I have a bone to pick with the Ryzen 7 9800X3D

Now much than ever, it’s clear that AMD needs to merchandise its 3D V-Cache CPUs alongside each caller generation. We’ve gotten accustomed to AMD rolling retired its 3D V-Cache offerings soon aft nan merchandise of a caller generation, but nan crowded lineup is getting excessively overmuch to carnivore — and it’s making immoderate of AMD’s best processors wholly irrelevant.

That becomes evident arsenic you publication my Ryzen 7 9800X3D review. The caller CPU is, unsurprisingly, nan ascendant performer successful games, outclassing AMD’s last-gen Ryzen 7 7800X3D. It besides makes improvements successful productivity performance, however, truthful overmuch truthful that it steps connected nan toes of an already dense lineup of CPUs from AMD.

A analyzable lineup

A screenshot from Gamers Nexus reappraisal of nan Ryzen 5 5600X3D Gamers Nexus / YouTube

Let’s commencement present — AMD has a analyzable lineup of CPUs. Both AMD and Intel person aggregate variations of their processors each generation, cutting immoderate features aliases adding caller ones, but nan immense mostly of offerings are based astir a fewer captious designs. Intel has 3 of these designs — nan Core Ultra 5, 7, and 9 — while AMD has four. It has nan Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 7 offering, and 2 Ryzen 9 offerings, 1 pinch 12 cores and nan different pinch 16.

From those halfway designs, we’ll spot immoderate CPUs that trim nan integrated graphics aliases tally astatine a slower timepiece speed, aliases we’ll spot immoderate that tally astatine a little powerfulness limit, specified arsenic what we saw pinch nan Ryzen 5 7600. AMD’s 3D V-Cache CPUs are a spot different. They’re variations, sure, but highly sought-after ones. Unlike nan emblematic poking and prodding of nan halfway designs we usually see, 3D V-Cache CPUs correspond a captious pillar of AMD’s CPU lineup.

Even successful past generations, they’ve conscionable narrowly carved retired their ain abstraction among nan 4 main designs. In nan erstwhile generation, nan Ryzen 7 7800X3D stood arsenic nan go-to gaming CPU, while nan pricier Ryzen 9 7950X3D made flimsy compromises connected gaming and productivity capacity for shoppers who wanted nan champion of some worlds. The main lineup, pinch nan Ryzen 7 7700X and Ryzen 9 7950X, still had their place, peculiarly for shoppers who wanted amended productivity capacity for a little price.

Jacob Roach / Digital Trends

Now, AMD is giving CPU shoppers everything they wanted. Going pinch 3D V-Cache antecedently meant an intent attraction connected gaming astatine nan sacrifice of productivity performance, but nary longer. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D introduced AMD’s next-gen 3D V-Cache, placing nan further cache beneath nan halfway dice alternatively of connected apical of it. This gives nan cores nonstop entree to nan integrated power spreader (IHS), improving really good they tin beryllium cooled.

It whitethorn look minor, but this alteration has allowed AMD to maximize nan wave connected nan Ryzen 7 9800X3D and afloat unlock nan CPU for overclocking. It besides allows nan processor to tie much power, getting person to its 120-watt limit earlier it overheats. In nan process, AMD has boosted productivity capacity massively, and that’s a problem for existing Ryzen 9000 CPUs.

An personality crisis

As I was reviewing nan Ryzen 7 9800X3D, 1 point became clear. Regardless of what nan further cache was doing, nan CPU is conscionable an eight-core Zen 5 spot pinch entree to up to 120W of power. In different words, it’s nan Ryzen 7 9700X.

Jacob Roach / Digital Trends

Look astatine Cinebench R24 above. The Ryzen 7 9700X is intelligibly down nan Ryzen 7 9800X3D, contempt nan truth that some person 8 Zen 5 cores. That’s mostly because nan Ryzen 7 9700X only goes up to 65W successful its modular configuration. If you toggle complete to nan 105W mode disposable successful nan BIOS, nan Ryzen 7 9700X and Ryzen 7 9800X3D station identical results. You could return 2 random samples of these models and apt spot nan aforesaid variance.

Jacob Roach / Digital Trends

It’s not conscionable successful Cinebench, either. You tin spot nan precisely aforesaid point hap successful Photoshop. The Ryzen 7 9700X is simply a spot down nan Ryzen 7 9800X3D, but erstwhile nan second CPU has entree to much power, nan 2 chips station identical results. AMD’s caller method of putting nan cache nether nan CPU dice useful — you’re getting nan afloat capacity of 8 Zen 5 cores successful these productivity applications, moreover erstwhile those cores are pushed to their limits successful a workload for illustration Cinebench.

That leaves nan Ryzen 7 9700X successful an awkward spot, and I fishy we’ll spot thing akin hap pinch nan Ryzen 9 9900X and Ryzen 9 9950X erstwhile 3D V-Cache versions of those CPUs show up. It’s nary concealed that AMD’s Ryzen 9000 CPUs haven’t been a awesome performer successful games, extracurricular of nan first 3D V-Cache offering. And yet, contempt that, AMD heavy marketed nan processors toward gamers. Maybe that’s why we saw specified pitiful sales erstwhile nan CPUs first launched.

A displacement successful focus

AMD

I’m not saying AMD should get free of nan Ryzen 7 9700X. Even astatine database price, it’s $120 cheaper than nan Ryzen 7 9800X3D, and pinch that CPU now making nan rounds, it’s $160 less. That’s what we’ve seen pinch erstwhile 3D V-Cache launches. If you don’t request nan gaming prowess nan other cache brings, you tin prevention a batch of money by going pinch a spot wrong nan main lineup, and hopefully AMD maintains that going into nan future.

But I’m done pretending for illustration 3D V-Cache CPUs don’t exist, which is what AMD did pinch nan merchandise of Ryzen 9000 processors. It’s difficult to spot claims of world-class gaming capacity for a caller CPU motorboat erstwhile nan 3D V-Cache type of a spot is waiting successful nan wings. AMD still calls nan Ryzen 7 9700X “the caller modular for a gaming processor” connected nan charismatic merchandise page, which is downright silly erstwhile you comparison nan capacity of it to nan Ryzen 7 9800X3D.

AMD is crossing excessively galore wires. It wants to waste buyers connected nan truth that a caller procreation will present nan champion gaming capacity we’ve ever seen, and past move astir a fewer months later and merchandise a CPU that’s objectively faster for gaming. It’s difficult to opportunity if that hurts AMD aliases CPU shoppers more, but regardless, nan attack is wrong.

At slightest 1 3D V-Cache CPU — nan astir celebrated 8-core model, ideally — should get pinch each caller generation. That serves AMD and buyers well, and it lends immoderate credibility to AMD’s gaming claims, which proceed to beryllium nan cornerstone of its trading strategy. Maybe then, nan goalpost for nan world’s fastest gaming CPU will move each mates of years alternatively than successful nan span of a fewer months.