Final week we checked out the flagship 16-core Ryzen 9 7950X and located it to be a productiveness monster, crushing the Core i9-12900K with ease. Nevertheless, that CPU can also be fairly a bit costlier than the Core i9, so right now we’re having a look at a Zen 4 processor priced to compete with the 12900K, and that processor is the Ryzen 9 7900X.
With a $550 MSRP, it is truly barely cheaper than the Core i9, so will probably be attention-grabbing to see how they stack up and we’ll get to the benchmark outcomes as rapidly as doable, however earlier than we do, let’s go over the 7900X specs.
What we now have here’s a 12-core, 24-thread Zen 4 processor that clocks between 4.7 GHz and 5.6 GHz relying on the load. Just like the 7950X, we’re getting two CCDs together with a 6nm I/O die. The extra CCD interprets into whole L3 cache capability of 64MB, and there is additionally 16MB of L2 cache. The TDP can also be elevated from 105w on single CCD chips to a whopping 170w, although do be aware as a result of the identical I/O die has been used, the identical 28 PCIe 5.0 lanes are supported.
Now, the place the 7950X got here in $100 decrease than its Zen 3 predecessor, the 7900X carries the identical MSRP because the 5900X at $550. It is value noting that the 5900X will be had for simply $400 today, which is ~30% lower than the most recent mannequin. Nonetheless in comparison with Intel, that needs to be a aggressive value with the Core i9-12900 beginning at $510 for the locked model, $560 for the 12900KF, after which $580 for the full-blown 12900K which we’ll be evaluating to the 7900X on this evaluate.
As we have performed for earlier Zen 4 critiques, we now have up to date all our CPU knowledge and we now have 17 CPUs for comparability. Representing the AM4 platform we now have a spread of Zen 2 and Zen 3 CPUs with well-liked fashions such because the Ryzen 9 3900X, Ryzen 7 5800X3D, and naturally the Ryzen 9 5900X included, however there are half a dozen extra chips additionally included.
Then we have the Intel Tenth-gen core collection together with well-liked Core i5, i7 and i9 fashions, however we determined to skip the eleventh technology because it wasn’t as related and because of time constraints. After all, the Twelfth-gen Core processors are a part of the comparability and we have examined them utilizing DDR4-3200 dual-rank CL14 reminiscence and DDR5-6400 single-rank CL32 reminiscence, with varied fashions that go from the Core i3-12100 as much as the Core i9-12900K.
Our AM5 check mattress relies on the MSI MEG X670E Ace utilizing DDR5-6000 CL30 reminiscence which is what AMD beneficial, so that is what we have performed. All testing was performed utilizing a GeForce RTX 3090 Ti GPU put in, Home windows 11, and Resizable BAR enabled for all configurations.
Clock Speeds
Earlier than we dive into the blue bar graphs, this is a take a look at clock conduct in Cinebench R23. After an hour of load testing, the 7900X maintained an all-core frequency of 5.1 GHz on the first CCD1 and 5.05 GHz on the secondary CCD2, so there’s only a single p.c frequency discrepancy between the 2 core complicated dies.
These outcomes have been achieved utilizing the be quiet! Pure Loop 2 FX 360mm liquid cooler put in contained in the be quiet! Silent Base 802.
Then for single core workloads the 7950X appeared to take care of a clock frequency of 5.625 GHz, so 25 MHz above the marketed clock frequency.
Utility Benchmarks
As common we’ll begin with Cinebench outcomes and we see just like the 7950X, the 7900X can also be capable of beat the 12900K fairly comfortably, scoring 7% greater within the multi-core check. It was additionally simply 12% slower than the 7950X which is sort of good given it packs 25% fewer cores.
As we discovered with the 7950X, the one thread efficiency of the 7900X could be very sturdy, producing a rating of 2034 pts. That is not an enormous enchancment over the 12900K, a mere 3% distinction, however it does imply the 7900X is commonly going to have the higher hand for productiveness workloads given it is sooner in Cinebench R23 for each multi and single core efficiency.
In terms of compression work, the 7900X is ready to outpace the 12900K, this time profitable by a 7% margin, not a large distinction however a win all the identical. The 7900X is seen trailing the 7950X by a 12% margin, which isn’t a foul consequence all issues thought-about.
Decompression work is a Ryzen stronghold and the 7900X isn’t any exception, mainly matching final season’s 5950X to make it 45% sooner than the 12900K. A simple win right here for AMD’s new 12-core processor.
The 7900X was additionally dominant in Blender, trailing the 7950X by simply 18%, making it 16% sooner than the 5950X and a whopping 30% sooner than the 12900K.
It is a related story with the Corona benchmark, the 7900X was 26% slower than the 7950X however 13% sooner than the 12900K and a large 28% sooner than the previous 5900X.
The Adobe Premiere Professional 2022 efficiency is spectacular, as has been the case for all Zen 4 CPUs, notably the 7700X and up. The 7900X was 33% sooner than the 12900K and simply 7% slower than the 7950X, one other nice consequence right here.
The 7900X additionally stood up sturdy within the Adobe Photoshop benchmark regardless of coming in behind the 7700X and 7950X. A rating of 1488 pts meant it was a whisker sooner than the 12900K and 21% sooner than its predecessor, the 5900X.
The 7900X did fall behind the 12900K within the After Results benchmark, although the margin was slim. A negligible distinction there, however not a lot when in comparison with the 5900X as we see a 31% uplift, for a powerful generational enchancment.
code compilation efficiency, the 7900X will be seen matching the 5950X and 12900K, taking 3188 seconds to finish the workload. Not wonderful given it solely matched the Core i9 CPU, however total an honest sufficient consequence.
Gaming Benchmarks
Time for the gaming benchmarks and we’ll begin with Factorio which could be very cache delicate, and solely seems at single core efficiency. Curiously, the 7900X produces the best rating right here of all of the Zen 4 processors, although we’re solely speaking a couple of 1% enhance from the 7950X, so throughout the margin or error. Nonetheless, from our three run common it was persistently sooner.
The 7900X nudged forward of the 7950X in Watch Canine Legion, although total efficiency was a lot the identical, coming in simply 2% slower than the Core i9-12900K.
As we have seen within the earlier Zen 4 protection, Rainbow Six Extraction is not an excellent title for AMD’s newest, however it’s not a foul one both because the 7900X trailed the 12900K by simply 4%.
Zen 4 has impressed in Hitman 3. The 7900X matches different 7000 collection processors already examined with 229 fps on common, which implies it delivers 12900K-like efficiency.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands just isn’t a really demanding recreation on the CPU aspect, however it stays a superb indicator of what number of trendy video games are going to be GPU certain, even when utilizing an RTX 3090 Ti at 1080p as we see on this check.
This recreation will be helpful for testing low-end CPUs, however for the 7950X it simply exhibits us that we’re capable of max out the RTX 3090 Ti, matching different high-end CPUs.
Subsequent up we now have F1 22 and like the remainder of the Zen 4 lineup the 7900X is spectacular on this title, delivering related efficiency to what we have already seen from the 7600X, 7700X and 7950X.
The 7900X is ready to outperform the 12900K by a 12% margin and put away the previous 5900X by a convincing 25% margin.
As seen beforehand, the Spider-Man Remastered outcomes for Zen 4 aren’t too spectacular with the 12700K and 12900K having fun with commanding leads and the 7900X does nothing to vary that, matching the 7950X with 114 fps on common, making it 13% slower than the 12900K.
It seems as if we have reached the boundaries of the RTX 3090 Ti in Shadow of the Tomb Raider utilizing the best high quality preset at 1080p with all high-end CPUs hitting a wall at round 190 fps. Because of this the 7900X is just on par with the 12900K.
In some unspecified time in the future we thought an identical factor with Horizon Zero Daybreak, maybe the 3090 Ti simply wasn’t able to pushing previous 200 fps, however Zen 4 proved that idea improper reaching simply over 210 fps. The 7900X matched different Zen 4 CPUs, so whereas spectacular it was no sooner than the 6-core mannequin.
Cyberpunk 2077 is not nice for AMD CPUs typically and the brand new Zen 4 CPUs path Intel’s total Alder Lake Okay-SKU collection, too. The 7900X was rather a lot slower than the 12900K, trailing by a big 14% margin which was actually disappointing to see, however not sudden given what we might already seen from the 7600X, 7700X and 7950X.
The 7900X would not disappoint in ACC, although it would not shock us both, matching different Zen 4 CPUs nearly precisely with 173 fps on common, making it simply 5% sooner than the 12900K.
As was the case with the 7950X, the 7900X is a bit damaged in The Riftbreaker. Realistically it could have the ability to match not less than the 7600X, if not the 7700X, however as we noticed with the 7950X this recreation has a difficulty with the twin CCD design of the 12 and 16-core fashions, and that is one thing AMD is in talks with the developer to try to clear up.
Counter-Strike: International Offensive has no surprises for us. The 7900X was a whisker sooner than the 7950X with 518 fps and that made it 15% sooner than the 12900K, a convincing win there.
12 Recreation Common Efficiency
For the 12-game common, as anticipated the 7900X matched the 7950X making it a fraction sooner than the 6-core 7600X total and a mere body slower than the 12900K, in different phrases the identical efficiency because the Core i9. That was anticipated given what we have seen thus far.
Energy Consumption
We have seen that when it comes to energy consumption Zen 4 is not too spectacular, sometimes worse off than Zen 3 relating to efficiency per watt, not less than based mostly on our recorded Blender knowledge. The 7900X pushed whole system utilization to the identical degree because the 10900K and barely greater than the 12700K.
When in comparison with the 5900X, the 7900X was 24% sooner on this check but additionally pushed system consumption 47% greater, which means it is a lot worse relating to efficiency per watt. That mentioned, it was sooner than each the 12700K and 12900K, fairly a bit sooner, and used a bit much less energy than the 12900K, so not less than relative to Intel it is a win for AMD.
Cooling Efficiency
In terms of cooling, Zen 4 CPUs deliberately give the impression that they are tough to chill by delivering as a lot efficiency as doable by taking full benefit of the thermal and energy headroom. AMD claims that with the brand new AM5 socket and better TDP, Zen 4 processors will run right into a thermal wall earlier than they hit an influence wall.
This implies below heavy load they will sit at TJMax which is about 95 levels Celsius for the Ryzen 7000 collection, and this will probably be notably true for the 12 and 16-core fashions.
AMD has burdened that this conduct is meant and that it is necessary to notice TJMax is the utmost secure working temperature — not absolutely the most temperature. Within the case of Zen 4, the processors are designed to run at TJMax 24/7 with out danger of injury or deterioration.
AMD went on to say that 95C just isn’t working sizzling, reasonably Zen 4 will deliberately go to this temperature when below load as a result of the ability administration system is aware of that that is the perfect technique to squeeze probably the most efficiency out of the chip with out damaging it.
For our testing we used the be quiet! Pure Loop 2 FX 360mm liquid cooler which is totally appropriate with AM5. After an hour of looping Cinebench multi-core with the Pure Loop 2 FX put in contained in the be quiet! Silent Base 802, we recorded a peak CPU temperature of 97C for the first CCD and 94C for the secondary CCD, so simply above the 95c TJMax.
Price vs. Efficiency
Time for the worth evaluation and as we discovered with the 7950X, the 7900X is overkill for players and largely a waste of cash if all you propose on doing is gaming.
At the moment, you are confronted with paying a bit over 40% extra per body than the 7700X when simply taking CPU value into consideration. The 7900X is barely higher worth than the 12900K, however a lot worse than the 12700K.
Now let’s check out value per body whereas together with reminiscence and motherboard prices which for the DDR4 configurations features a 32GB equipment of DDR4-3200 CL14 reminiscence at a price of $200. Then the DDR5 configurations value $280, whatever the spec — each 6000 and 6400 value the identical quantity.
The AM5 motherboard value level relies on the $290 MSI Professional X670-P WiFi, AM4 makes use of the Asus TUF Gaming X570-Plus WiFi which prices $180, after which the MSI Professional Z690-P DDR4 at $180, and the MSI Professional Z690-A DDR5 at $210.
Right here the 7900X would not look nice when together with platform prices, it is barely worse worth than even the 12900K and significantly worse worth than the 7700X and 7600X. Clearly, when you’re simply gaming the 6 and 8-core Zen 4 CPUs are much better worth.
In terms of productiveness, the 7900X seems way more spectacular from a price standpoint. It is not fairly nearly as good because the 7950X based mostly on our Cinebench scores, besides it is corresponding to the Core i9-12900K.
It is about 15% costlier per 1000 factors when factoring in not simply the CPU value but additionally the price of the motherboard and reminiscence. Briefly, the 5950X bundle prices 13% extra however provides 30% extra efficiency, so when you’re critical about productiveness you may as nicely simply go all out.
The 7900X seems a bit extra aggressive from a price perspective in Premiere Professional, costing simply 9% greater than the 7700X when taking a look at value to efficiency. It is also a lot better worth than the competing Intel components. That mentioned, if efficiency is the final word aim then paying the premium for the 7950X will probably be value it.
What We Discovered
The Ryzen 9 7900X is a powerful and succesful CPU, however in a means it is also a considerably unlucky product, as a result of whereas it is fairly good at the whole lot, when it comes to worth it isn’t nice, even for a selected workload.
Players are actually higher off going with the Ryzen 7 7700X because it’s primarily as quick (and even barely sooner) and is less expensive. Even when factoring within the platform prices, the 8-core mannequin is significantly higher worth for gaming.
Then for these concerned with productiveness, it is nearly at all times going to be the case the place shopping for the 7950X finally ends up being the higher deal. When simply factoring in motherboard and reminiscence prices, it isn’t way more for an extra 33% cores, and people additional cores usually internet you a superb quantity of efficiency.
The truth that the 7900X finally ends up costing $46 per core, whereas the 7950X is $44 per core can also be lower than preferrred. With cheaper AMD B650 motherboards and a drop in DDR5 pricing, the 7900X might begin to make sense, however within the meantime paying extra per core is among the key points with the 7900X.
The Ryzen 9 7900X is a rock strong CPU that stacks up very nicely when in comparison with the Core i9-12900K, however we additionally suppose it is the least compelling providing within the Ryzen 7000 collection. We’ll proceed to re-evaluate the 7900X as platform prices go down and new opponents are launched, however until AMD reductions this half, we do not see the way it might be a well-liked mannequin.
