Is the Ryzen 9 7950X3D good for gaming?

Is the Ryzen 9 7950X3D good for gaming? Let's find out.

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High-end gaming is about to reach new heights with the highly anticipated February release of AMD’s next flagship, the Ryzen 9 7950X3D. 

Now Read: Is the Ryzen 9 7950X3D good?

The CPU will be fashioned with AMD’s 3D V-cache technology, making it a considerable upgrade over the current 7950X. 

We now have the processor’s official specs and some AMD-released benchmarks, allowing us to better judge its performance. 

Let’s discuss how well the Ryzen 9 7950X3D performs in gaming.

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Ryzen 9 7950X3D Specifications

The processors base specifications are as follows:

• Core count: 16
• Thread count: 32
• Base clock: 4.2GHz
• Boost clock: 5.7GHz
• L2 cache: 16MB – 1MB per core
• L3 cache: 128MB
• TDP: 120 watts
• iGPU: Radeon Graphics
• Socket: AM5

The processor’s L3 cache is currently the highest L3 cache for a consumer-grade CPU, at an incredible 128MBs. AMD’s 3D V-cache has been a complete game changer for them.

It’s arguably the biggest innovation in CPU manufacturing in the past decade. And it will now allow the Ryzen 9 7950X3D to go toe-to-toe versus Intel’s i9-13900KS, despite having a 300MHz lower boost clock. 

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How good will the Ryzen 9 7950X3D be for gaming?

Based on what AMD showed us at CES 2023, the Ryzen 9 7950X3D has a good shot at dethroning the Intel i9-13900KS and claiming the title of the best gaming processor in 2024 for itself. 

Here’s what makes the processor so good. 

Excellent overall specs

The Ryzen 9 7950X3D has industry-leading base specs. 

It offers your system 32 high-performance threads, which is more than any game will be able to utilize, at least for the next few years. This makes for some solid future-proofing.

The CPU’s base clock and boost clock are no less impressive, either.

3D V-cache technology

The 128MBs of shared L3 cache sported by the Ryzen 9 7950X3D will give it a more competitive edge in gaming. 

Gaming utilizes extra V-cache very well, resulting in higher and more consistent framerates. 

The Ryzen 7 5800X3D, for example, offers 15% higher framerates than the 5800X. This is in spite of the fact that the 5800X has a 200MHz higher boost clock.

We could see something similar happen here with the Ryzen 9 7950X3D and Intel’s i9-13900KS, which has a 300MHZ higher clock but only one-fourth of the Ryzen’s L3 cache. 

How does 3D V-cache work to improve performance?

3D V-cache is a technology developed by AMD that adds a 64MB on-package cache memory layer on top of the CPU die, which is placed on top of the existing 2D layers of cache memory. This 3D layer of cache memory is a newer technology developed by AMD for its X3D CPUs, which stacks the DRAM cells vertically, reducing the distance between the CPU and memory, and improving the data transfer rates.

This provides the CPU with faster access to data, reducing memory latency, and improving overall performance. The 3D V-cache technology can provide up to a 40% performance improvement in certain workloads, according to AMD.

In shorter terms, the CPU doesn’t have to wait to access slow, far-away system memory for the information it needs, it can store more of what it needs in a fast, closely constructed 3D V-cache.

Great single-thread performance

The Ryzen 9 7950X3D’s 5.7GHz boost clock comes as a surprise to many of us. 3D V-cache needs a minimum voltage to run with stability, producing a fair bit of heat. 

We expected AMD to lower the processor’s max boost clock to make it run cooler, compensating for the increased heat generation. 

AMD has managed to overcome this problem by using a smart double-CCD chip, offering us the best of both worlds. 

Single-thread performance greatly impacts FPS, so we’re glad AMD has that base covered with a respectable 5.7GHz boost clock. 

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AMD-released benchmarks

At CES 2023, AMD showed off a comparison benchmark between the upcoming 7950X3D and the core i9-13900K. 

The Ryzen 9 7950X3D reportedly offers:

• A 9% higher framerate in Watchdogs: Legion.
• An 11% higher framerate in DOTA 2. 
• A 13% higher framerate in Rainbow Six Siege. 
• A 24% higher framerate in Horizon Zero Dawn. 

These are some impressive statistics. But that’s a sample size of 4 – it’s best to wait and see how the CPU performs in more games before drawing a conclusion. 

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Final thoughts

Overall, the Ryzen 9 7950X3D seems like it’ll perform very well in gaming and could allow AMD to snatch the lead from Intel once again.

As long as the processor’s double-CCD architecture doesn’t present unexpected problems, it will likely be among the best options for gamers who don’t mind paying the extra to get the best possible gaming experience.