AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D – the only (and last) fighter of its kind as a perfect and very efficient upgrade

Summary of the gaming performance

Let’s first look at the normalized and cumulative FPS of all games, as well as the performance index and the index of the P1 (the min FPS) at 1280 x 720 pixels. Even though this resolution has purely statistical value, because no one will use it for gaming, you still have the chance to analyze the behavior in the real CPU limit. However, there are now also games where even the strong graphics cards partially run into the limit, even if it is only a little. I won’t presume to make a decision about which CPU is really the fastest gaming CPU based on only eight games, because even 20 games wouldn’t be enough for that (if you want to be objective).

For these reasons, I tried to represent all possible extreme cases using current titles (instead of producing masses) and also included two fundamentally different graphics cards. There are titles like Shadow of the Tomb Raider or World War Z where the cache works wonders. Other titles, like “Far Cry 6”, on the other hand, don’t care much about this technical finesse of the 3D V-Cache and AMD is suddenly behind Intel again. You can take console ports like “Horizon Zero Dawn” or pure Intel games, there is always something. That’s exactly why my result may differ a little from others, but it’s still within the expected range.

Let’s now take a look at the performance index, where I have set the power wombo combo of Core i9-12900K and GeForce RTX 3090 Ti as the 100% mark. In 720p, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D is ahead (mainly because of the two cache-friendly games) with both graphics cards. The advantage over the Core i9-12900KS with the same graphics card in each case is 2.8 percentage points for the Radeon RX 6900XT and 3.6 percentage points for the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti.

In 1080p, the picture changes a bit. If you use the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D is 2.9 percentage points ahead. If you use a slower card in Full HD, such as the Radeon RX 6900XT (it could also have been a GeForce RTX 3080 Ti), then the Core i9-12900KS is again razor-thin ahead. To talk about the performance crown would be pure blasphemy and completely dishonest. This smells like a fair tie, even if there is some GPU limit involved. Which brings us back to where other tests have ended up.

However, the P1 can also be normalized and combined into an index. In 720p, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D is about 0.6 to one percentage point behind the Intel Core i9-12900KS, depending on the graphics card. You can live with that and it shows that the GPU limit has about the same effect.

In Full-HD, when partial GPU limits also occur, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D is again ahead of the Intel Core i9-12900KS as long as you use the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti. When using the Radeon, both CPUs are effectively on par. So, all in all, one can almost speak of a real tie.

Power consumption and efficiency at a glance

The gaming performance, no matter what the test field of games looks like, is only one side of the coin, because you also have to invest a decent amount of electrical energy to achieve such a result. Or not. Exactly at this point, the Intel Core i9-12900KS is actually already ruled out because the effort and benefit are not in an acceptable ratio. Let’s first look at the averages across all games, where it wasn’t hard to easily pass the 200 watt mark with the i9-12900KS as well. The average of just over 140 watts is even a bit deceptive.

But when you consider that the Ryzen 7 5800X3D in Full-HD still offers 2.8% more performance with only 39.4% of the electrical power, then you don’t even have to discuss the gaming crown. That is only enough for the Intel CPU for the honorary box in the drunkard’s home, nothing more. In some games, I measured well over 600 watts for the CPU and GPU alone without the rest of the system, which is actually an impertinence in this day and age when you can actually generate the same added value on the screen with much less effort. By the way, this also refers to the overly thirsty graphics card.

In Full HD, the picture is similarly stark – there’s simply no need to discuss that anymore, because even a blind person can see it. The Core i7-12700K is the most frugal Intel CPU here and not a nonsensical recommendation as an alternative.

This is also reflected in the efficiency, where I once again calculated the watts per FPS. Ryzen 7 5800X3D with Radeon in front of the same CPU with the Geforce. Then nothing comes for a while before the Core i7-12700K and the Ryzen 7 5800X take their turn, depending on the graphics card used. Here, too, the black bars turn into a tragedy for the Core i9-12900KS, which has already had to take enough criticism. The part is just abhorrently thirsty and hot.

Of course, you could teach the Core i9-12900KS better manners with a bit of effort if you were lucky in the silicon lottery. But since I didn’t optimize anything in all other CPUs, this CPU has to live with what Intel has given it in terms of voltage. It’s like whipping yourself first and then starting a poll about who has the most beautiful stripes. Performance crown? In any case, please don’t do it that way.

Summary and conclusion

As nice as Alder Lake had worked in partial load and gaming mode, the so-called flagship is pointless in the same test environment. You can only lose with that and put yourself on the sidelines. the Core i9-12900KS is probably the most pointless Intel CPU of the last few years, if you disregard the unfortunate hybrids for the socket 2066 like the Core i7-7640X, which were also out of place. From this point of view, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D is not really a contender, because there is nothing to contend with. Wanting to compete with an electrically doped CPU is completely superfluous anyway.

I actually see the Ryzen 7 5800X3D more as a feasibility study that can impressively show how the deficits of current processors can be extremely reduced, at least in some areas. With the help of the 3D V-Cache, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D looks more like a new CPU generation than a pull-up to prove anything to anyone else, no matter what the cost. The part has charm and brains, fits into the times of constantly decreasing resources and fulfills the intended purpose. You don’t really have to write more about hardware if you are satisfied.

In terms of price, of course, the whole thing is once again at the mercy of the market, and if something becomes scarce (as I had predicted), then unfortunately it also becomes more expensive. Who has listened to me and ordered immediately, should still have got something, the rest is probably (for now) empty out. But as we all know, hope dies last. I bought this CPU myself and will keep it. Then it will also work with the energy supplier and quiet cooling in the summer. Thank you AMD for this unicorn collectible.