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Testing a processor is arguably one of the most involved processes of any component I review because there are so many things to measure and quantify. Having the on-chip integrated graphics present is highly useful for troubleshooting and, if you aren’t going to run games, it can save you from having to buy a display adapter, which cuts costs. The IGP that AMD opted to use on its processors, however, is relatively weak. The last-gen Ryzen 7 5700G has the fastest IGP of any desktop CPU, and while we don’t necessarily need that much performance in every desktop CPU, it’s too bad AMD opted for as weak an IGP as it did. When it comes to the synthetic benchmarks, there's very little difference between the 7950X3D and the 7950X. Both chips are phenomenal multitaskers, and though the 7950X has consistently stronger single core scores than the 7950X3D, the 7950X3D performs better with multi core performance than its non-3D V-Cache counterpart. If the game prefers frequency over cache, it should run primarily on the frequency CCD. (less games, notable examples CS:GO, Football Manager, etc) The chipset drivers also install the AMD PPM Provisioning File Driver, which improves performance by parking the slowest cores when Game Mode or Mixed Reality Mode is active. In effect, this shuts down the ‘standard’ CCD when Game Mode or Mixed Reality Mode is active, thus constraining latency-sensitive workloads (like games) to the 3D V-Cache chiplet. This improves the cache hit rate and reduces high-latency communication between the two CCDs, resulting in faster performance for workloads that don’t need access to (or benefit from) all the cores.
Currently the best processor in Intel's arsenal, the i9-13900K is no joke. In terms of raw performance, it goes pound for pound with the best AMD processors and does so at a lower retail price. In short, this makes the Ryzen 9 7950X3D not particularly competitive against any of Intel’s competing processors either. In almost every test, the Core i9-13900K is simply faster while also costing less. Gaming Tests The lower power consumption measured during Adobe Premiere and Cinebench gives the Ryzen 9 7950X3D better overall performance per watt and slightly better overall energy efficiency. This is hurt by the high idle power consumption, however, which never drops below 97W with the system sitting idle at the desktop for prolonged periods. This latter issue may be resolved with a BIOS or driver update, though.There are some tradeoffs to attaining the leading gaming performance, though — some games don’t benefit from the 3D V-Cache, and the chip isn’t as fast in productivity apps as competing Intel chips. The 7950X3D also suffers from many of the pain points we’ve already seen with the fledgling AM5 platform — the motherboard ecosystem is more expensive than Intel’s offerings, and the strict requirement for DDR5 significantly increases costs compared to Intel’s DDR4-friendly platform. The cache clearly does not help enough to give the Ryzen 9 7950X3D the performance advantage in any other CPU test in our suite. At the same time, its lower TDP and heat limit cause the 7950X3D to operate a bit slower and perform worse in almost every test except that one. The Ryzen 9 7950X is slightly faster in many of these tests, but, considering how much cheaper that chip is at list price, it’s a bit of a no-brainer which is the better value in this scenario.
John (He/Him) is the Components Editor here at TechRadar and he is also a programmer, gamer, activist, and Brooklyn College alum currently living in Brooklyn, NY. Just let the "platform cost" argument go, otherwise test Intel with DDR4 and make proper comparisons showing what you get going with older and slower technology. On the other hand, when a game like Total War: Warhammer III is running, energy efficiency on the 13900K goes right out the window and you start getting power draw above 330W just for the processor. This allows the 13900K to eke out up to 68 more fps than the 7950X3D (or 532 minimum fps for the 13900K to the 7950X3D's 464 minimum fps), but it literally needs almost 2.5 times as much power to accomplish this. I have a 7950X3D as well, you don't seem familiar with the numbers on this specific benchmark. The second scene usually gets around 30-40% higher fps than the first scene. The fact you have similar fps between the 2 scenes show that Cinebench is actually impacting the game performance no?That's the furthest from "great value" you can get IMO. Great value is a DDR4 5800X3D or 12/13th gen z690 board with ddr4, coupled with a more realistically priced GPU. We do not charge you a fee for our services. We may receive commission from Novuna Personal Finance based on an agreed percentage of the amount you borrow. AMD’s decision to add extra cache to only one of these chips is somewhat unconventional, as the two CCXs will have different performance characteristics as a result, but there’s a logical reason behind it. The added cache chip and its position on top of one of the CCXs introduce power and heat considerations to the CPU that didn’t exist before. AMD’s new thread management technique requires Windows 10 (1903) or 11 (21H2) and four components — a new chipset driver, updated BIOS, Windows Game Mode, and an updated version of the Xbox Game Bar (you can update through the Microsoft Apps store).
Perform a clean installation of Windows. Things will work better rather than using an old OS that was used for a different CPU. This bit is important, so don't overlook it, otherwise you might need to use something like Process Lasso. I recommend the latest Windows 11 22H2 build, which I use with my 7950X3D. I've tested Windows 10 vs 11, and 11 is clearly faster in gaming so if you are on 10 take this into consideration. Finally, the last major difference is the lower TDP on the 7950X3D compared to the 7950X (120W to 125W). This is mostly from the lower frequency on the 3D V-Cache cores (as well as some other optimizations), meaning that the 7950X3D can use less power overall to get the same or better performance. Given that the game bar has no idea what a game is and needs a list it may well be that it needs a second list of programs to be prioritised on the regular CCD.Only fusing the SRAM onto one CCD also reduces manufacturing costs, as the hybrid bonding process and additional chiplet make this an expensive technology. AMD also says that using two V-Cache chiplets doesn’t provide enough performance uplift to justify the extra costs.
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