It’s been a week since AMD released the long-awaited Ryzen 7 9800X3Dand it’s fair to say that virtually everyone was excited about what this new processor had to offer. It was a challenge to predict where the 9800X3D would sit in relation to the 7800X3DAnd while we anticipated a performance boost of around 10% on average, we weren’t expecting to see gaming gains of over 20%, so it was a pleasant surprise.

Now the question is: how does the 9800X3D compare to the 7800X3D in a wide range of games?

To find out, we’re testing them head-to-head on 45 titles and structuring this review a little differently. Instead of just showing individual results for a dozen titles and summarizing the rest, we’ll present results for five games at a time. This approach allows you to see the fps data for each game tested.

As usual, all CPU gaming benchmarks will be run at 1080p using the GeForce RTX 4090. If you are a PC enthusiast but are not familiar with why reviewers test this waysee our explanation on this topic. Here we pass through the CPU Benchmarking Basics and why we test this way.

Test System Specifications

Gaming Benchmarks

The last of us, Cyberpunk, Hogwarts Legacy, ACC, Spider-Man

Our first set of results includes five games, starting with The last of us part 1where the 9800X3D was, on average, 20% faster – an impressive gain. It also improved the lows of 1% by a substantial 33%. Then in Cyberpunk 2077We saw a more modest 8% increase in average frame rate. The Hogwarts Legacy showed even greater gains, with a performance of more than 21% over the new Zen 5 3D V-Cache model.

The 7800X3D was already very fast in Assetto Corsa Competizione, but even so, the 9800X3D managed an additional 14% performance, reaching 269 fps. In spider manThe 9800X3D was 15% faster, comfortably rendering over 200fps on average, with a notable 22% boost at 1% lows for significantly improved performance.

Baldur’s Gate 3, Homeworld 3, APTR, Flight Simulator, Starfield

In the next batch, we are seeing consistent gains across the board. Baldur’s Gate 3 testing shows that the 9800X3D delivers 11% better performance on average, with an 18% improvement at 1% lows.

In Homeworld 3, we saw a solid 16% increase in averages and a 21% critical increase for 1% lows. In A Plague Tale: Requiem, the 9800X3D approached 200 fps, rendering 195 fps, making it 10% faster.

Microsoft Flight Simulator It saw almost no improvement at 1% lows, although the average frame rate increased by 17%, hitting 95fps. Starfield was another story; the 7800X3D managed only 116 fps, indicating a clear CPU limitation. The 9800X3D offered substantial gains, averaging 140 fps, a 21% increase.

Horizon Forbidden West, Horizon Zero Dawn, Watch Dogs, Far Cry 6, T&L

Moving on to Horizon Forbidden West, despite testing a CPU-demanding section, both X3D processors performed similarly, with the Zen 5 model only 5% faster. Horizon Zero Dawn’s results were similar, with only a 3% increase.

In Watch Dogs: Legion, the 9800X3D saw significant gains, with an average frame rate increase of 14% and a substantial 36% improvement at 1% lows. The profits in Very far away 6 were smaller, with only a 5% improvement. Similarly, Trono and Libertad showed a modest 6% gain.

Hitman 3, Callisto Protocol, SoTR, Halo, Warhammer 3

For this set, Hitman 3 showed a further 8% increase in performance, reaching 289 fps. In contrast, the Callisto Protocol seemed GPU limited, offering just under 150 fps at 1080p with an RTX 4090.

In The shadow of the Tomb RaiderWe saw a 10% increase, from 328 fps to 361 fps. The gains in Halo Infinite and Warhammer III were minimal, only 2 to 3%.

Black Ops 6, Borderlands 3, Riftbreaker, Remnant 2, SWJS

Next, we have Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, where both the 7800X3D and 9800X3D performed similarly, with less than 1% difference. In Borderlands 3, the new Zen 5 version was only 3% faster.

The Riftbreaker’s CPU benchmark is very demanding, allowing the 9800X3D to outperform the 7800X3D by 12%. On Remnant II, the 9800X3D achieved a 14% increase, although the 1% lows remained similar. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor also showed improvement, with a 9% performance increase.

War Thunder, Skull and Bones, Return, Ratchet & Clank, Dying Light 2

In War Thunder, the 9800X3D was 9% faster, hitting 397 fps, with a 14% improvement at 1% minimums. Unfortunately, performance remained unchanged in Skull and Bones, Returnal, and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, sometimes due to GPU limitations, but not always. However, we found a 13% performance increase in Dying Light 2, which is a welcome gain.

Forza Horizon 5, Forza Motorsport, Gears 5, Ghost of Tsushima, Hunting

We included Forza games due to popular demand, but they don’t require much CPU usage, especially with high-end CPUs. As expected, the 7800X3D and 9800X3D showed similar performance, with only a slight advantage for the Zen 5 model.

The 9800X3D gained ground in gears 5with a 10% increase in average framerate and a 23% improvement at 1% lows. Ghost of Tsushima saw similar results: the 9800X3D ran 13% faster on average. In Hunt: Showdown 1896, however, no additional performance improvements were seen.

World War Z, F1 24, Rainbow Six Siege, Counter-Strike 2, Fortnite

World War Z saw a 10% increase, or 15% for 1% lows, with the 9800X3D. F1 24 is not ideal for CPU benchmarking, but the results show very high frame rates on both CPUs.

In Rainbow Six Siege, the 9800X3D hit an incredible 675 fps, 4% faster than the already very fast 7800X3D. Counter-Strike 2 got a needed 13% boost, hitting 668 fps, while Fortnite showed an 8% improvement, a compelling reason for us to consider upgrading our gaming setup.

Assassin’s Creed x2, Space Marine 2, SW Outlaws, Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Finally, we have the last five games, bringing the total to 45. The Assassin’s Creed games can be CPU-intensive, but not to the point that you’d see any real separation between the 7800X3D and the 9800X3D.

In Space Sailor 2However, where CPU limitations are high, the 9800X3D provided a valuable 10% boost for smoother high-refresh gameplay. Unfortunately, Star Wars Outlaws – another CPU-bound game – showed no improvement with the 9800X3D.

The new game Dragon Age: The Veilguard showed better results, with the 9800X3D running 10% faster and an impressive 19% increase at 1% lows – a great result.

Average of 45 games

Here’s how the 9800X3D and 7800X3D compare head-to-head across the 45 games tested. On average, the Zen 5 part was 8% faster, lining up with AMD’s official claims for this processor, although we noted an 11% margin in our initial review, which focused on CPU-demanding titles like star field, The Hogwarts Legacy, The last of us part 1Homeworld 3 and Watch Dogs Legion, among others.

We also see substantial performance differences in Microsoft Flight Simulator and Spider-Man remasteredFor example. Meanwhile, there is minimal performance improvement in 19 of the 45 games tested, with margins of 5% or less.

In some of these cases, the 9800X3D is not much faster than the 7800X3D, but in most cases, the GPU limits are reached or the game has low CPU demands, such as Forza games.

Average of 30 games

When we exclude 15 of those titles, we return to an 11% margin, which better represents the performance difference between the 7800X3D and 9800X3D. This suggests that demanding titles of the future will likely show margins similar to what we see today in games like Hogwarts Legacy and Starfield.

What we learned

There you have it. As we discovered in our first day review, the 9800X3D can be up to 21% faster than 7800X3Dwhich is an incredible performance improvement given what we found previously with the Zen 4 vs Zen 5 non-3D V-Cache tests. Depending on the sample of games and how they are tested, the average performance gain can range from 5% to 15%.

The 11% margin seen in our initial review may be a more accurate reflection of the typical performance gap between these two CPUs. We expect that within a year or two, margins of at least 11% will become standard as games continue to require more CPU power.

In terms of value, it will take time for the 9800X3D to match the value offered by the 7800X3D in its $340 price point. However, for those looking for the best possible gaming experience, the 9800X3D in its $480 MSRP is a great option.

Next, we plan to run the Intel Core i9-14900K and Ultra 9 285K core through the same 45-game benchmark, and we hope to have one of those matchups ready for you in the coming week. Until then, we hope you enjoyed all the tests; Make sure you’re subscribed to our newsletter for upcoming comparisons, and check out our TechSpot Elite subscription offer to remove ads and receive more benefits.

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