The one that we’ve been waiting for is here. The $449 Ryzen 7 7800X3D processor promises to deliver similar gaming performance to AMD’s flagship 7950X3D and Intel’s Core i9 13900K, while consuming less power and costing significantly less than its rivals. To find out which of these three options is the fastest gaming CPU on the market, we’ve started a shootout – and tested each option fresh in nine of the most challenging CPU-limited scenarios, from modern games that soak all available threads to ray tracing showcases and esports titles.
Our expectations for the 7800X3D are high – after all, the CPU’s design permits its full 120W TDP to be dedicated solely to an eight-core chiplet complete with performance-boosting 3D V-Cache. By comparison, the 7950X3D and 7900X3D released in February split that power budget across two chiplets, only one equipped with the extra L3 cache, so we could potentially see even greater performance than these CPUs. It’s a similar story to the Intel Core i9 13900K, a fantastic gaming and content creation CPU – but one that relies on scheduling algorithms built into Windows to make full use of its asymmetric performance core and efficiency core design.
Even getting close to its rivals in terms of frame-rate could put the 7800X3D in the same hallowed tier as the legendary 5800X3D, a reasonably affordable mid-range CPU that punches well above its weight and even challenges Intel’s equivalent-generation flagship parts.
