Now more than ever , it ’s well-defined that AMD needs to release its 3D V - Cache CPUs alongside each new generation . We ’ve gotten accustomed to AMD roll out its3D V - Cacheofferings presently after the press release of a fresh propagation , but the crowded lineup is let too much to have a bun in the oven — and it ’s making some of AMD’sbest processorscompletely irrelevant .
That becomes obvious as you read myRyzen 7 9800X3D review . The new central processing unit is , unsurprisingly , the dominant performer in games , outclassing AMD ’s last - gen Ryzen 7 7800X3D. It also make betterment in productiveness performance , however , so much so that it maltreat on the toe of an already heavy lineup of CPUs from AMD .
A complicated lineup
Let ’s take off here — AMD has a complicated lineup of CPUs . Both AMD and Intel have multiple variations of their processors each generation , turn out some feature or adding novel ones , but the vast majority of offerings are based around a few critical designs . Intel has three of these designs — the Core Ultra 5 , 7 , and 9 — while AMD has four . It has the Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 7 offering , and two Ryzen 9 offerings , one with 12 cores and the other with 16 .
From those core designs , we ’ll see some CPUs that abbreviate the integrated artwork or run at a sluggish clock upper , or we ’ll see some that head for the hills at a downcast mogul limit , such as what we check with theRyzen 5 7600 . AMD ’s 3D V - Cache CPUs are a fleck different . They ’re variations , sure enough , but extremely assay - after ones . Unlike the typical poking and prodding of the sum designs we usually see , 3D V - Cache CPUs comprise a critical tower of AMD ’s CPU lineup .
Even in preceding generation , they ’ve just narrowly carved out their own space among the four main designs . In the previous generation , theRyzen 7 7800X3Dstood as the go - to gaming CPU , while the pricierRyzen 9 7950X3Dmade little compromises on gaming and productivity public presentation for shoppers who wanted the good of both domain . The main card , with the Ryzen 7 7700X and Ryzen 9 7950X , still had their place , particularly for shoppers who want better productiveness performance for a low price .
Now , AMD is giving central processor shopper everything they wanted . Going with 3D V - Cache antecedently meant an engrossed focusing on gaming at the sacrifice of productivity performance , but no longer . The Ryzen 7 9800X3D introduced AMD ’s next - gen 3-D V - Cache , placing the additional cache below the core die alternatively of on top of it . This gives the magnetic core unmediated access to the integrate heat energy spreader ( IHS ) , ameliorate how well they can be cooled .
It may seem minor , but this variety has allowed AMD to maximize the relative frequency on the Ryzen 7 9800X3D and to the full unlock the CPU foroverclocking . It also allows the processor to pull more great power , receive tightlipped to its 120 - watt boundary before it overheats . In the cognitive process , AMD has boost productivity performance massively , and that ’s a job for survive Ryzen 9000 CPU .
An identity crisis
As I was review the Ryzen 7 9800X3D , one affair became clear . Regardless of what the extra cache was doing , the C.P.U. is just an eight - core Zen 5 chip with memory access to up to 120W of power . In other words , it ’s the Ryzen 7 9700X.
Look at Cinebench R24 above . The Ryzen 7 9700X is clear behind the Ryzen 7 9800X3D , despite the fact that both have eight Zen 5 effect . That ’s largely because the Ryzen 7 9700X only goes up to 65W in its standard configuration . If you toggle over to the 105W mode uncommitted in the BIOS , the Ryzen 7 9700X and Ryzen 7 9800X3D billet identical results . You could take two random sample distribution of these models and likely see the same variance .
It ’s not just in Cinebench , either . you could see the precisely same affair happen in Photoshop . The Ryzen 7 9700X is a spot behind the Ryzen 7 9800X3D , but when the latter CPU has access to more power , the two chip post identical results . AMD ’s new method of putting the cache under the CPU dice go — you ’re suffer the full public presentation of eight Zen 5 cores in these productivity app , even when those cores are pushed to their limit in a workload like Cinebench .
That leaves the Ryzen 7 9700X in an ill at ease spot , and I suspect we ’ll see something interchangeable happen with theRyzen 9 9900X and Ryzen 9 9950Xwhen 3D V - Cache version of those CPUs show up . It ’s no secret that AMD ’s Ryzen 9000 C.P.U. have n’t been a great performer in games , outside of the first 3D V - Cache offering . And yet , despite that , AMD heavily marketed the processors toward gamers . Maybe that ’s why wesaw such distressing saleswhen the CPUs first launch .
A shift in focus
I ’m not saying AMD should get disembarrass of the Ryzen 7 9700X. Even at leaning price , it ’s $ 120 cheaper than the Ryzen 7 9800X3D , and with that CPU now make the rounds , it ’s $ 160 less . That ’s what we ’ve seen with previous 3D V - Cache launch . If you do n’t need the gaming art the special memory cache brings , you could save a mountain of money by going with a splintering within the principal batting order , and hopefully AMD maintains that kick the bucket into the hereafter .
But I ’m done pretending like 3D V - Cache CPUs do n’t exist , which is what AMD did with the discharge of Ryzen 9000 processor . It ’s hard to desire title of world - course of study gaming operation for a raw CPU launch when the 3D V - Cache translation of a chip is waitress in the wings . AMDstill calls the Ryzen 7 9700X“the young standard for a gaming central processor ” on the prescribed product page , which is downright silly when you compare the carrying out of it to the Ryzen 7 9800X3D.
AMD is crossing too many wires . It wants to sell buyers on the fact that a novel propagation will render the best gambling performance we ’ve ever go steady , and then turn around a few months by and by and release a mainframe that ’s objectively quicker for gambling . It ’s hard to say if that injure AMD or central processor shoppers more , but regardless , the access is wrong .
At least one 3D V - Cache CPU — the most popular 8 - core role model , ideally — should arrive with each newfangled generation . That serves AMD and vendee well , and it lends some credibleness to AMD ’s gambling claim , which continue to be the cornerstone of its selling scheme . Maybe then , the goalpost for the mankind ’s fastest gaming CPU will move every couple of years rather than in the couple of a few months .
