AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D vs Ryzen 9 7950X3D: Which is best for gaming?
The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D and the Ryzen 9 7950X3D are some of the most capable gaming chips in the market. They pack some of the latest hardware along with a 3D V-cache. Moreover, they are powerful enough to be paired with any graphics card in the market, including the RTX 4090. However, unlike the last generation, you now have a few options to choose from in the 'X3D' lineup. This can complicate things for gamers.
In this comparison, we will look at the 7800X3D and the 7950X3D in detail and try to find out which is the best for gamers.
The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D and Ryzen 9 7950X3D are some of the best gaming CPUs
The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D and the 7950X3D are based on the same architecture. A quick look at the specs should reveal what to expect from the two processors. Let's look at their underlying hardware details first.
Specs comparison
The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D is the spiritual successor to the 5800X3D. It packs eight cores and sixteen threads. The CPU now supports overclocking and also clocks significantly higher to 5 GHz.
The Ryzen 9 7950X3D, on the other hand, is a bit different. It has sixteen cores spread among two core complexes (CCDs). While these complexes are ideal for the original 7950X, the other is a slightly weaker bunch of cores that leave some thermal headroom to accommodate the 3D V-cache.
The detailed specs of the two chips are as follows:
Both processors have been sufficiently discounted from their launch MSRPs. The 7800X3D is currently selling for $399, down from its introductory price of $449. The 7950X3D is a much costlier chip, however. It is currently selling for $481.99 and originally cost $699.
Performance comparison
The performance of Zen 4-based X3D chips works a bit differently from the traditional processors. We saw the Ryzen 7 7800X3D was faster than the 7900X3D, which is quite abnormal given the latter costs more. Although this isn't the case with the flagship offering, the gap between the chips is quite small.
Thanks to its insane core count, the Ryzen 9 7950X3D takes the lead in synthetic benchmarks. In both single and multi-core tests, it takes a massive lead over the cheaper Ryzen 7. Below is a comparison of scores achieved by the CPUs in Cinebench and Geekbench. We sourced these numbers from Nanoreview.
In gaming performance, however, the gap between the processors isn't this high. On average, the Ryzen 9 7950X3D takes a 1.53% lead, which still lies within the error margin and won't yield any noticeable performance gains.
Below is a list of framerates achieved by the CPUs in some of the latest titles. We sourced these numbers from the YouTube channel Testing Games.
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D vs Ryzen 9 7950X3D: Final verdict
The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D is the go-to for gamers this generation. It is priced well, can handle any graphics card in the market, and beats some more capable CPUs including those in its own family.