AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D in a Gaming Review: Benchmarks, Overclocking, Undervolting and found to be good | Part 1 of 2

1 - Introduction and technical data 2 - Heatspreader details and thermal paste 3 - Test setup and methods 4 - Fast overclocking and undervolting 5 - Gaming Performance HD Ready (1280 x 720 Pixels) 6 - Gaming Performance Full HD (1920 x 1080 Pixels) 7 - Gaming Performance WQHD (2560 x 1440 Pixels) 8 - Power consumption and efficiency 9 - Temperatures, summary and conclusion

It’s the first time in 15 years that I’ve had to post a CPU launch article later, but I’m doing it anyway for two reasons. Firstly, I owe it to the readers without emotion, and secondly, after reading many other reviews, there were still things that could be added. After all, a purely repetitive publication of already known data is boring and only steals your time. That’s why I’m splitting today’s article into two parts, because I had to fit the test that was originally scheduled for last week into my diary this week. If I manage to do it today, the workstation tests will be published tomorrow as a follow-up, as the charts still have to be exported and the text written. Otherwise the day after tomorrow.

I don’t want to say any more about the procurement of the privately purchased CPUs, because the circumstances were quite detrimental to my nerves, productivity and finances this time. However, in agreement with the family, I sacrificed the weekend for the tests, because curiosity is the last to die. I won’t go into the detailed theoretical part about where AMD stuck the 3D cache this time and why, as this has already been chewed over enough in all the launch reviews. I will therefore limit myself to the essentials and refer you to my dear colleagues.

I bought the CPUs for the official launch price of 529 euros, whereby we will analyze at the end of the next, second part, for which user group this price is acceptable and acceptable and who should better buy a different model for their purposes and needs. However, I can already spoil one thing today: it is the classic target group CPU for the highly ambitious gamer who only feels comfortable when they achieve a massive FPS surplus in low resolutions, which they can then use for whatever as a real or at least imagined added value.

Because if you play in WQHD and higher graphics settings or even in Ultra HD, you don’t really need to worry about the Ryzen 7 9800X3D at all, unless you have an (overclocked) GeForce RTX 4090 in your computer. For the usual shooters and full HD, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D is of course a must-have, but you have to be careful not to get too carried away by the hypetrain. I’m not even excluding myself here, because I was just as greedy when I bought it. In any case, the recently tested Core Ultra 200 didn’t have anything to offer in terms of performance and if nothing else comes in between now apart from thermal paste, then it will probably be finally executed for gaming in all resolutions today. But according to Robert Hallock, a patch for the Core Ultra 200 is still to come. Let’s be surprised (or maybe not), the parts are in the archive waiting for redemption.

But back to the CPU: The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D represents a further development in processor architecture, which is based on the Zen 5 architecture and is manufactured in a 4 nm production process. This combination enables higher energy efficiency and increased performance. A key feature of the processor is the integration of the second generation of 3D V-Cache technology. By placing the stacked cache underneath the cores, improved cooling is achieved, resulting in higher clock speeds and increased performance. The processor has eight cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 4.7 GHz and a maximum boost clock of 5.2 GHz. The thermal design power (TDP) is 120 watts.

In terms of cache, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D offers a total of 104 MB, consisting of 8 MB L2 cache and 96 MB L3 cache. The latter is made up of 32 MB of conventional L3 cache and 64 MB of stacked 3D V-cache. The processor supports DDR5 memory with a speed of up to 5,600 MHz and is compatible with the AM5 socket, which ensures broad support from current motherboards. A notable feature of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D is the unlocking for overclocking, which gives enthusiasts the opportunity to further increase the performance of the processor. I will also be addressing this point today, at least to some extent.

I admit it’s a lot of useless knowledge, but I also counted the pins on my VHX-7100. Of course, some readers already know that there are 1718 of them, but the fact that a single pin has an average surface area of 0.44 mm², resulting in a total surface area of 752 mm² of copper for the contacts, is now pure bragging knowledge. If you now take the entire circuit board, you have around 50% of the surface area for the electrical connection. Good to know.

I also have some good news for the faction of heat-conducting paste offenders: the small SMD components are once again nicely covered with a layer of adhesive in all the beads. If you want to clean this up because too much sour cream has been spilled, you don’t have to worry about cleaning it, unless you are a notorious coarse motorist and scraper. I didn’t manage to dissolve the coating with isopropyl alcohol, let alone the coating. So it remains intact.

And because we’re talking so much about the outward appearance, we’ll now look at a few more details on the next page, for which I am at least the one with the unique selling point today. Otherwise no one will read such a benchmark rehash. So please turn the page!