The Next Generation of Gaming Processors - AMD Ryzen 9 X3D Breakdowns and 7950X3D Benchmarks
Last year, AMD introduced their X3D line of processors with the Ryzen 7 5800X3D. Today marks the launch of the next wave of Ryzen X3D processors, starting with the Ryzen 9 7900X3D and 7950X3D (with the Ryzen 7 7800X3D to follow in April). These processors pack an extra boost for gaming and streaming thanks to AMD 3D V-Cache technology.
What's The Difference Between Non-X3D and X3D Chips?
Traditional, non-X3D chips from AMD are great CPUs for general-purpose PCs - PCs that either don't game or game and work in equal measure. AMD's X3D CPUs make a few small tweaks in order to focus more heavily on gaming. The most obvious - and important - change is the addition of AMD's 3D V-Cache technology, which opens open additional cache space for games that put extra stress on the CPU. Like the 5800X3D, these new X3D CPUs leverage a massive L3 cache - The Ryzen 9 7950X3D has more than double the L3 cache the Ryzen 9 7950X - for an uplift in performance, primarily for gaming. The introduction of that 3D V-Cache technology into AMD's top-of-the-line Ryzen 9 processors, makes them a force to be reckoned with whether you're doing professional work or gaming with friends.
The X3D chips also have a slightly lower TDP, which would theoretically result in less power draw over their traditional partners, but the increase in PPT - Power Package Tracking - re-ups the power draw to close, but now quite, the similar levels.
What Is 3D V-Cache?
Despite it sounding like Gamer Tech Jargon, the name "3D V-Cache" is exactly what it says on the tin. It is an additional cache of memory, stacked in a 3D, vertical (or V) orientation. For the Ryzen 9 7950X3D and 7900X3D, that additional cache is attached to one of the two CPU cores (as the 7800X3D is a single-core processor, that extra cache will be attached to its only core). While this extra add-on does contribute to additional frames when playing a CPU-intensive game, it also slows processing power a bit. Which is where the second core comes in.
Having a second, non-V-Cached core allows the 7950X3D and 7900X3D to direct processing power to the core that can best handle it. Gaming processes will be handled by the 3D V-cache-enabled core while CPU-intensive work processes will be handled by the other core. The result is a 14% increase in gaming performance over the previous generation of processors while maximizing work processing potential.
AMD 7000 Series X3D CPU Spec Breakdown:
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D
- Socket: AM5
- 16 Cores
- 32 threads
- Base clock frequency of 4.2GHz
- Max boost frequency of 5.7GHz
- 144MB total cache
- PCIe 5.0 support
- DDR5 support
- CPU cooling is not included
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D
- Socket: AM5
- 12 Cores
- 24 threads
- Base clock frequency of 4.4GHz
- Max boost frequency of 5.6GHz
- 140MB total cache
- PCIe 5.0 support
- DDR5 support
- CPU cooling is not included
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D (Coming April 6th)
- Socket: AM5
- 8 Cores
- 16 threads
- Base clock frequency of 4.2GHz
- Max boost frequency of 5.0GHz
- 14M4B total cache
- PCIe 5.0 support
- DDR5 support
- CPU cooling is not included
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D Benchmarks
Cinebench:
Cinebench tests processors for responsiveness and power in both intensive tasks (multi-core) and general daily usage tasks (single-core). The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D delivers an astronomical increase in multi-core processing power over the last generation of X3D chips.
3DMark:
3DMark's CPU Profile tests single- and multi-thread performance. Again, we have a massive jump from the previous generation, hitting nearly three times the performance at max threads and over double the performance when limited to 16 threads.
PassMark:
PassMark's CPU Mark test puts the processor through a number of different tests, including maths, physics, and compressions tests. The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D scored an absolutely massive 62,247 points, absolutely dwarfing the power of the previous generation Ryzen 7 5800X3D.
