AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D: Top “gaming” CPU with MT perf boost

Conclusion

High gaming performance is something that is kind of expected from the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D. Compared to its predecessor (Ryzen 7 7800X3D), however, the cooling options have been greatly improved, paving the way for higher clock speeds. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D has thus advanced especially in terms of multithreaded, but also single-threaded performance. This makes this CPU with 3D V-Cache more versatile – better able to handle multiple usage scenarios.

Conclusion

In terms of gaming usage, not much has changed with the Ryzen 7 9800X3D compared to the Ryzen 7 7800X3D. But that doesn’t mean there is anything wrong. It’s still the case that the Ryzen 7 9800X3D (as well as the R7 7800X3D) is an elite processor for a gaming PC. Highest gaming performance at simultaneously nearly the lowest power consumption.

The power efficiency in games is absolutely top-notch. It’s at a level that Intel’s Raptor Lake Refresh generation processors can’t compete with. What the situation will look like in the case of Intel Arrow Lake, or more specifically, the Core Ultra 7 265K processor, you will find out soon. As we add their tests to the database. At the moment, however, we can state that the Ryzen 7 9800X3D is at the very top in gaming tests. At extremely low resolution (720p) with virtually complete elimination of the contribution of a graphics card, it’s in first place, just above the Ryzen 7 7800X3D. At higher resolutions, the impact of the processor is diminished to the point of being completely negligible. But this is true for all processors – high-resolution gaming performance is determined by the capabilities of the graphics card.

Gaming performance is one thing, and then there’s something that makes a processor a processor – compute performance. This increased by up to 30–35% under heavy load compared to the R7 7800X3D. It’s mainly due to significantly higher clock speeds being reached. These are possible because of better cooling options, and with comparable temperature, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D has about 60W more power consumption. Naturally, this is also reflected in the compute performance, which is therefore higher. In terms of gaming performance, the performance benefits won’t show up that much, as in both cases the processors (both the R7 9800X3D and the R7 7800X3D) are at very low power consumption, well below both temperature and power limits. Anyway, you can keep the new Ryzen 7 9800X3D at the same noise level with a cheaper cooler than it was in the past (for the Ryzen 7 7800X3D).

But with regards to the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, it still can’t be said to be a suitable processor for multi-threaded performance.The latter may have increased significantly, but it’s still in the realm of just eight cores within a single chiplet. There is also some improvement compared to the Ryzen 7 9700X (but this is mainly at the expense of higher power consumption), the Ryzen 7 9800X3D cannot be compared to Ryzen 9s in this respect (multi-threaded performance). Not even with Ryzen 7000s. It’s only the old Ryzen 9 5900X that’s outperformed.

However, when it comes to single-threaded workloads, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D already excels and outperforms even the Ryzen 9 7000s. The discipline in which the predecessor (R7 7800X3D) of this processor lagged behind is one of the strengths for the Ryzen 7 9800X3D. It can also benefit from the very high single-threaded performance in non-gaming, routine use in web or office environments. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D is very snappy here, snappier than the Ryzen 7 7800X3D. Again, mainly due to the higher single-core boost clock speeds, which can now be cooled more easily.

So not just a single-purpose processor for a gaming PC, but pretty good all-purpose hardware that’s ready for other tasks as well. For multi-threaded use, the competing Intel CPUs will still be faster in this price segment for most cases (because more cores…), but the Ryzen 7 9800X3D is definitely not helpless anymore either. Its capabilities are mostly enough for casual use, but even that is better than nothing.

Above all, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D is a top-of-the-line gaming processor that is… well, let’s see if it’s unrivaled (after we finish measuring the Intel Core Ultra 200S processor). You’ll have to wait a tiny bit longer.

English translation and edit by Jozef Dudáš

We would like to thank the Datacomp e-shop for their cooperation in providing the tested hardware

Special thanks also to Blackmagic Design (for DaVinci Resolve Studio license), Topaz Labs (for licenses to DeNoise AI, Gigapixel AI and Sharpen AI) and Zoner (for Photo Studio X license)

• Contents
• AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D in detail
• Methodology: performance tests
• Methodology: how we measure power draw
• Methodology: temperature and clock speed tests
• Test setup
• 3DMark
• Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla
• Borderlands 3
• Counter-Strike: GO
• Cyberpunk 2077
• DOOM Eternal
• F1 2020
• Metro Exodus
• Microsoft Flight Simulator
• Shadow of the Tomb Raider
• Total War Saga: Troy
• Overall gaming performance
• Gaming performance per euro
• PCMark and Geekbench
• Web performance
• 3D rendering: Cinebench, Blender, ...
• Video 1/2: Adobe Premiere Pro
• Video 2/2: DaVinci Resolve Studio
• Graphics effects: Adobe After Effects
• Video encoding
• Audio encoding
• Broadcasting (OBS a Xsplit)
• Photos 1/2: Adobe Photoshop a Lightroom
• Photos 2/2: Affinity Photo, Topaz Labs AI Apps, ZPS X, ...
• (De)compression
• (De)encryption
• Numerical computing
• Simulations
• Memory and cache tests
• Processor power draw curve
• Average processor power draw
• Performance per watt
• Achieved CPU clock speed
• CPU temperature
• Conclusion