AMD has released its state of the art gaming CPU, Ryzen 7 9800X3D back in November. However, the first few produced units were quickly scalped by scalpers. Now, when the stock is improving, is it really worth upgrading to Ryzen 7 9800X3D ?
The answer to this question depends on which CPU you are currently sitting on ! Lets have a closer look at the performance gains between various AMD gaming CPU’s and then maybe its easier to answer the question !
| If you are on… | Performance gain on upgrading to 9800X3D (1080p) | Performance gain on upgrading to 9800X3D (1440p) |
| Ryzen 7 7800X3D | 10% | 4-8% |
| Ryzen 5 7600X | 23% | 10-20% |
| Ryzen 7 5800X3D | 24% | 10-20% |
| Ryzen 9 5900X | 35% | 15-25% |
| Ryzen 7 5700X | 45% | 20-30% |
| Ryzen 5 5600X | 46% | 20-30% |
| Ryzen 9 3900X | 70% | 35-45% |
| Ryzen 7 3700X | 75% | 35-50% |
| Ryzen 5 3600 | 88% | 45-55% |
| Ryzen 7 2700X | 135% | 60-95% |
As you can see, the differences are larger at lower resolutions. This is because the processor more often sets the limit, which is called a bottleneck, at lower resolutions and in light-powered games – while the graphics card more often sets the limit at higher resolutions and in more heavily powered games.
However, as we can see, the processor can make a big difference even at 1440p resolution when you look at a large test suite with both heavily powered games (think Cyberpunk 2077 at its highest) and titles that place low or medium demands on the graphics card. If you look at tests where, for example, only the very latest and most heavily powered games are tested at 1440p, then the differences will be far smaller than the numbers above.
So there can definitely be reasons to upgrade even if you mostly play at resolutions higher than 1080p – although at the much higher resolution of 2160p (4K) it is mostly the graphics card that sets the limit. Precisely because different games are different for graphics cards to run at higher resolutions, we recommend looking at tests where the games you play are tested, to see where the bottleneck is for you.
Another advantage of X3D processors, which can make a difference even at higher resolutions, is their incredibly high minimum level. With a large cache, they deliver a higher 1% low than other processors – which is at least as important as how many FPS you get on average. With a high 1% and 0.1% low, you get fewer dips in performance, which can otherwise make it feel like the game is hacking – even if your FPS meter shows a high number. It simply flows better. This is very often true even at higher resolutions and in games that often have problems with dips, as the X3D models’ large cache compensates for these. In games like World of Warcraft and Baldur’s Gate 3, an X3D processor can therefore make a big difference even at higher resolutions, as the performance becomes much smoother and the dips are fewer.
Read the article on whether to upgrade your processor or graphics card ?
