AMD Ryzen 9 7900X review: Top-tier performance at a sane price

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X is a high-end 12-core offering in the latest Zen 4 lineup from Team Red. The processor sits just a step below the flagship Ryzen 9 7950X and, thus, is slightly cheaper. AMD is primarily targeting power users and professionals with this chip. It is way overkill for gaming and basic computing use cases.

The chip is the direct successor to the Ryzen 9 5900X and carries a similar DNA as its Zen 3 counterpart. The best part about the new chip is that it has been massively discounted following poor reception and sales. Currently, it is selling for just $432 on Newegg, which makes it over $100 cheaper than its $549 launch MSRP.

AMD was kind enough to send over the processor for review. In this article, we will run the chip through its paces and determine whether it's worth the expense.

The Ryzen 9 7900X is amazing for high-end builds

Pre-delivery

The Ryzen 9 7900X processor (Image via AMD)

The Ryzen 9 7900X is based on the latest AMD Zen 4 architecture. It brings massive improvements to single-core performance and power efficiency. Starting this generation, all processors pack a dual-core RDNA 2-powered integrated graphics processor for basic display output purposes. The chips also have received massive improvements to the operating clock speeds.

The detailed specs of the 7900X and its last-gen counterpart, the 5900X, are listed below:

	AMD Ryzen 9 7900X	AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
Architecture	Zen 4 (TSMC 5nm FinFET)	Zen 3 (TSMC 7nm FinFET)
CPU core count	12	12
Thread count	24	24
Integrated graphics	Dual-core RDNA 2 GPU	N/A
Base clock	4.7 GHz	3.7 GHz
Boost clock	5.6 GHz	4.8 GHz
L2 cache	12 MB	6 MB
L3 cache	64 MB	64 MB
CPU socket	AM5	AM4
Overclocking support	Yes	Yes
TDP	170 W	105 W

AMD has also boosted the overall power draw of all chips with its Ryzen 7000 lineup. The high-end chips, like the Ryzen 9 7900X and the 7950X, can draw up to 220W, the total power draw rating of the AM5 socket.

In addition, the company has also bumped up the L2 cache size from 6 MB in the last-gen 5900X to 12 MB on the latest chip. This will largely help gaming performance on the newer processor.

Unboxing

The packaging of the 7900X (Image via Sportskeeda)

The Ryzen 9 7900X follows a similar packaging format as the Ryzen 9 7950X we reviewed previously. The box contains the processor in a clamshell and some paperwork.

Box contents of the Ryzen 9 7900X (Image via Sportskeeda)

Despite the box's larger size, it doesn't pack anything extra. The space is filled up by a big sponge block.

AM5 socket and DDR5 support

The new LGA 1718-based AM5 socket (Image vis Sportskeeda)

Starting this generation, AMD has introduced a new socket for its processors. The latest AM5 socket is a paradigm shift in how Team Red processors work. It is based on an LGA (Land Grid Array) layout like Intel. This moves the connection pins from the CPU to the motherboard, thereby massively reducing installation-related issues. We consider this a pro-consumer move.

In addition, the total power delivery has been increased from 142 W on the older AM4 socket to 220 W. Thus, processors can now deliver way better performance thanks to higher power delivery.

Test bench

The following system was used for reviewing the 7900X:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7900X
Motherboard: ASUS ROG X670E-E Gaming WiFi
RAM: Kingston Fury Beast RGB 2x 16 GB DDR5-6000
Cooler: DeepCool LT720 360mm high-performance liquid cooler
Graphics card: Zotac RTX 4070 Twin Edge OC Spider-Man edition
SSD: Gigabyte Aorus NVMe 1 TB PCIe Gen 4
PSU: Corsair RM1000e 1000W fully modular
Case: Open-air test bench

The ASUS ROG Strix X670E-E Gaming Wifi motherboard (Image via Sportskeeda)

We paired the chip with the ASUS ROG Strix X670E-E Gaming Wifi motherboard, which Team Asus was kind enough to send over for testing high-end AMD Ryzen 7000 series processors. The board is among the most extreme AM5 offerings in the market, and it didn't disappoint us.

Synthetic benchmarks

The Zen 4 processors bring massive improvements to overall performance and efficiency at the table. Being a costly 12-core offering, the 7900X is expected to impress gamers with its performance. Let's pitch the processor against other Zen 4 offerings and some last-gen chips to find out what it brings to the table.

The single-core performance test determines what each core of a processor is capable of. Since most modern chips pack four or more cores, this is an interesting benchmark. Moreover, gaming performance mostly depends on a chip's single-core performance, as most modern video games aren't designed to utilize the high core counts of new processors.

In our testing, the Ryzen 9 7900X demonstrated strong gains over the last gen. The chip is slightly faster than the Ryzen 5 7600X, a six-core chip, and marginally slower than the higher-end Ryzen 9 7950X.

In the multi-core performance test, however, the story is slightly different. Processors with high core counts, like the Ryzen 9 7900X and the 7950X, often take a massive lead. We didn't log a difference.

Coupled with the improved single-core performance, the gains with the high-core count of Ryzen 7000 chips are tremendous. The 7900X managed a score of almost 30,000 points in the Cinebench R23 benchmark.

Productivity benchmarks

The Ryzen 9 7900X is designed with professionals and content creators in mind. Thus, we expect a solid performance in productivity-focused benchmarks like Blender and V-Ray,

In the Blender Junkshop, Monster, and Classroom tests, the new 7900X processor notched over 430 points. This puts it mid-way between the budget-oriented Ryzen 5 7600X and the Ryzen 9 7950X.

A similar trend continues in the V-Ray benchmark, which is a test of how good a processor is at rendering workloads. The 7900X posted a score of almost twice that of the Ryzen 5 7600X. The chip, again, sits midway between the six-core 7600X and the 7950X.

In file compression, however, the 7900X's high core count comes in handy. We get a massive score in the 7-zip benchmark. This makes it almost twice as powerful as the 7600X but about 21.6% slower than the 7950X. This difference is purely created by the core count difference.

Gaming benchmarks

Processors don't impact gaming performance as much as graphics cards do. But spending more on a chip will help gamers squeeze slightly more from their graphics processor.

The biggest gains lie in the 0.1% and 1% low numbers. A more expensive processor will deliver a smoother gameplay experience rather than boosting the average FPS count by any perceivable percentage.

The gains still depend on the game. The more GPU-bound a title is, the lesser the gain will be with a more powerful CPU. This is evident from how the gains in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive are 237%, while that in Cyberpunk 2077 and F1 22 are less than 10%.

A similar trend continues across gains in the 1% low framerate numbers. The Ryzen 9 7900X is faster than the budget six-core offering. But the percentage varies depending on the scenario and whether it is GPU-bound.

The gains are thinner in higher resolutions as the graphics card turns out to be a bigger limiting factor.

Average frame counts are roughly the same as we defined in theory earlier. Some games report ~10% gains, but they will hardly create a noticeable difference.

Thermal efficiency

95°C is the new normal for Ryzen 7000 CPUs. These chips keep boosting until they run out of thermal headroom, according to AMD. The temperature information we logged is consistent with this claim.

The 7900X hit an upper maximum of 95.3°C while stressed with the AIDA 64 extreme system stability test. The chip was cooled by a high-end 360mm DeepCool LT720 radiator.

In gaming, however, the story is different. Temperatures generally stay around the 55-65°C mark. We recorded a maximum of 70.5°C while running Cyberpunk 2077 with path tracing turned on at 1080p on an RTX 4070. This scenario is pretty CPU-bound.

Power efficiency

The Ryzen 9 7900X is rated for 170W, which is pretty high for a processor. In practice, the chip went on to draw way more than its rated power draw.

When stressed with the AIDA 64 system stability test, we logged a maximum of 198.76W, and the chip stabilized at about 190W for most of the test. The detailed power draw characteristic is as follows:

While gaming, however, the power consumption characteristics are different. The chip drew a maximum of 119.86 and maintained about 110W of power draw throughout the benchmark.

Clock speeds

The Ryzen 9 7900X is rated for a maximum turbo speed of 5.6 GHz. However, Zen 4 chips have a twist to this number — only a single core will hit this advertised figure for small durations.

Under full load, the 7900X's cores averaged around 5,050 MHz, with occasional boosts to 5,100 MHz. We recorded very rare boosts past 5,400 MHz, with only one core hitting a maximum of 5,675 MHz.

The characteristics of the average clock speeds of the 7900X, when stressed with the AIDA 64 Extreme system stability test, are as follows:

While gaming, the clock speed graphs vary wildly depending on the percentage usage. In the Cyberpunk 2077 benchmark with path tracing turned on at 1080p, the 7900X barely exceeded the 1,600 MHz mark since the scenario is largely GPU-bound.

Integrated graphics performance

Every Ryzen 7000 CPU packs a dual-core RDNA 2-based integrated graphics processor starting this generation. This is a decent step up in terms of overall usability. However, unlike Intel, AMD CPUs don't have an iGPU-less version that could have helped gamers save a few bucks.

The integrated graphics processor isn't built for gaming, as AMD has remarked. Instead, it is for basic display output purposes. However, for the sake of science, we gave it a shot.

We set Fortnite to Performance mode and turned down all settings to the absolute lowest for the first test. The Ryzen 9 7900X's integrated graphics processor isn't any more powerful than that under the hood of the cheaper 7600X or the higher-end 7950X. We logged almost the same performance across all three processors.

A similar trend continues in CS: GO. However, the 7900X managed much better 1 and 0.1% low numbers than the other Zen 4 processors on this list. We aren't sure what precipitated these results.

Gaming on the Ryzen 7000 iGPU is possible. But we don't recommend it. Games were rather choppy, which can be a major disadvantage in competitive titles.

Overclocking experience

We also tried overclocking the Ryzen 9 7900X. However, our experience was rather disappointing.

We could only push the chip to 5,550 MHz on all cores at 1.41 V without any major issues. The chip passed the Cinebench R23 system stability test with this number applied. However, this is 50 MHz slower than the advertised 5.6 GHz single-core boost speed. This is unlike the last-gen Ryzen 5000 chips where they would boost past their turbo clock speeds. This is one of the major differences in the Zen 4 architecture. With any higher clocks applied, the system didn't boot at all.

Thus, unless you have access to sub-zero cooling (cascade or LN2), we don't recommend overclocking a Ryzen 7000 chip. Manually tweaking the PBO settings should push the processors to their maximum capability, provided they are naturally designed to boost up to numbers we previously strived to hit with overclocking.

Value

The Ryzen 9 7900X is selling for $432 on Newegg these days. This makes it about $120 cheaper than the 7950X and $139 cheaper than the Intel Core i9 13900K. It is slower than both of these chips. However, for about $400, it is a strong alternative for those who don't want to spend over $500 on a processor.

In gaming, the gains are pretty small. We don't recommend the Ryzen 9 7900X to anyone who is building a gaming rig solely for playing video games. The cheaper Zen 4-based Ryzen 9 shines in productivity workloads like 3D rendering, modeling, content creation, and more. Professionals can consider this chip instead of the costlier flagship offerings.