If you’re looking to get the smoothest and most consistent gaming performance above all else then the AMD Radeon RX 79003D has a lot going for it. It features a lower TDP than its non-3D variant with strong single-core and multi-core performance for gaming and synthetics. Without a doubt, it can be considered among the best CPUs for gaming, however, its close pricing proximity to the 7950X3D may make it a tougher sell if you’re an enthusiast. Let’s get into all the details.
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D
- Excellent gaming performance
- Good power efficiency
- Tons of cores and threads
- Not much cheaper than 7950X3D
- Non-3D variant better for creatives
Why we’ve scored it a 4
The AMD Ryzen 7900X3D is a leading gaming CPU but its pricing being so close to the 7950X3D makes it a harder sell at MSRP. We advise waiting for a sale.
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D price
The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D’s pricing is likely going to be one of its most contested things. This high-end chipset is available now with an MSRP of $599 which is about as premium as Zen 4 gets, bridging the gap a little too closely to the more powerful 7950X3D which sells for just $100 at $699. However, that’s before because discounts are common on the former in 2024, as you can pick up the 7900X3D for as cheap as $400 from retailers such as Amazon, Newegg, and Best Buy.
A big part of deciding on the 7900X3D is going to be the depth of discount you can find it for. At $400 (or less) it’s a far more aggressive buy than its MSRP, especially as regular sales see the 7950X3D available for $599. For comparison sake, the 7900X3D retails for a comparable rate to the Intel Core i9-14900K ($589) at just $10 cheaper going by the retailer’s recommended price. I’ll be touching on whether the processor justifies its price further down the page, but you must be fully clued up before buying.
Find this CPU on sale
Zen 4 has been graced with a lot of active discounts in 2024 meaning you can score this chipset for under $400 if you look around at major retailers. We regularly put out the best deals right here on PC Guide, too.
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D key design and features
The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D features 12 cores and 24 threads with a base clock speed of 4.4 GHz and a boost clock of up to 5.6 GHz. Unlike its non-3D counterpart, this version features not only a lower 120W TDP (compared to 170W of the original) but also a full 128 MB of L3 cache, of which 64MB is AMD’s second-generation 3D V-cache. Essentially, it sits on top of the existing L3 cache and allows the CPU to access and store data on the die it otherwise wouldn’t be able to.
As with other Zen 4 chipsets, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D is built upon the TSMC 5nm process with the AM5 socket (LGA 1718) being a massive departure from Team Red’s previous generation of hardware on AM4 with PGA. That means, much like with Intel’s most recent processors, the 1,718 pins are on the motherboards themselves instead of being on the back of the processor. This may come as quite a surprise to the AMD faithful, but those switching over from Intel should be right at home here.
While it’s not unique to the 7900X3D, it’s worth mentioning that the Zen 4 chipsets have no support for older DDR4 RAM. That means if you’re looking to upgrade your CPU and motherboard then you’ll need to swap out your memory as well, meaning the upgrade could be expensive if you haven’t already made the jump. This is a bit of a double-edged sword of course. On one hand, you have the extra fast speeds and frequencies of the RAM, but you’ll be paying out considerably more for the privilege.
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D gaming performance
In my testing, I found that the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D works best when it comes to gaming, especially when paired with one of the best graphics cards on the market. My testing rig features the Nvidia RTX 4090 on a Gigabyte X670 Aorus Elite AX motherboard with the NZXT Kraken Elite 360mm AIO, Corsair RM1000x PSU, and Kingston Fury Beast RGB DDR5 RAM clocked at 6000Mhz. With that said, there’s nothing here that will bottleneck what the processor can do, and the results are impressive.
| Game | Average FPS |
|---|---|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 168 |
| Death Stranding | 178 |
| The Finals | 265 |
| Fortnite | 367 |
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D synthetic benchmarks
Now, while the 7900X3D excels in terms of its gaming performance thanks to the 3D V-cache stacked on top of the large L3 cache, the synthetic performance is respectable, but quite not leading as the non-3D variant with its higher power draw. All the same, these are strong figures in the likes of our industry-standard tests such as CPU Z, Cinebench R23, and Geekbench. This is evidenced when comparing the figures to the Intel Core i9-14900K and Intel Core i9-13900K which pull ahead with their extra cores and threads. If you’re in the market for a creator-first chip, the 7900X3D shouldn’t be your first choice.
| Software | Score |
|---|---|
| CPU Z multi-core | 651.5 |
| CPU Z multi core | 10,654.50 |
| Cinebench R23 single-core | 1,720 |
| Cinebench R23 multi-core | 25,958 |
| Geekbench single-core | 2,584 |
| Geekbench multi-core | 16,495 |
Conclusion
As far as gaming desktop processors go, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D impresses but it’s not quite the catch-all solution for productivity and creative workloads, especially for its MSRP which is comparable to the 14900K and older 13900K. With that said, the benefits of the next-gen AMD architecture are obvious, as the second-generation 3D V-cache allows for extreme performance for gamers at a lower TDP overall. If you can find it on sale then I recommend it, but if you’re looking for more of a workhorse chip, you may want to consider an alternative.
Alternatives to the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D
The biggest alternatives to the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D are the 7900X and 7950X3D. The former can do more for creatives with its higher power draw, and the latter features a total of 16 cores and 32 threads for even better gaming performance for just $100 more (though also frequently discounted). As touched upon above, those wanting a balance of gaming and creativity may be better served by the Intel Core i9-14900K or the older Intel Core i9-13900K which offer better results in our synthetic testing.
- You want an excellent GPU for gaming
- You want a lower-wattage processor
- You want the benefits of 3D V-cache
- You want a CPU that excels for productivity
- You’re still using DDR4 RAM
- You can find the 7950X for a similar price point
Is the Ryzen 9 7900X3D worth it?
The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D offers excellent gaming performance but its high price tag and less-than-stellar creativity benchmarks mean it’s not quite the catch-all CPU for everyone when compared to the similarly priced 7950X or Intel Core i9-14900K. However, if you can find it at a discount then it’s well worth the price of investment around the $400 mark.
