Ryzen 9 9900X vs Ryzen 9 7900X3D: We Benchmarked Both

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Shehryar Khan

Senior Editor and Content Writer:

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Pros And Cons

Comparison Table

Architectural Differences

1. Core Count: Both processors have 12 cores and 24 threads, though the horsepower of these cores and threads differ between the two.
2. Clock Speed: Both the Ryzen 9 9900X and the Ryzen 9 7900X3D have a base clock of 4.4 GHz and a boost of up to 5.6 GHz.
3. Process Node: The Ryzen 9 9900X has a process size of 4nm, while the Ryzen 9 7900X3D has a slightly older process size of 5nm.
4. TDP: The PL1 power requirement of the Ryzen 9 9900X and the Ryzen 9 7900X3D is 120 watts, but the PL2 of both processors is up to 162 watts.
5. L3 Cache: AMD’s ace up their sleeve is their L3 cache on their X3D processors, with the 7900X3D having a 128-megabyte buffer, while the 9900X has a 64-megabyte buffer.

Most people aren’t gravitating to AMD’s latest lineup of CPUs, with most of them awaiting the X3D processors for superior gaming performance. In the Ryzen 9 9900X vs Ryzen 9 7900X3D, we will see if the difference is actually that big!

Gaming Benchmarks

The performance of these chips is best represented with gaming tests, especially the 3D V-cache processors that are famous for their performance in games. To test the Ryzen 9 9900X vs Ryzen 9 7900X3D, we constructed a test bench with the following specs:

Test Bench

• OS – Windows 11 
• RAM – V-Color Manta XPrism RGB DDR5 7200MHz 32GB RAM
• CPU Cooler – Noctua NH-D9L chromax.black
• Graphics Card – GIGABYTE RTX 4090 Gaming OC 24G
• SSD – XPG Gammix S70 Blade 2TB NVMe
• Power Supply – DeepCool PX1000G ATX3.0 PSU

Marvel Spider-Man Remastered

• For the first game of our testing, we saw that the Ryzen 9 9900X had an average framerate of 189 FPS, which was only a frame higher than the 7900X3D’s 188 FPS.
• Coming to minimums, the 7900X3D’s framerate was 141 FPS, 1.5% lower than the Ryzen 9 9900X’s 143 FPS; a rather minute difference.

Far Cry 6

• The 7900X3D took a lead in Far Cry 6, with an average framerate of 139 FPS, around 3% higher than the 135 FPS that the 9900X rendered.
• The lows had a difference of around 1.8%, with the 9900X’s framerate of 116 FPS, while the 7900X3D’s was slightly lower, at 114 FPS.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage

• We saw an average framerate of 180 FPS with the 9900X on Assassin’s Creed Mirage, which was around 2.2% lower than the 184 FPS of the 7900X3D.
• The minimums were 6.5% ahead for the 7900X3D, with a framerate of 148 FPS, whereas the 9900X had a framerate closer to 139 FPS.

Cyberpunk 2077

• The 9900X’s losses continued in our Cyberpunk test, with a framerate of 149 FPS, whereas the 7900X3D was 4.7% faster, with a framerate of 156 FPS.
• The 1% lows were around 5.5% higher on the 7900X3D, with a framerate of 134 FPS, while the 9900X had a framerate of around 127 FPS.

Horizon Forbidden West

• The Ryzen 9 9900X had an average framerate of 161 FPS, whereas the Ryzen 9 7900X3D had a framerate of 167 FPS, being around 3.7% faster in our test of Horizon Forbidden West.
• The Ryzen 9 9900X had 1% lows of around 128 FPS, which was around 4.7% lower than the 7900X3D’s framerate of 134 FPS.

Hitman 3

• Testing Hitman 3 showed us a difference of only 0.8%, with the 9900X hovering around 245 FPS, whereas the Ryzen 9 7900X3D had a framerate of around 247 FPS.
• Our tests showed that the Ryzen 9 7900X3D had 1% lows of 200 FPS when the going got tough, which was 4% better than the 192 FPS of the 9900X.

Forza Horizon 5

• Finally, our testing of Forza Horizon 5 showed a 5% advantage for the Ryzen 9 7900X3D, with a framerate of 203 FPS, while the 9900X had an average framerate of 193 FPS.
• There was only a small difference in the minimum framerates, with the Ryzen 9 7900X3D plateauing at 170 FPS, whereas the Ryzen 9 9900X had a framerate of around 167 FPS.

Overall Gaming Performance

Average Framerate

On average, the Ryzen 9 7900X3D had a 2.5% advantage in the seven games we tested. The X3D chip was a tad bit faster in almost all our games than the Ryzen 9 9900X. The difference was not immediately noticeable, but a last-gen processor doing better is something not to be proud of.

1% Lows

The minimum framerates differed by 2.88% on average, with the Ryzen 9 7900X3D being the better chip. Once again, the difference was not big enough to be noticeable at these high framerates.

Though the difference was not immediately noticeable to us when talking about a game-feel perspective, it is still important to acknowledge for down the road. The Ryzen 9 7900X3D beats its successor in performance by a slight margin.

Power Consumption

According to our testing in the seven games above, the Ryzen 9 7900X3D took considerably less power than its brethren. We saw that the Ryzen 9 7900X3D had a 23% lower power consumption than the Ryzen 9 9900X, a very large difference.

Temperatures

We saw a modest difference in power consumption of around 4% with these chips, with the Ryzen 9 7900X3D slightly cooler. Even though the temperatures were slightly different, you would be hard-pressed to notice this in your day-to-day routine.

Price And Availability

The Ryzen 9 9900X and the Ryzen 9 7900X3D are priced very similarly. The older chip is around 6.46% more expensive than the 9900X, but you might be able to find it for cheaper on the used market. Both of these processors are widely available.

What We Recommend

Ryzen 9 9900X: This processor performed a bit worse than its competition in our testing, which is disappointing. Not only did it have slightly worse performance, it had much worse power efficiency. Still, the higher IPC can help with non-gaming workloads if required.

Ryzen 9 7900X3D: We were hoping this processor would be cheaper than it is, and maybe that will be the case when the new X3D chips, but as of now, it stands toe to toe with the Ryzen 9 9900X. It has quite a bit better power efficiency. 

Wrapping things up, our testing of the Ryzen 9 9900X vs Ryzen 9 7900X3D can be thought of as a tossup, but if we had to recommend a processor, we would go with the X3D chip simply because it is predicted to fall in price the future.

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Shehryar Khan

[Comparisons Expert]

Shehryar Khan, a seasoned PC hardware expert, brings over three years of extensive experience and a deep passion for the world of technology. With a love for building PCs and a genuine enthusiasm for exploring the latest advancements in components, his expertise shines through his work and dedication towards this field. Currently, Shehryar is rocking a custom loop setup for his built.

Get In Touch: shehryar@tech4gamers.com