This is the one gaming CPU I recommend over the Ryzen 7 9800X3D

AMD’s new Ryzen 7 9800X3D is already one of the best processors you can buy. It delivers productivity and gaming gains across the board, though not in equal strides. Despite the improvements AMD made, the last-gen Ryzen 7 7800X3D is still potent competition, particularly when it comes to gaming.

These are two of the go-to gaming CPUs right now, and although the Ryzen 7 9800X3D is newer and faster, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D is still the right CPU for most people. That becomes clear when you look at the main focus of these CPUs — gaming performance — and how prices are starting to settle.

Specs and pricing

The Ryzen 7 7800X3D and Ryzen 7 9800X3D are almost identical on the specs front. You’re getting eight cores, 16 threads, and 104MB of cache through AMD’s 3D V-Cache tech. Both also top out at 120 watts, though they rarely ever reach that point. Even when pushed to the limit, both the Ryzen 7 7800X3D and Ryzen 7 9800X3D rarely reach up to 100W, often operating between 50W and 70W, especially when you’re playing games.

It may not look like there are a ton of differences between these two CPUs, but there are. First, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D uses the new Zen 5 architecture, which not only utilizes a smaller node, but also comes with a dedicated 512-bit data path for AVX-512 instructions — both CPUs support the instruction, however. For gamers, the bigger difference is how AMD changed the cache.

Both CPUs come with 104MB of total cache, but the 3D V-Cache die is in a different location. On the Ryzen 7 7800X3D, it’s stacked on top of the CPU cores, while on the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, it’s tucked below the CPU cores. It might not sound like a big difference, but the Ryzen 7 9800X3D essentially gives the CPU cores more direct access to cooling. That allowed AMD to push clock speeds further, as well as fully unlock the Ryzen 7 9800X3D for overclocking.

The Ryzen 7 7800X3D doesn’t support manual overclocking, though you can still boost the speeds through AMD’s Precision Boost Overdrive (PBO). This gives you some control over overclocking or undervolting your CPU, but the Ryzen 7 9800X3D has all of the overclocking bells and whistles if you want to push the CPU to its limit.

Pricing is a big departure for these two CPUs, and at the time of writing, I’m not sure where prices will end up. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D has a list price of $479, which is $30 more expensive than the $449 the Ryzen 7 7800X3D launched at. However, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D is currently sold out everywhere, and the Ryzen 7 7800X3D is selling for around $460 in its absence.

Things won’t stay this way forever. When the Ryzen 7 9800X3D comes back in stock, that will have downward pressure on the price of the Ryzen 7 7800X3D. On the secondhand market, the CPU is selling for around $350 right now, and I suspect it’ll drop below $400 for a new one once the Ryzen 7 9800X3D comes back in stock. AMD has said that it expects the Ryzen 7 7800X3D will stick around for a while, so we should see prices drop soon.

Productivity performance

The Ryzen 7 9800X3D makes big leaps over the Ryzen 7 7800X3D when it comes to productivity performance. You can see the leaps in Cinebench R24 above. Some of that is attributed to the architectural shift in Zen 5, with a clear 19% uplift in single-core speeds. The multi-core speed also sees a 19% boost, however, showing that the change in cache location is allowing the Ryzen 7 9800X3D to fully capitalize on each core.

Rendering applications like Cinebench are the best showcase for the Ryzen 7 9800X3D. In Blender, which is another rendering application, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D is upwards of 21% faster than the Ryzen 7 7800X3D. That’s a massive increase.

In a multipurpose workload like Geekbench, things are a little different. Similar to Cinebench, you can see a clean 19% uplift in single-core performance due to the Zen 5 architecture. However, in multi-core performance, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D’s lead shrinks to 14%. That’s still a large uplift over the Ryzen 7 7800X3D, though not nearly as stark as what I saw in rendering apps.

In some apps, the difference really isn’t that large. Take Premiere Pro as an example. Here, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D is 8% faster than the Ryzen 7 7800X3D. That’s a solid speed-up, no doubt, but it’s not going to make Premiere Pro significantly better to use overall. We’re still working with two eight-core processors, and while the improvement in single-core performance on the Ryzen 7 9800X3D is welcome, it doesn’t dominate across all productivity workloads. That’s just the nature of the beast.

There’s no doubt that the Ryzen 7 9800XD is a better productivity CPU than the Ryzen 7 7800X3D. Both of these chips, however, are built for gaming with their additional cache. The productivity performance of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D is almost identical to the Ryzen 7 9700X when using that CPU’s 105W mode. And you can pick up that CPU for around $325 — more than $150 less than the Ryzen 7 9800X3D. There are some who want gaming and productivity in equal strides, but compromising one area or the other a bit can save you a ton of money.

Gaming performance

Do you want the fastest gaming CPU, or the secon- fastest gaming CPU? That’s really what it comes down to with the Ryzen 7 9800X3D and Ryzen 7 7800X3D. Even expensive flagships like the Core Ultra 9 285K and Ryzen 9 9950X can’t keep up with what these two CPUs offer. They’re in a league of their own, and although the newer Ryzen 7 9800X3D is technically faster, it’s not ahead by much.

At most, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D is around 6% to 7% faster than the Ryzen 7 7800X3D, and that’s in games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail where you can see big differences. There are a lot of games, such as Returnal, Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Black Myth: Wukong where the differences don’t register. In those last two games, in fact, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D was ahead — though mostly due to some variance in runs.

It’s important to keep in mind that these tests were run at 1080p with High settings. If you push up the resolution and/or graphics settings, the differences in performance start to disappear. I don’t want to diminish the role of a CPU if your gaming PC completely. However, the thin single-digit margins between the Ryzen 7 9800X3D and Ryzen 7 7800X3D call into question just much faster the Ryzen 7 9800X3D really is when inside a high-performance gaming PC.

Frankly, it’s not surprising the two CPUs are so tight. AMD’s Ryzen 9000 CPUs didn’t move the needle much for gaming performance, and with the same amount of cache on both CPUs, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D doesn’t make huge improvements over the Ryzen 7 7800X3D, at least on the gaming front.

Power and temperature

Both the Ryzen 7 9800X3D and Ryzen 7 7800X3D are very efficient CPUs. However, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D is more efficient, if only by a hair. You can see that in action in the chart above. Compared to a CPU like the Intel Core i9-14900K, you see how much more efficient both these CPUs are. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D still draws more power than the Ryzen 7 7800X3D, and that’s true in games like Returnal where the two CPUs post identical performance.

In addition, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D runs hotter. All of AMD’s 3D V-Cache CPUs run hot, but the higher clock speeds and power draw on the Ryzen 7 9800X3D go further than the Ryzen 7 7800X3D. The difference isn’t quite as stark as power draw.

AMD is pushing the Ryzen 7 9800X3D hard. The change of the cache location allows for overclocking and higher clock speeds, and AMD took advantage of that extra headroom to push the power and temperature of the CPU, which mostly results in better productivity performance.

A surprising upset

I’m not sure how long it will take for the Ryzen 7 9800X3D to reach its $479 list price. I don’t think it will be soon, however. The CPU sold out almost immediately, and it’s selling for between $700 and $900 on the secondhand market right now. Meanwhile, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D is currently selling for $460, but it’s around $350 on the secondhand market, and I suspect it’ll drop even lower once the Ryzen 7 9800X3D comes back in stock.

Keeping the price difference in mind, I’m on the side of the Ryzen 7 7800X3D. There’s no doubt the Ryzen 7 9800X3D is much faster in productivity apps, but these are gaming CPUs. On that front, both the Ryzen 7 7800X3D and Ryzen 7 9800X3D are very close, and the Ryzen 7 9800X3D isn’t worth the extra price. Depending on how things shake out, you could save upwards of $100 on the Ryzen 7 7800X3D.

We’ll have to see where prices end up, but I don’t suspect thry’ll change much. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D is a very impressive CPU, but if you don’t mind sacrificing some productivity performance, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D still delivers on the gaming front for much less money.