AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D: The Best CPU for Gaming

November 13, 2024 – AMD has finally released one of its most anticipated desktop processors dedicated to gaming, the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D, formerly codenamed Granite Ridge AM5. This new CPU is the spiritual successor to the powerful AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D, which until now has been hailed as one of the best (if not the best) gaming CPU.

So, what’s new, and how does this new CPU perform compared to its AMD predecessors and competing CPUs from Intel? Let’s find out below.

AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D: What’s new

As part of the new AMD 9000 series, the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is based on the Zen 5 architecture, packing more transistors and processing data faster and much more efficiently than its Zen 4 predecessors.

But that’s not all. AMD has also improved its 3D vertical-stacked cache, or 3D V-Cache technology. This design allows dies containing the L3 cache to be stacked, increasing the total L3 cache size. This large cache is what contributes to the great gaming performance of all AMD X3D processors.

What AMD has changed in this new CPU is the stacking method of these dies. Unlike its X3D predecessors, where the 3D V-Cache die is stacked on top of the CPU complex die (CCD), in the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D the die is placed below the CCD. This improves heat transfer to the cooling components of the CPU, allowing for an increase in its base frequency and, consequently, in its performance.

AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D vs AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D and Other High-End CPUs from AMD

CPU	Cores/ Threads	Base Speed	Max Speed	Cache (L2 + L3)	TDP	Price*
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D	8/16	4.7 GHz	5.2 GHz	104 Mb	120 W	$479
AMD Ryzen 9 9950X	16/32	4.3 GHz	5.7 GHz	81 Mb	170 W	$649
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D	16/32	4.2 GHz	5.7 GHz	145 Mb	120 W	$699
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D	12/24	4.4 GHz	5.6 GHz	141 Mb	120 W	$599
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D	8/16	4.2 GHz	5.0 GHz	104 Mb	120 W	$449

First of all, let’s look at how AMD’s new entry compares to its already powerful predecessor, the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D. According to NanoReview, the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D offers better performance in single-threaded tasks (often indicative of gaming performance), multi-core tasks, and power efficiency.

TechSpot compared the performance of the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D against the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D in 45 graphically demanding games at 1080p using an NVIDIA RTX 4090 and found that the newer CPU is consistently faster, surpassing the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D by several frames per second (fps) in many games.

Performance differences were close (a difference of 6 average fps or less) between the two CPUs in 19 out of the 45 games tested, and the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D was slightly faster in Star Wars Outlaws. However, on average the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D was 8% faster across all games.

NanoReview’s comparisons with the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D and AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D show that these CPUs provide much better performance in multi-threaded tasks, but they are both surpassed in single-threaded performance and power efficiency.

This is consistent with findings from Gamers Nexus, which show that the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D consistently tops charts as the best performing CPU in a series of games tested, generally followed by the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D and the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D (not always in this order).

According to NanoReview, the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X, which is based on the same Zen 5 architecture as the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D, outperforms the latter in both single- and multi-threaded performance as well as in power effciency.

However, while the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X may ouperform the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D in creative tasks (e.g., rendering and video editing), the latter is the clear winner for gaming, providing much higher fps values in a range of graphically demanding games played at 1080p, as shown by both Gamers Nexus and HWBen.

For example, The fps increase was shown to be close to 60% in Baldur’s Gate 3, which is truly impressive. However, remember that fps values are most influenced by your CPU at 1080p and to a lesser extent at 1440p. At higher resolutions (like 4K) and with higher graphics settings, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, and differences in CPU performance become minimal.

In fact, when gaming at 4K with an NVIDIA RTX 4090 graphics card, differences between CPUs are barely noticeable (only a couple of fps), as demonstrated by QuBitGaming in a comparison between the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D.

That said, according to a recent Steam survey, most players still game at 1080p with a mid-range GPU (e.g., NVIDIA RTX 3060), so having a powerful CPU capable of handling intense workloads is still important for many gamers.

AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D vs Intel‘s Core Ultra Series 2 and 14th Gen Top CPUs

The table above shows that, compared to Intel’s top CPUs, the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D has fewer cores. However, all its cores are roughly equivalent in power to Intel’s Performance cores (P-cores), and the AMD CPU has a much higher base clock speed and a larger cache size. The new CPU also comes with a much higher power efficiency (about half the TDP of Intel’s processors) and a lower price.

Interestingly, NanoReview indicates that the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K outperforms the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D in both single- and multi-threaded tasks, in power efficiency, and in integrated GPU (iGPU) capabilities. Similar to the comparison with the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X, this translates to better performance in creative tasks, though it’s not necessarily indicative of superior gaming performance.

In fact, tests by Digital Trends on graphically demanding games at 1080p with an NVIDIA RTX 4080 show that the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D consistently outperfoms the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, with a difference of up to 79 fps in F1 2022. However, in other games the gap is smaller, usually in the range of 1-15 fps.

What about comparisons with Intel’s 14th-gen flagships, the Intel Core i9-14900K/KS? According to NanoReview, these CPUs win over AMD’s latest release in everything except power effciency. However, when actual gaming performance is tested, they generally fall well behind the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D.

TheSpyHood compared the fps performance of the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D with the Intel Core i9-14900K and Intel Core i9-14900KS in 12 games tested at both 1080p and 1440p (using an NVIDIA RTX 4090 GPU). The AMD’s processor consistently took the lead, with an advantage usually between 15-25 fps.

Gamers Nexus also found that the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D dominates over Intel’s top processors in 6 out of 7 games tested, with the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K coming close only in Starfield.

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is Already Selling Out

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D has been hailed as the best gaming processor since before its release, with strong early reviews sparking high demand from day one.

While the manufacturer’s recommended price is $479, the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D has already sold out at many retailers, causing prices to increase up to 50%.

This surge in demand suggests AMD may have underestimated its appeal, with initial production insufficient to meet demand. If you are interested in purchasing this CPU, we recomend being patient as AMD ramps up production and prices stabilize.

Conclusions

If you play games competitively and really want to sqeeze every possible frame per second from your PC, we highly recommend the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D, which offers unbeatable gaming performance. And if you can wait for the prices to come down as stock replenishes, it’s also an exceptionally well-priced gaming CPU.

However, note that its predecessor, the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D, remains a solid choice in terms of both price and performance. It only lags slightly behind the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D in frame rates across most games and can be found at a lower price.

In summary, AMD didn’t disappoint with this new CPU. Though it isn’t a huge leap from the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D, it still tops all gaming performance charts. We are eager to see what the upcoming AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D, expected sometime next year, will bring to the table.

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