Guys I'm afraid I've dropped out of the race for the sacred 3900x. I went for the 3700x instead, which should be a substantial improvement over my current ******** i3 3225 (
https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i3-3225-vs-AMD-Ryzen-7-3700X/1488vs4043). After some thought, I'm leaning towards more frequent but fewer, higher end, upgrades to my PC, so potentially getting a Zen 3 12/16 core on AM4 in 2-3 years time, a quicker NVME SSD in 3-4 years time (bound to happen), a better gpu when one pops up at a good price, etc. This should also help me jump on deals to avoid paying full price for components.
The money saved went towards an ultrawide LG 34 inch 1440p IPS as my main monitor, which I'm very excited about. Everything should arrive tomorrow. Just need to avoid the inevitable 3900x FOMO. I have a bit of a lull in my schedule over the next 7-8 days so this should keep me busy, which was another factor in my decision.
Good luck with your pursuit of 12 cores.
My watch has ended
(I'm unwatching this thread).