Ryzen 9 5900X vs Ryzen 7 5800X3D: Which is the best gaming CPU in 2024?

Modified Jun 15, 2024 23:50 GMT

Picture of Ryzen 5000X3D series CPU — Ryzen 5000X3D series CPU (Image via AMD)

The Ryzen 9 5900X and Ryzen 7 5800X3D are two of the most popular CPUs from AMD's 5000 series that differ wildly when it comes to specs, performance, and pricing. The former has a higher core count and is designed to deliver the best performance in productivity tasks, while the latter is designed specifically for gaming.

You would naturally assume that the Ryzen 9 CPU would be better than the Ryzen 7 one, but that's not how it works in gaming. This article explores the differences in performance between the two processors to declare the best gaming CPU.

Note: Some aspects of this article are subjective and solely reflect the writer's opinions.

Ryzen 9 5900X vs Ryzen 7 5800X3D

Both Ryzen 9 and Ryzen 7 CPUs are based on the Zen 3 architecture, but they are drastically different in terms of the performance they deliver. Let's check the specs of the two processors to better gauge what kind of performance we can expect from either chipset.

Specs comparison

Here's the full specs comparison of the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and Ryzen 7 5800X3D:

Specifications	Ryzen 9 5900X	Ryzen 9 5800X3D
Architecture	Zen 3	Zen 3
Cores	12	8
Threads	24	16
Max clock speed	4.8 GHz	4.5 GHz
L3 cache	64MB	96MB (32MB L3 + 64MB V-cache)
RAM support	DDR4-3200	DDR4-3200
Thermal design power (TDP)	105W Typical \| 142W Max	105W Typical \| 142W Max
Manufacturing node	7nm	7nm
Socket	AM4	AM4
Price	$249	$309

Crucial differences between the two CPUs involve their core counts, clock speeds, and L3 cache sizes. The Ryzen 9 has four more cores and higher clock speeds, while the Ryzen 7 has a higher L3 cache. It also offers the 3D V-cache, which is specifically developed to boost the gaming performance of this chip.

Games like both higher clock speeds and cache. One processor has a higher clock speed, while the other has more cache, which makes this CPU comparison quite interesting.

Synthetic productivity benchmark

Ryzen 5000 series CPU box (Image via AMD)

While the specs gave us a general idea of what the two processors are all about, it's time we check how their performance differs. Here's how AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and Ryzen 7 5800X3D compare in popular benchmark and productivity tests like Cinebench, Geekbench, and Blender:

Benchmarks	Ryzen 9 5900X	Ryzen 7 5800X3D
Cinebench 2024 (Single-Core)	98	95
Cinebench 2024 (Multi-Core)	1189	835
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)	2199	2104
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)	12420	11646
Cinebench R20 (Single-Core)	637	585
Cinebench R20 (Multi-Core)	8491	5799
Blender 3.1	308	246

On average, the Ryzen 9 5900X scores 5.3% higher in single-core tests and does better in multi-core tests than the Ryzen 7 5800X3D by 20.8%. Even under Blender's rendering workloads, the former CPU scores 25.2% higher than the latter.

This makes it clear that the Ryzen 9 processor is significantly faster than the Ryzen 7 when it comes to productivity work, but will this be true for gaming as well?

Gaming performance difference

Ryzen 5000X3D series CPU box (Image via AMD)

The Ryzen 9 5900X does better when it comes to productivity tasks by a large margin, but applications in this category don't take advantage of the Ryzen 7 chip's 3D V-cache. It's time we compared how the two CPUs perform in gaming. The FPS data shown below was taken from the Hardware for Gamers channel on YouTube.

Note: The test was run at 1080p resolution with the games running at their highest settings on the RTX 3090 GPU.

Games	Ryzen 9 5900X (Average FPS)	Ryzen 7 5800X3D (Average FPS)
Far Cry 6	120 FPS	134 FPS
Forza Horizon 5	118 FPS	116 FPS
New World	185 FPS	219 FPS
Fortnite	167 FPS	174 FPS
GTA 5	129 FPS	165 FPS
Hitman 3	209 FPS	215 FPS

In games, we see the complete opposite of what happened with the productivity benchmarks. On average, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D scored 10% higher than the Ryzen 9 5900X. However, in Forza Horizon 5, the latter card yields higher FPS, which indicates this game likes its higher clock speed.

Price

The Ryzen 9 5900X is currently selling for $249. On the other hand, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D costs $309, which is 24% more than its competitor's price.

Verdict

The Ryzen 7 5800X3D is the best gaming CPU. It is 10% better than the Ryzen 9 5900X in popular games but costs 24% more. When it comes to productivity benchmarks, the Ryzen 7 processor is slower than its competitor. If you strictly care about gaming, go for the Ryzen 7 5800X3D chip.

However, if you are going to play games and also undertake productivity workloads, I would recommend the Ryzen 9 5900X, which is also cheaper.

Check out our other CPU comparisons:

Edited by Soumyadyuti Ghosh