AMD’s $599 12-Core Ryzen 9 7900X3D Is Designed To Compete With Intel’s Core i9-13900K, Wins An Average Of 7% In Gaming, Proving It Has The Chops Over Intel’s Best doing. However, AMD is unusually silent about this model. The company hasn’t sampled it for press and hasn’t shared the standard pre-launch benchmarks we’ve become accustomed to probably because the 7900X3D’s biggest competitor is AMD’s own stable Because it exists in the product. This is an incredibly impressive flagship 16-core Ryzen 9 7950X3D that has taken the throne as the fastest gaming CPU on the market and the best CPU for gaming for top-of-the-line rigs.
Like its pricier offerings, the 7900X3D leverages AMD’s exotic 2nd Gen 3D V-Cache, boosting L3 capacity to a whopping 128MB to boost gaming performance to unprecedented heights. The Ryzen 9 7900X3D is specifically designed for gamers looking to blow up CPU-limited games and handles productive workloads with some tradeoffs for other types of work It has 12 cores to help you
| price | Cores/Threads (P+E) | P-Core Base/Boost Clock (GHz) | Cache (L2/L3) | TDP/PBP/MTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryzen 9 7950X3D | $699 | 16/32 | 4.2/5.7 | 144MB (16+128) | 120W/162W |
| Ryzen 9 7900X3D | $599 | 12/24 | 4.4/5.6 | 140MB (12+128) | 120W/162W |
| Ryzen 7 7800X3D | $449 | 8/16 | 4.2/5.0 | 104MB (8+96) | 120W/162W |
| Ryzen 7 5800X3D | $348 | 8/16 | 3.4/4.5 | 104MB (8+96) | 105W |
The first-generation 3D V-Cache chip, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, has become the go-to chip for gamers, but its 8-core limit and relatively low boost frequency make it problematic for some productivity apps. has occurred. AMD’s new lineup is the first 3D V-Cache family to adopt two compute chiplets capable of up to 16 cores, boosting productivity apps while delivering significantly higher speeds than the previous generation’s 4.5 GHz. Allows boost frequency. The chip also uses new thread-targeting technology designed to apply gains more evenly across a wide range of games, but like its predecessor, it still comes with some tradeoffs for productivity applications. there is.
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Here’s a quick snap on the performance of the Ryzen 9 7900X3D. Not all full test results, including overclocking. For full results, you’ll have to head to the gaming and productivity application benchmarks on the next page, but this performance average on the most important benchmarks gives you a good idea of where it stands in relation to.
The fact that the $599 Ryzen 9 7900X3D is priced close to the $699 Ryzen 9 7950X3D only makes matters harder and the looming $449 8-core Ryzen 7 7800X3D is arriving in late April. AMD says the 7800X3D offers the majority of the gaming performance of 3D V-Cache, but at a much more affordable price. Intel isn’t sitting on the sidelines either, as the Lake alternative offers unique advantages.
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D Pricing and Specs
| street/suggested retail price | Cores/Threads (P+E) | P-Core Base/Boost Clock (GHz) | E-Core Base/Boost Clock (GHz) | Cache (L2/L3) | TDP/PBP/MTP | memory | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryzen 9 7950X3D | $699 | 16/32 | 4.2/5.7 | 144MB (16+128) | 120W/162W | DDR5-5200 | |
| Core i9-13900KS | $699 | 24/32 (8+16) | 3.0 / 6.0 | 2.2/4.3 | 68MB (32+36) | 150W/253W/320W | DDR4-3200 / DDR5-5600 |
| Core i9-13900K/KF | $589 (K) – $564 (KF) | 24/32 (8+16) | 3.0 / 5.8 | 2.2/4.3 | 68MB (32+36) | 125W/253W | DDR4-3200 / DDR5-5600 |
| Ryzen 9 7950X | $579 ($699) | 16/32 | 4.5/5.7 | – | 80MB (16+64) | 170W/230W | DDR5-5200 |
| Ryzen 9 7900X3D | $599 | 12/24 | 4.4/5.6 | 140MB (12+128) | 120W/162W | DDR5-5200 | |
| Ryzen 9 7900X | $419 ($549) | 12/24 | 4.7/5.6 | – | 76MB (12+64) | 170W/230W | DDR5-5200 |
| Core i7-13700K/KF | $409 (K) – $384 (KF) | 16/24 (8+8) | 3.4/5.4 | 2.5/4.2 | 54MB (24+30) | 125W/253W | DDR4-3200 / DDR5-5600 |
| Ryzen 7 7800X3D | $449 | 8/16 | 4.2/5.0 | 104MB (8+96) | 120W/162W | DDR5-5200 | |
| Ryzen 7 5800X3D | $348 ($449) | 8/16 | 3.4/4.5 | 104MB (8+96) | 105W | DDR4-3200 | |
| Ryzen 7 7700X | $349 ($399) | 8/16 | 4.5/5.4 | – | 40MB (8+32) | 105W/142W | DDR5-5200 |
The Ryzen 9 7900X3D has 12 cores and 24 threads and will drop on the AM5 socket. On the surface, the 7900X3D looks just like the Ryzen 9 7900X with an extra L3 cache chiplet and some extra silicon and software tuning, but it has many unique characteristics compared to other 3D V-Cache chips. is equipped with
Like all other 3D V-Cache chiplets, the 3D stacked SRAM L3 chip weighs 64MB, so the 7900X3D has 144MB of total cache, of which 128MB is L3 cache to boost games. The additional L3 cache chiplet is manufactured on a 7nm process and features a peak bandwidth of 2.5 TB/s. Learn more about 2nd generation 3D V-Cache technology and 6nm I/O die (IOD) here.
The first generation X3D chips suffered from low boost clocks, but AMD has increased the boost clock frequencies significantly with the new X3D models. The 4.4 GHz base clock is also 200 MHz higher than the 7950X3D and 300 MHz lower than the 7900X, a necessary response to the low power envelope.
All of AMD’s Zen 4 3D V-Cache processors feature a base TPD of 120W and a maximum PPT of 162W. That means the 7900X3D’s rating is 68W lower than the standard 7900X’s 170W/230W rating. The extra cache chiplet causes slightly higher operating temperatures that need to be kept within safe limits, so the power reduction is not entirely surprising. It is lower than the limit of 95C. The 7900X3D does not come bundled with a cooler. AMD recommends a 280mm or larger water cooler for Ryzen 7000X3D processors.
The Ryzen 9 7900X3D’s RDNA 2 integrated GPU comes with 2 compute units, 4 ACEs, and 1 HWS, so it doesn’t have the horsepower needed to benefit from faster CPU cores. This unit relies entirely on GPU computation. The iGPU also doesn’t benefit from 3D V-Cache technology because it resides on the I/O die and doesn’t have access to the L3 cache. So the performance is on par with his regular Ryzen 7000 processor. iGPU test.
AMD only allowed memory and Infinity Fabric overclocking on the previous generation 5800X3D, but now it also allows both Precision Boost Overdrive (PBO) and Curve Optimizer for automatic overclocking. AMD still doesn’t allow direct frequency overclocking due to his one voltage limitation on the chiplet.
Both the 7950X3D and 7900X3D have two 8-core Core Compute Die (CCD) chiplets paired with a central I/O die, marking the first time AMD has introduced 3D V-Cache technology into a multi-CCD processor. is. However, the 7900X3D’s two compute chiplets (CCDs) each have 6 active cores (6+6), while the 7950X3D has 8 active cores (8+8) per compute chiplet.
The image above shows AMD only mounting a single 7nm SRAM chiplet on top of one 8-core CCD, leaving the other CCD bare. Assuming both chips have the same amount of L3 cache, they have different core counts and therefore different caches per core.
| row 0 – cell 0 | CCD 0 (3D V-Cache) | CCD1 (Normal) |
| Ryzen 9 7900X3D L3 | 96MB | 32MB |
| Ryzen 9 7900X3D L3 Percore | 16MB | ~5.3MB |
| Ryzen 9 7950X3D L3 | 96MB | 32MB |
| Ryzen 9 7950X3D L3 Percore | 12MB | 4MB |
As you can see from the table above, the Ryzen 9 7900X3D’s chiplet with 3D V-Cache actually has more cache per core than the 7950X3D, with 16 MB per core for the 7900X3D and 12 MB per core for the Ryzen 9 7900X3D. . 7950X3D. It also has more of his L3 cache per core on regular dies. In contrast, AMD works with the cores to disable the L2 cache slice, so the 7900X3D has 12 MB of L2 and the 7950X3D has 16 MB.
3D V-Cache chiplets perform poorly due to the thermal challenges you can read about here. can achieve the higher boost clocks mentioned in the spec sheet for frequency-critical applications. SRAM stacked CCDs, on the other hand, run at slightly lower clock rates than the chip’s rated boost, but meet the needs of applications that are best suited for low-latency access, such as gaming. The chip itself has a peak of 1.4V, allowing for high boost clocks, but the CCD with 3D V-cache has a ~1.1V limit to keep heat down.
Even just fusing SRAM into a single CCD reduces manufacturing costs. This is because the hybrid bonding process and additional chiplets make this an expensive technology. AMD also states that using two V-Cache chiplets doesn’t provide enough performance boost to justify the extra cost.
In both cases, the new design requires a combination of new chipset drivers and Windows Xbox Game Bar to put threads for different types of workloads onto the correct chiplets. AMD’s new thread management technology includes Windows 10 (1903) or 11 (21H2) and four components: new chipset drivers, updated BIOS, Windows Game Mode, and an updated version of the Xbox Game Bar (available on the Microsoft Apps store). )) is required. ).
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You can read more about AMD’s thread target implementation here, but the key point is that four different components work together to automatically change the allocation of threads to cores. This technique ensures that the OS thread scheduler can target the correct core based on current usage. 3D V-Cache enabled chiplets for cache latency sensitive tasks such as gaming, or standard chiplets for workloads that respond best to higher frequencies. You can override the automatic switching between core ranking modes to customize your settings, but we’ve found the automatic mechanism to work well.
Chipset drivers also include components that improve performance by parking chiplets without additional caching when Game Mode or Mixed Reality Mode is active. In effect, this shuts down the “standard” CCD and limits latency-sensitive workloads (like gaming) to the 3D V-Cache chiplet. This improves cache hit ratios and reduces high-latency communication between two CCDs, improving performance for workloads that don’t need (or benefit from) access to all cores.
Naturally, both groups of cores are used if the workload is sufficiently parallelized. Thread targeting and core parking only work on dual CCD Zen 4 X3D processors, so they won’t affect the performance of regular chips.
Game Mode is designed to reduce the impact of background tasks on your game, but is best suited for low-end systems. It can unnecessarily throttle background tasks on high-end systems that don’t need much resource conservation, which can be a problem for video streaming and other apps that run in the background. and didn’t encounter any issues, but I’m still testing the impact of background apps.
Now let’s move on to the gaming and productivity benchmarks on the next page.
