AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D evaluate: A very nice gaming CPU

From time to time a part comes alongside that simply nails the transient, with out you having so as to add an enormous disclaimer to the tip of your advice. The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 did it (earlier than it offered out), the Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 did it, and now the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D has executed it in fairly spectacular trend. After the lackluster Zen 5 launch, AMD has pulled out all of the stops with this new gaming CPU, fixing the app efficiency of the 7800X3D, and making its new chip even faster in video games.

Is that this newest AMD chip the brand new greatest gaming CPU? In a phrase, sure. Not solely does it go away Intel Arrow Lake within the mud, however it’s additionally notably faster than its predecessor, particularly in utility software program, but additionally in video games. I’ve examined this new X3D chip in a number of video games during the last couple of weeks, whereas additionally placing it by its paces in video encoding and rendering checks, and it’s a genuinely nice processor.

Specs

The Ryzen 7 9800X3D sees AMD taking a brand new strategy to its X3D chips, and it refers back to the new construction as 2nd Gen 3D V-cache. The change is kind of easy, however it has profound implications. Mainly, as a substitute of the cache sitting on high of the CPU cores, because it did with the Ryzen 7 7800X3D, it now sits beneath the eight-core chiplet that incorporates the CPU cores.

The thought, in keeping with AMD, is that this implies the CPU cores are nearest the heatspreader, and thus the contact plate of your CPU cooler, somewhat than the cache. It’s a good level. In spite of everything, it’s the CPU cores which might be in additional want of cooling than the cache, and that additional cooling headroom has additionally enabled AMD to extend the clock pace.

Particularly, the 9800X3D enhance clock now sits at 5.2GHz, in comparison with the marginally decrease 5GHz enhance clock of the 7800X3D. Furthermore, the bottom clock has additionally been given an enormous bump, up from 4.2GHz to 4.7GHz. Meaning the chip is rather more capable of maintain greater clock speeds throughout a number of cores in comparison with its predecessor, in addition to enhance to the next peak pace on fewer cores. It’s not an enormous enhance, however it’s very welcome.

As well as, in contrast to the 7800X3D, AMD has additionally unlocked the multiplier of the 9800X3D, that means you possibly can overclock it too. I’ll be overclocking the 9800X3D in a future information, however within the meantime, it’s good to see this eight-core X3D chip having the next enhance clock within the first place.

The opposite massive change, after all, is the transfer from the Zen 4 structure of the 7800X3D to the brand new Zen 5 structure with the 9800X3D, which ought to give it slightly little bit of a efficiency enhance as effectively. In any other case, the 7800X3D and 9800X3D have pretty comparable specs, with the identical eight cores, and the identical 64MB of additional 3D V-cache – add the present 32MB of L3 cache within the chip, and also you get a complete of 96MB L3 cache.

Not like the brand new Intel Arrow Lake CPUs, which have Hyper-Threading disabled, the 9800X3D additionally has SMT enabled, so it could actually additionally cut up its sources into eight digital cores along with its eight bodily cores, that means it could actually execute 16 concurrent threads in closely multi-threaded software program, somewhat than simply eight.

Take a look at setup

We’ve examined the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D utilizing a brand new MSI X870E Carbon WiFi motherboard (a board that may get you a free $50 Steam code from MSI proper now), and we’ve additionally retested the 7800X3D on the identical board to get comparability figures. We’ve additionally used the identical 32GB of (2 x 16GB) G.Talent TridentZ 5 Neo RGB 6,000MHz, CL28 RAM that we utilized in our current Intel Core Extremely 7 265K evaluate.

In any other case, our check package for the 9800X3D stays the identical as that for our different CPU checks, together with a 2TB WD Black SN850X SSD, in addition to a Corsair H100x 240mm AIO cooler, a Corsair RM1000x PSU, and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 Founders Version graphics card.

All our checks have been carried out utilizing Home windows 11 24H2, and with the most recent BIOS model of the motherboard, which was 802 on the time of testing. The comparability Intel 14th-gen checks within the graphs beneath have been carried out utilizing an Asus Z790 Darkish Hero motherboard and Corsair Vengeance RGB DDR5 RAM working at 6,000MHz, CL36.

Sport benchmarks

Let’s minimize to the chase, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D is the perfect CPU I’ve ever benchmarked on the subject of gaming. The distinction between this chip and its predecessor is extra pronounced in some checks than others, however it’s constantly on the high of the charts, and effectively forward of the Core Extremely 7 265K.

Let’s begin with Cyberpunk 2077, which I ran at 1,920 x 1,080 with the Extremely ray tracing preset, and with DLSS Tremendous Decision enabled on the High quality setting. As you possibly can see within the graph above, the 9800X3D is effectively in entrance of the 7800X3D, including 4fps to the common body charge and 6fps to the minimal.

Comparatively, the Intel 14th-gen chips, such because the Core i9 14900K, have considerably decrease minimums, with a high common of 148fps. This drops all the way in which all the way down to a minimal of 104fps and a mean of 134fps on the Core i5 14600K. The actual kicker for Intel on this check, although, is the efficiency of the Core Extremely 7 265K, which is languishing on a 117fps common and 88fps minimal. Comparatively, the 9800X3D is 33% sooner, which is an unbelievable distinction to realize simply from swapping CPUs.

Equally, in Far Cry 6 the 9800X3D once more leads the pack, including 5fps to the already-high 208fps common from the 7800X3D, and being an enormous 35% faster than the Core Extremely 7 265K. The brand new AMD chip additionally overtakes the Intel Core i9 14900K on this check, and is an efficient 28fps forward of the Core i5 14600K.

I additionally ran this recreation on the Excessive setting on the 265K and 9800X3D, somewhat than the Extremely setting, to put as a lot burden on the CPU as attainable, and the result’s astounding. As you possibly can see within the graph above, the 9800X3D’s common of 232fps is an enormous 66fps faster than the consequence from the Core Extremely 7 265K, and the minimal is 49fps sooner too.

Shifting to the Complete Warfare: Warhammer 3 Battle check once more sees the 9800X3D take the lead, however solely by slightly in comparison with the  7800X3D. The minimal is 2fps faster, however the common is similar. Intel’s CPUs are solely slightly method behind on this check too, with the minimal body charge displaying the place AMD’s X3D chips actually assist. That is additionally one check the place Intel’s Arrow Lake chips maintain up comparably effectively. The Core Extremely 7 265K remains to be on the backside, however not by an enormous margin.

Shifting to the Mirrors of Insanity benchmark on this similar recreation, and it sees Intel and AMD swap locations, although solely by a small margin, with the 14900K being 2fps faster than the 9800X3D. Once more, the Core Extremely 7 265K’s common is behind the 9800X3D, although its minimal of 93fps is a uncommon win for Intel in recreation benchmarks.

In each the Complete Warfare benchmarks, there’s not quite a bit to separate all these CPUs when it comes all the way down to it. Each the Core i9 14900K and Ryzen 7 9800X3D maintain up effectively, swapping locations relying on the kind of workload.

Likewise, our F1 24 benchmark reveals there’s not a lot separating the Intel 14th-gen chips from the 9800X3D, with tiny variations between the chips. The Core Extremely 7 265K actually struggles on this check, although, with common stuttering. This recreation isn’t a win for the 9800X3D, however it’s proper on the heels of the perfect Intel chips.

With all these checks, nevertheless, keep in mind that we’ve intentionally benchmarked this chip at 1,920 x 1,080, as this places the burden on the CPU somewhat than the GPU. You’re more likely to see diminishing returns out of your selection of CPU as you enhance the decision to 2,560 x 1,440 and past.

Utility benchmarks

The place the 9800X3D actually pulls away from the 7800X3D is on the subject of utility benchmarks, the place its Zen 5 structure and further clock pace assist bolster its efficiency. It’s nonetheless solely an eight-core CPU, so it struggles to compete with chips which have a great deal of cores, however it’s enormously faster than the 7800X3D in these checks.

One significantly good consequence for the brand new AMD chip was our closely multi-threaded Handbrake video encoding benchmark, which took 11.57 seconds to finish on the Ryzen 7 9800X3D. That’s over two seconds faster than the 7800X3D in the identical check, and it’s additionally barely faster than the Core i5 14600K, which has six P-Cores and eight E-Cores (a complete of 14). That’s an honest consequence for an eight-core chip.

The 14-core Intel CPU nonetheless wins out within the Cinebench R24 Multi Core check, however you possibly can see the large bounce between the 7800X3D and 9800X3D within the graph above. The 9800X3D scores 1,361, whereas the lower-clocked 7800X3D solely produces a results of 1,059 – you get a 28.5% bounce in efficiency by upgrading to the 9800X3D on this benchmark.

Then again, it’s price noting that the 7800X3D was famously underpowered on this check, and that cheaper chips with extra cores are sooner. That is the place the brand new Intel Core Extremely 7 265K shines, for instance, as does the Core i9 14900K with its 24 Raptor Lake cores. When you actually desire a CPU that may deal with each gaming and closely multi-threaded workloads, the Core i9 14900K stays a greater choice for now.

It’s the Cinebench R24 Single Core check that actually reveals the energy of this new CPU, although. Its additional clock pace and superior structure not solely make it 16.8% faster than the 7800X3D, however on this check, it even overtakes the 5.6GHz Core 17 14700K. It could actually’t fairly catch the 6GHz Core i9 14900K, however it’s actually not far off the tempo.

Energy draw

One space that Intel has nailed recently is energy draw and warmth output, and whereas the 9800X3D remains to be a power-frugal chip in comparison with the 14900K, its additional clock pace sees it drawing extra from the mains than the 7800X3D, and considerably greater than the Core Extremely 7 265K.

Relating to gaming, the poor body charges of the Core Extremely 7 265K largely make this level moot by way of effectivity, and whereas the 9800X3D does draw 33W extra energy than the 7800X3D in our check rig throughout video games, it’s nonetheless massively extra environment friendly than the Core i7 14700K and 14900K.

Nevertheless, you actually see a rise in energy draw whenever you stress all of the 9800X3D’s cores directly, with the entire system energy consumption leaping from 167W with the 7800X3D put in to 253W with the 9800X3D. That is undoubtedly an space the place Intel Arrow Lake has the higher hand, with the Core Extremely 7 265K system solely drawing an additional 41W from the mains, whereas additionally growing efficiency by an enormous 46.58%.

The identical additionally goes for working temperature, the place the Core Extremely 7 265K is cooler at peak load in gaming than the 9800X3D. Nevertheless, we have been pleasantly shocked to see that the 9800X3D ran a very good 7°C cooler than the 7800X3D on this check, underneath the identical circumstances with the identical CPU cooler.

Placing the cache beneath the CCD, so the CPU cores get direct entry to the heatspreader and CPU cooler contact plate, clearly works effectively for thermals for gaming. Nevertheless, the additional clock pace equally ends in a hotter-running CPU when all of the cores are engaged, because the 9800X3D hit 84°C in our Cinebench Multi Core check.

That’s 3°C hotter than the 7800X3D, and 6°C hotter than the Core Extremely 7 265K, however it’s nonetheless a good distance from the sky-high temperatures of Intel’s 14th-gen chips when all their cores are working at full load. A 240mm AIO cooler or premium air cooler will probably be wonderful for the Ryzen 7 9800X3D.

Worth

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D worth is $479, which is quite a bit to ask for an eight-core CPU, and a very good $30 greater than the 7800X3D launch worth. That may appear like a foul deal when you will get the 24-core Intel Core i9 14900K for $439, however the 9800X3D’s superior gaming efficiency justifies the additional price, as does its superior energy effectivity and cooler working temperature.

AMD is aware of the worth of this CPU, and has priced it as excessive as it could actually go with out trying ridiculous. As an all-rounder, the 9800X3D worth isn’t low cost, even with the improved multi-threading efficiency over the 7800X3D, however at the very least it is available in underneath $500.

Options

AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D

Regardless of restricted inventory proper now, AMD tells us that it at the moment has no plans to take away the 7800X3D from its roster, and we’re hoping that the introduction of the 9800X3D means the worth of the 7800X3D will come down within the close to future.

Assuming that occurs, the 7800X3D remains to be a formidable gaming chip if you could find it for underneath $400. Its gaming efficiency isn’t far off the 9800X3D’s tempo, and it doesn’t want a great deal of cooling energy both. The one downer is the dearth of clock pace and multi-threaded pace, however in any other case, the 7800X3D stays an ideal purchase if you could find it on the proper worth.

Intel Core i9 14900K

Intel’s former flagship hasn’t had a simple trip, however it’s nonetheless an ideal all-rounder if you’d like a CPU that may deal with each gaming and severe multi-threaded work. There are some caveats, although. Firstly, you’ll have to flash the BIOS in your motherboard to ensure it has the microcode for the most recent Intel CPU repair, otherwise you threat recreation crashes and even damaging your CPU.

You’ll additionally want the perfect energy provide you possibly can afford, in addition to the perfect AIO cooler in attain of your finances, as this can be a hot-running and power-hungry buyer. When you can type all of the above, although, the 14900K is an honest CPU that may flip its hand at something.

Verdict

Effectively executed AMD, you’ve produced the gaming CPU we needed, giving us eight cached-up cores with an honest clock pace, and the outcomes are nice. If you’d like the perfect gaming CPU that cash should buy, then that is it proper now, and whereas it’s not low cost, at the very least the worth remains to be underneath $500.

The gaming efficiency is excellent, with the 9800X3D outpacing the earlier king, the 7800X3D, and completely obliterating Intel’s new Arrow Lake CPUs. In the meantime, the brand new chip structure and further clock pace make the 9800X3D a a lot better all-rounder than its predecessor.

It nonetheless solely has eight cores, after all, however that’s a lot for gaming and most of the people’s multi-threading wants. You’ll solely want extra in the event you’re frequently giving your PC giant parallel workloads, equivalent to high-resolution video encoding and 3D rendering. For most individuals’s wants, particularly players, this chip does all of it.

My solely most important misgivings are the excessive worth for an eight-core chip, and the truth that the low thermals imply AMD might have squeezed the next enhance clock out of it, making it even sooner at its inventory enhance pace, with out requiring overclocking – 5.2GHz remains to be fairly a low high frequency for a chip at this worth.

In any other case, although, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D is a triumph, fixing the primary points with the 7800X3D, whereas making a brand new CPU that’s even sooner in video games. I’m actually trying ahead to seeing what AMD can do with the remainder of the X3D lineup, significantly if it could actually remedy the cache latency points with the 12-core and 16-core chips.

When you’re serious about assembling a brand new 9800X3D rig, take a look at our full information on find out how to construct a gaming PC, in addition to our information on the perfect gaming RAM to put in in your new system.