the experts are unanimous, RIP Intel

At the beginning of November 2024, AMD returns to the processor market with its new Ryzen 7 9800X3D. Let's take a look at the specialist tests that have just been published.

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AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D made official: the successor to the best gaming processor on the market has a price and stated promises

Successor to the popular Ryzen 7 7800X3D, this new gaming chip arrives with revised technical characteristics: a base frequency increased to 4.7 GHz and a boost to 5.2 GHz, all with an impressive L3 cache of 96 MB. details all of this in the announcement article.

PCMag emphasizes that “ the new 3D V-Cache design fundamentally shakes up the old design » and adds that “ performance did not increase significantly, but power consumption and heat production decreased significantly.« .

Let's not beat around the bush, this chip immediately establishes itself as an absolute reference. As Ben Wilson states Windows Central : « The Ryzen 7 9800X3D is the best gaming CPU you can buy, politely dethroning its predecessor as the new king of the hill as a cache-heavy monster. “. Exactly why?

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What are the best Intel and AMD Ryzen processors (CPUs) in 2024?

Les performances gaming

The performance tests are unanimous. The Digitals reports that “ The Ryzen 7 9800X3D is a particularly convincing processor in gaming since it is quite simply the most efficient, by far. » The figures speak for themselves: according to Tom’s Hardwareit outperforms Intel's Core i9-14900K by 30% and crushes the Core Ultra 9 285K by 35%.

Rich Edmonds XDA details performance on specific games: “ Cyberpunk 2077 is a demanding game and is a great choice for pushing your system to the limit. The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D performs incredibly well […] which results in high frame rates for high and ultra presets at 1080p. ». (…) « Even compared to the previous generation 7000 stable. ».

Tom’s Hardware note : « These results clearly show that the 9800X3D is not only better in terms of average FPS, but also offers a smoother and more consistent experience thanks to its excellent 1% Low performance, especially crucial for competitive gamers.. ».

Reduced energy efficiency

Just like Intel, power consumption is subject to notable improvements. Windows Central specifies: “lThe 120W TDP means the 9800X3D can be properly cooled with more affordable solutions. ».

However, The Digitals tempers by noting a “ consumption increasing with 247 W recorded at the socket during our rendering in Blender. This is therefore +39% compared to the Ryzen 7 7800X3D. ».

Tom’s Hardware note on this subject: “ The details speak for themselves: not only does the 9800X3D dominate in gaming, but it does so with remarkable energy efficiency, consuming significantly less than its direct competitor from Intel while delivering better performance. ».

Improved application performance

If gaming remains its specialty, the 9800X3D shows progress in applications.

Tom’s Hardware note : « The Ryzen 7 9800X3D is 4% faster in multithreaded workloads than the Ryzen 7 9700X. ». The Digitals adds that he “ grants an increase in application of 32% compared to its predecessor, the Ryzen 7800X3D« .

Optimized thermal management

PCMag highlights the advantages of the new design: “ Placing the 3D V-Cache under the CPU cores essentially reverses the problem. The cache probably can't be clocked that high, but the more important CPU cores are cooled better. ».

The Digitals provides important details on temperatures: “ The Ryzen 7 9800X3D dissipates calories much better than its predecessor with an average temperature of 48.7°C compared to 59.8°C with our cooling system set for video game use. » (oui, video game).

Windows Central adds an important nuance regarding cooling: “ The TDP of 120W is low, as is the maximum power consumption of 150W with default settings, recorded in a stress test environment. For gaming, you will see the processor hovering around 100W. ».

XDA provides additional information on thermal behavior: “ At idle, I saw the 9800X3D hovering around 25W and 32 degrees Celsius. […] The 9800X3D's operating temperature was acceptable, reaching 82 degrees Celsius under maximum load. ».

Overclocking unlocked

An important novelty is mentioned by The Digitals : « On previous generations, AMD intentionally blocked overclocking, but this is not the case on the Ryzen 7 9800X3D. » This development opens up new possibilities for users.

Indeed, Tom’s Hardware details the new overclocking possibilities: “LThe Ryzen 7 9800X3D is fully overclockable: you can adjust the processor cores, structures and memory to your liking. However, while multiplier-based overclocking is available, as we've seen with other Zen 5 processors, most users with conventional cooling will be better served using the Precision automatic overclocking feature. Boost Overdrive (PBO).« .

Les Numériques specifies the gains observed: “ We also ran tests with the Precision Boost Overdrive (PBO) automatic overclocking feature enabled, and enabling this feature gave us about 2.6% more performance.« .

Windows Central brings an important nuance: “ Users will need to be careful, as the chip can quickly reach its thermal limits, even with efficient cooling. ».

Price positioning

In France, the processor is launched at €529, a positioning that The Digitals analyzes as follows: “ For comparison, the Ryzen 7 9700X3D, lacking 3D V-Cache technology, was available for €449 and the Ryzen 7 7800X3D for €509. AMD is therefore taking advantage of the air gap that Intel is experiencing with the Core Ultra 200 to be a little less aggressive. ».

We take stock

Tom’s Hardware sums up the situation perfectly: “ The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is the fastest gaming chip on the market by a significant margin, easily beating competing processors from Intel. Yes, the price is high, which leaves room for similarly priced alternatives with a more balanced performance profile in productivity applications. However, AMD offers the fastest gaming performance in the world, so it can charge for it. »

Windows Central provides an enlightening perspective on processor positioning: “ Make no mistake: the Ryzen 7 9800X3D is the best gaming CPU, politely dethroning its predecessor as the new king of the hill as a cache-heavy monster. However, it doesn't win any awards for productivity. It's not worth installing on a PC that spends most of its time crunching numbers in Microsoft Office and Teams since the 9900X and 9950X dominate that category, but it's a much better choice for gamers than everything in Intel's modern productivity-focused offerings. ».

XDA concludes with a pertinent analysis: “ For this price, this is a powerful processor that provides additional options for gamers who don't need the most powerful processors for computing tasks. With the TDP of 120 W being low, as well as the maximum power consumption of 150 W with default settings, it's its efficiency that becomes interesting. For gamers looking for the best possible performance without worrying about pure productivity, the 9800X3D currently represents the best choice on the market, despite its premium price.. ».

To go further
What are the best Intel and AMD Ryzen processors (CPUs) in 2024?