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Ryzen 9 7950X3D vs 5800X3D

The two AMD chips go toe to toe to see how much of an improvement AMD has made on its upcoming components
Last Updated on January 3, 2024
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We’ve been waiting to see these two CPUs in a standalone battle since rumors of the new X3D processors dropped. AMD certainly knows how to keep its audience excited and we are finally making a comparison, pitting the Ryzen 9 7950X3D vs the 5800X3D.

In this post, we will draw a deep comparison between the powerful Ryzen 7 5800X3D and the forthcoming Ryzen 9 7950X3D. We’ll see how their specs compared, and how much AMD has improved with the new architecture. We’ll also check the price comparison with the information available. Finally, we’ll talk about performance. Let us tell you right now, the 7950X3D is a beast compared to any other existing CPU.

First of all, if you haven’t heard about the 3D V-cache technology from AMD, this will blow your mind. 3D V-Cache is a technology that improves the processing performance by augmenting the amount of L3 cache available to the chip by 64MB. Having a bigger L3 cache helps the processor work far faster than ever before.

L1, L2, and L3 caches are small, fast memory buffers that are used to temporarily store data that the CPU frequently accesses. These caches help to reduce the number of times the CPU has to access the slower main memory, which improves performance. And AMD has made improving these caches a major part of its tech prowess.

Ryzen 9 7950X3D vs 5800X3D: Specs comparison

Comparing the Ryzen 9 7950X3D vs 5800X3D could be a bit of an unfair battle. We’ve seen in previous reviews and at CES 2023 how much better the Ryzen 9 7950X3D is than any other CPU. However, we can’t dismiss the fact that the 5800X3D is one of the most revolutionary CPUs in gaming history.

So we would not only compare the two CPUs but also the improvements they showed over their siblings.

 

Ryzen 9 7950X 3DRyzen 9 7950XRyzen 7 5800X3DRyzen 7 5800X
Cores/Threads16 / 3216 / 328 / 168 / 16
Base Clock speed4.2GHz4.5GHz3.4 GHz3.8 GHz
Boost clock speed5.7GHz5.7GHz4.5 GHz4.7 GHz
Cache (L2 + L3)144MB80MB100MB36MB
TDP120W170W105W105W
MSRP$799?$700$449$449

Let’s begin talking about how much the Ryzen 7 5800X3D had to sacrifice, compared to the Ryzen 7 5800X. The X3D model has 400 fewer MHz of base clock speed and a 200 MHz slower boosted frequency, even though it has the same 105W and the same cores. This is the exact reason why regardless of the incredible improvements in gaming performance, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D showed really poor multithreading results. The cores were not able to work fast enough in tandem to perform as well as the Ryzen 7 5800X did.

This does not happen with the Ryzen 9 7950X3D. In this case, AMD managed to maintain the same boosted clock speed and reduce only by 300 MHz base frequency, which, to be fair, is still a lot but for a 50W less power consumption, the processor is more efficient than the Ryzen 9 7950X. This change will have some effects on multithreaded tasks but it won’t be too many thanks to the efficiency of the new TSMC 5nm node architecture.

Now, comparing directly the Ryzen 9 7950X3D vs the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, we can see a lot of improvements. First of all, AMD has doubled the number of Cores in this SKU. The 7950X3D has 16 cores while the 5800X3D has only 8.

We also see how much of a difference the Zen 4 architecture brought to these CPUs. The 7950X3D cores can run at a base frequency of 4.2GHz right in the middle between the 5800X3D base and boosted clock speed. The 5800X3D base frequency is 3.8GHz while boosted can go up to 4.7GHz. The new X3D chip will go as high as 5.7GHz, a whole GHz faster than the previous iteration.

Ryzen 9 7950X3D vs 5800X3D: Price

Regarding the price, we can only make assumptions at this point because there isn’t an official release about the Ryzen 9 7950X3D price. We can certainly say that AMD can go too high with the price if it wants to keep competitive with Intel’s newer KS SKUs. So, most likely it will keep a price close, if not the same, as the Ryzen 9 7950X’s $700.

This would be a $250 extra charge over the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, which we consider fair keeping in mind the technological advances and the fact that the former is a Ryzen 9 instead of a Ryzen 7. 

Ryzen 9 7950X3D vs 5800X3D: Performance

We’ve seen many times how the 5800X3D is a close contender for the Ryzen 9 7950X, across many games both CPUs have shown close results. Sometimes they have the same FPS, some of the times the X3D wins, and then there are a few cases where the 7950X architecture helps it take a big advantage. If anything this is proof of how powerful the 3D V-cache technology truly is.

Unfortunately, the actual performance of the X3D version of the 7950X isn’t out yet, but we can get to a very strong assumption based on the specs. According to AMD the 5800X3D had up to a 25% upgraded performance over the 5800X back in 2022. If that chip was able to get that even with the decrease in clock speed and only 96MB of L3 cache memory, the 7950X3D will be capable of much more.

The Ryzen 9 7950X3D has up to 144MB of total cache, which means 128MB of Level 3 cache. This is a 25% increase in the L3 cache over the previous iteration. If we add up the clock speed and Zen 4 efficiency, this new CPU is just amazing. You will experience the best gaming performance ever.

Final thoughts

In conclusion, the Ryzen 9 7950X3D and Ryzen 7 5800X3D are both powerful and high-performance processors that are suitable for different types of users. The Ryzen 9 7950X3D, with its 16 cores and 32 threads, is geared toward gamers who need to handle heavy and demanding workloads. It also has a higher TDP and MSRP than the Ryzen 7 5800X3D. 

On the other hand, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, is also aimed at gamers and enthusiasts who want to enjoy high-performance gaming and content creation. It has a lower TDP and MSRP than the Ryzen 9 7950X3D.

Camilo is a contributor for PC Guide. He's been into tech since he was a teen, surfing through the web and local stores trying to find the cheapest way to play the latest Half-Life on his old Windows