AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D vs. Ryzen 9 7900X: Which Ryzen CPU Should You Buy?

• AMDRyzen77800X3D

  AMD’s Ryzen 7 7800X3D CPU is the company’s cheapest model with 3D V-Cache and can offer gaming performance on par with or even better than the Ryzen 9 7950X.

  Professionals

  • Solid gaming performance
  • Less energy consumption
  • Superior Cache

  Against

  • More expensive
  • Lower computing performance

• Source: AMD

  AMD Ryzen 9 7900X

  AMD Ryzen 7900X offers the best performance in the budget right now, with 12 cores and 24 threads, with great performance in games and other tasks.

  Professionals

  • Higher core count
  • More accessible
  • More balanced performance

  Against

  • More power hungry
  • Lower cache

AMD has upped the game with its Ryzen series of CPUs. It has made great strides in generating performance from generation to generation. There are several great CPUs in AMD’s Ryzen lineup, so it can get a bit confusing to pick the best one for your needs. This is especially true for CPUs in the same price range, such as the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D and AMD Ryzen 9 7900X. The two CPUs are very close to each other in price while sharing some similarities and differences. We’ve tested both chips extensively and here’s how they compare to each other.

AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D vs. Ryzen 9 7900X: price, specifications and availability

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X was released in September 2022 in the first batch of Ryzen 7000 Zen 4 chips from AMD. AMD priced the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X at $549 at launch, but it has stabilized at around $420 in recent months. On the other hand, the Ryzen 9 7800X3D launched in April 2023 priced at $450 So, as of right now, the two are pretty much on the same price level, with the 7900X coming in a few dollars cheaper.

As for the cost of the platform, the situation here will be the same for both chips. Both, AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D and Ryzen 9 7900X are Zen 4 generation chips using socket AM4. It’s the latest platform from AMD and will require you to get a new motherboard, DDR5 RAM, and other components as needed. The cost of the platform was high at launch, as you only had the X670 series motherboards available.

However, now cheaper B650 series motherboards have joined the ranks of the best AMD motherboards you can buy, significantly lowering the cost barrier to entry for this platform. As for choosing between these two chips, the additional costs you would incur will be the same for both.

• 	AMDRyzen77800X3D	AMD Ryzen 9 7900X
  Cores	8	12
  Discussions	16	24
  Architecture	Zen 4	Zen 4
  Processes	TSMC 5nm	TSMC 5nm
  JACK	AM5	AM5
  Base clock speed	4.2GHz	4.7GHz
  Increase clock speed	5.0GHz	5.6GHz
  cache	96MB L3	76MB
  PCIe	5.0	5.0
  TDP	120 watts	170W

Architecture differences: both Zen 4, but still quite different

Both Ryzen 7 7800X3D and Ryzen 9 7900X are based on the same Zen 4 platform and use the same AM4 socket. The two chips are also made with the same 5nm process as TSMC.

However, these two CPUs are as different as they are similar. The first major difference is that one of them is a Ryzen 7 chip, while the other is a Ryzen 9 chip. This means that the Ryzen 7 7800X3D is an 8-core, 16-thread CPU, while the Ryzen 9 79000X is a 12-thread CPU. cores and 24 threads. All of these cores are identical cores, unlike Intel’s forking of cores for performance and efficiency. The difference in core count also means there’s a difference in power consumption here, with the 7900X arriving at a 170W TDP compared to the 7800X3D’s 120W.

That’s not the only big difference, though. Ryzen 7 7800X3D is an X3D model, which means it comes with Ryzen’s 3D V-Cache. This essentially means that it comes with a chip with nothing but L3 cache on it, giving it a potential edge in games. This is because games rely heavily on cache and can benefit from this extra amount.

In the case of the 7800X3D, there is a total of 96MB of L3 cache compared to the 7900X’s 64MB of L3 cache. Those are the key differences on paper, but let’s look at real-world performance.

Performance: The 7900X has more raw horsepower, but that’s a different story

In our AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D review, we tested it alongside the Ryzen 9 7900X. Synthetic benchmarks show the Ryzen 9 7900X beating the Ryzen 7 7800X3D, in both Normal and Eco modes.

Coming to real-world gaming performance, the story is a bit different. The 7800X3D mostly matches or slightly exceeds the 7900X, although performance differs from game to game. Some games will have the 7800X3D outperforming the 7900X due to the higher amount of cache, while others may see the two perform similarly.

The Ryzen 7 7800X3D performs better in Forza Horizon 5, Hitman 3 and The Witcher 3, but barely. In any case, the performance difference in games remains minuscule. However, the 7900X will have an edge in non-gaming tasks. CPU-intensive tasks like unzipping files show the 7900X the win, as the higher core count is an obvious advantage if you’re stressing the CPU to get the most out of it. This is exactly why the 7900X wins in synthetic benchmarks.

One thing to consider is performance per watt. While these two chips are nearly equal in gaming performance, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D consumes around 50W less power. The 7800X3D wins in gaming performance per watt, but the 7900X will have the edge in overall performance, especially in computing tasks, even when measured per watt.

AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D vs. Ryzen 9 7900X: Which Should You Buy?

Choosing between Ryzen 7 7800X3D and Ryzen 9 7900X is tough, especially since both are two of the best CPUs you can buy. No matter which one you choose, you will get good performance. However, each chip is suited to a particular type of user.

The 7900X is the more powerful CPU of the two, and also manages to offer better value for money by being on a discount, and therefore cheaper than the 7800X3D. There were also some safety concerns about exploding the 7800X3D under certain conditions. They have yet to be fully investigated, but it seems prudent to avoid the risk altogether. Therefore, the 7900X is the CPU of choice.

Source: AMD

AMD Ryzen 9 7900X

AMD Ryzen 7900X offers the best performance in the budget right now, with 12 cores and 24 threads, with great performance in games and other tasks.

The AMD Ryzen 9 7800X3D is also a decent choice. The 7800X3D is a great CPU for a gaming PC and will do very well for people who will be using their system primarily for gaming. It has a higher cost and lower performance with non-gaming tasks. There are some security issues, but they will likely affect a very small percentage of users. So if you know what you’re doing, the 7800X3D would be a good CPU to add to your gaming PC build.

AMDRyzen77800X3D

AMD’s Ryzen 7 7800X3D CPU is the company’s cheapest model with 3D V-Cache and can offer gaming performance on par with or even better than the Ryzen 9 7950X.