Threadripper PRO 7000WX:
        • T141-4U
        • T140-5U (Dual 5090s)
        • EPYC 9004:
        • E140-4U (Quad 4090s)
      • Intel Rackstations
        • Core Ultra Series 2:
        • C132-4U
        • Xeon W-3500:
        • X131-4U
        • X141-5U
    • Custom Rackmount Workstations
    • Puget Servers
      Enterprise-class rackmount servers
      • Rackmount Servers
        • AMD EPYC:
        • E200-1U
        • E120-2U
        • E140-2U
        • E280-4U
        • E281-4U
        • Intel Xeon:
        • X200-1U
        • X240-2U
    • Comino Grando GPU Servers
    • Custom Servers
    • Puget Storage
      Solutions from desktop to datacenter
      • Network-Attached Storage
        • Synology NAS Units:
        • 4-bay DiskStation
        • 8-bay DiskStation
        • 12-bay DiskStation
        • 4-bay RackStation
        • 12-bay FlashStation
      • Software-Defined Storage
        • Datacenter Storage:
        • 12-Bay 2U
        • 24-Bay 2U
        • 36-Bay 4U
    • Recommended Third Party Peripherals
      Curated list of accessories for your workstation
    • Puget Gear
      Quality apparel with Puget Systems branding
  • Publications
    • Articles
    • Blog Posts
    • Case Studies
    • HPC Blog
    • Podcasts
    • Press
    • PugetBench
  • Support
    • Contact Support
    • Support Articles
    • Warranty Details
    • Onsite Services
    • Unboxing
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Our Customers
    • Enterprise
    • Gov & Edu
    • Press Kit
    • Testimonials
    • Careers
  • Talk to an Expert
  • My Account
  1. Home
  2. /
  3. Hardware Articles
  4. /
  5. Metashape 1.5.5 CPU Performance: AMD Ryzen 9 3950X

Metashape 1.5.5 CPU Performance: AMD Ryzen 9 3950X

Posted on November 14, 2019 by William George
Always look at the date when you read an article. Some of the content in this article is most likely out of date, as it was written on November 14, 2019. For newer information, see our more recent articles.

Table of Contents

  • Introduction
  • Test Hardware
  • Benchmark Details
  • Results
  • Analysis
  • Conclusion

Introduction

Metashape, formerly known as PhotoScan, is a photogrammetry program that takes a set of images and combines them to create a 3D model or map. Processing of those images into point clouds and 3D meshes/textures is time-consuming, heavily using a computer's CPU and GPU. With the release of AMD's latest Ryzen 9 3950X processor, which combines a high core count with good per-core performance, we wanted to see how it and its sibling 3900X fare in this application compared to the reigning champ: Intel's Core i9 9900K.

Test Hardware

Our full suite of Metashape testing takes many hours to run, especially when doing 2-3 passes per CPU, and we only have a single license for Metashape Pro – so the number of CPUs we could include in this roundup was limited. We've got fairly recent data showing the Core i9 9900K offers the best performance, so this time around we tested only the 9900K and the two new AMD Ryzen 9 processors.

AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
Image
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
Open Full Resolution

A complicating factor is memory speed support, though: most processors on the market today officially support up to 2666MHz memory, while these 3rd gen Ryzen chips are rated for different maximum memory speeds depending on how many RAM modules are installed. The spread goes from 2666MHz up to 3200MHz (if only using two modules) – but that limit would mean less total memory capacity, which could impact some of our benchmarks. Because of that, I decided to test the Ryzen processors at both ends: with a full set of four 16GB modules at both 2666 and 3200MHz, even though that is technically outside the supported range. We can't sell systems configured that way, because we need to stick to AMD's supported specs, but by having the performance data from both ends of the spectrum we can give our customers a good idea of the rough range they'll end up in.

The Core i9 9900K was also tested with 64GB, but at 2666MHz since that is its maximum official supported speed.

Test Platform
CPU AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X
CPU Cooler Noctua NH-U12S
Motherboard Gigabyte X570 AORUS ULTRA
RAM 4x DDR4-2666 16GB (64GB total)
4x DDR4-3200 16GB (64GB total)
Video Card NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti 11GB
Hard Drive Samsung 960 Pro 1TB
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit (version 1903)
Metashape Pro 1.5.5
Test Platform
CPU Intel Core i9 9900K
CPU Cooler Noctua NH-U12S
Motherboard Gigabyte Z390 Designare
RAM 4x DDR4-2666 16GB (64GB total)
Video Card NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti 11GB
Hard Drive Samsung 960 Pro 1TB
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit (version 1903)
Metashape Pro 1.5.5

Benchmark Details

For benchmarking photogrammetry applications we now have four image sets that we own the rights to, covering both smaller and larger size Model and Map projects. The smaller image sets are included in our public Metashape benchmark, which you can download and run if you want to compare your system's performance to what we measured in our testing.

  • Rock Model – 36 photos at 20 megapixels each
  • School Map – 51 photos at 18 megapixels each
  • School Model – 439 photos at 18 megapixels each
  • Park Map – 792 photos at 18 megapixels each

We also split our "model" testing into two branches: one using the building of a dense point cloud to creating the model/mesh, and the other skipping that step and using just the depth maps for mesh creation. These methods utilize the hardware in a computer differently, and we wanted to reflect both approaches in our benchmark. Looking at the results, however, we might drop depth map based model processing because it takes about three times longer, which has a big impact on how many systems we can test per article. Please let us know in the comments section at the end if you have any input on this, especially if you care about that specific set of results.

Each image set was processed 2-3 times per hardware configuration, and the fastest overall result was used for the comparisons below.

Results

Here is a gallery of charts for each of the six test configurations, showing the total time (in seconds) they took to process on each CPU.

A note about the color-coding used here: AMD processors are shown in orange with 2666MHz memory and red with 3200MHz – which is out of AMD's official supported specs at this capacity and speed combination – while all Intel processors are shown in blue.

Gallery Image
Gallery Image
Gallery Image
Gallery Image
Gallery Image
Gallery Image
Gallery Image
Gallery Image
Gallery Image
Gallery Image
Gallery Image
Gallery Image
Previous Next
System Image
Gallery Image
Gallery Image
Gallery Image
Gallery Image
Gallery Image
Gallery Image
Previous Next

For those who want to dig further into the differences in how each CPU performed, here is a table showing the times for each step within Metashape on each of the image sets:

Metashape 1.5.1 NVIDIA GeForce, Titan, and AMD Radeon Performance Table
Image
Metashape 1.5.1 NVIDIA GeForce, Titan, and AMD Radeon Performance Table
Open Full Resolution

Analysis

The performance between these CPUs is very close in Metashape. The Core i9 9900K is effectively tied with the new Ryzen 9 3950X on smaller projects, if using high-speed memory (3200MHz, technically above AMD's spec for this 64GB configuration). When using the same 2666MHz modules, the Intel processor has a clear lead.

Moving up to the larger projects, however, puts AMD clearly in the lead for the School Model using the dense cloud workflow. For the Park Map, however, the 3950X only came in ahead if it was equipped with the faster RAM.

Conclusion

Based on the charts and analysis above, it is impossible to call out a single, clear winner in Metashape. AMD's new Ryzen 9 3950X does very well, especially when equipped with 3200MHz memory – but doing that either means limiting yourself to 32GB (two 16GB modules) or else exceeding AMD's official memory support by putting in more modules. The 3950X also costs more than either Intel's Core i9 9900K or AMD's Ryzen 9 3900X, and with fairly small performance differences that $200-300 price delta is worth considering.

In the end, though, any of these three processors will give you great performance in Agisoft Metashape!

All of the CPUs we tested here are better optimized for this workflow than AMD and Intel's higher-end processors, which have more cores in total but lower per-core performance. Metashape is very sensitive to that, it seems, and doesn't appear to utilize a lot of cores.

In case you missed it, you can check out our recent GPU performance article. We also make our smaller image sets publicly available to test via our Metashape benchmark, so that you can compare your own system's performance to what we have measured in our articles.

CTA Image
Looking for a Metashape Workstation?

Puget Systems offers a range of powerful and reliable systems that are tailor-made for your unique workflow.

Configure a System!
CTA Image
Labs Consultation Service

Our Labs team is available to provide in-depth hardware recommendations based on your workflow.

Find Out More!

Related Content

  • Z890 vs. B860 vs. H810
  • AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and 9900X3D Content Creation Review
  • Is it Worth Upgrading to NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 50 Series for 3D Artists?
  • Understanding Modern Desktop PC Hardware for Workstations
View All Related Content

Latest Content

  • Unreal Fest 2025: Highlights from Orlando
  • NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Workstation Content Creation Review
  • Puget Mobile 16″ Laptop (2025) Product Showcase
  • Why PugetBench for Premiere Pro is Dropping HEVC Encoding Tests
View All
Tags: 9900K, AMD, AMD Ryzen 3rd Gen, CPU, Intel, Intel 9th Gen, Intel vs AMD, Metashape, Performance, photogrammetry, Ryzen, Ryzen 9 3950X

Who is Puget Systems?

Puget Systems builds custom workstations, servers and storage solutions tailored for your work.

We provide:

Extensive performance testing
making you more productive and giving better value for your money

Reliable computers
with fewer crashes means more time working & less time waiting

Support that understands
your complex workflows and can get you back up & running ASAP

A proven track record
as shown by our case studies and customer testimonials

Get Started

Browse Systems

Puget Systems Mobile Laptop Workstation Icon

Mobile

Puget Systems Tower Workstation Icon

Workstations

Puget Systems Rackmount Workstation Icon

Rackstations

Puget Systems Rackmount Server Icon

Servers

Puget Systems Rackmount Storage Icon

Storage

Latest Articles

  • Unreal Fest 2025: Highlights from Orlando
  • NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Workstation Content Creation Review
  • Puget Mobile 16″ Laptop (2025) Product Showcase
  • Why PugetBench for Premiere Pro is Dropping HEVC Encoding Tests
  • NVIDIA Blackwell GPU GenAI Software Support
View All

Post navigation

 Lightroom Classic CPU Roundup: AMD Ryzen 3rd Gen, AMD Threadripper 2, Intel 9th Gen, Intel X-seriesPremiere Pro CPU performance: AMD Ryzen 9 3950X 
Puget Systems Logo
Build Your Own PC Site Map FAQ
facebook instagram linkedin rss twitter youtube

Optimized Solutions

  • Adobe Premiere
  • Adobe Photoshop
  • Solidworks
  • Autodesk AutoCAD
  • Machine Learning

Workstations

  • Content Creation
  • Engineering
  • Scientific PCs
  • More

Support

  • Online Guides
  • Request Support
  • Remote Help

Publications

  • All News
  • Puget Blog
  • HPC Blog
  • Hardware Articles
  • Case Studies

Policies

  • Warranty & Return
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Delivery Times
  • Accessibility

About Us

  • Testimonials
  • Careers
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter

© Copyright 2025 - Puget Systems, All Rights Reserved.