Ryzen 7 9800X3D, Really Faster For Real-World 4K Gaming?

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These videos all explain why CPU limited CPU benchmarking is the only way:

Video Index
00:00 - Welcome to Hardware Unboxed
00:35 - The topic in question, 4K Benchmarks
02:39 - What sort of gamer are you?
05:36 - “We want real world results”
10:22 - What to do if you actually need to upgrade?
14:04 - Star Wars Jedi Survivor
16:07 - The Last of Us Part 1
17:58 - Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
18:48 - Hogwarts Legacy
20:12 - Assetto Corsa Competizione
20:59 - Remnant II
21:32 - Homeworld 3
22:18 - A Plague Tale: Requiem
22:53 - Counter-Strike 2
25:04 - Starfield
25:27 - Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
26:16 - Hitman 3
26:41 - Watch Dogs: Legion
27:07 - Star Wars Outlaws
27:20 - 14 Game Average [1080p + 4K]
29:05 - CPU Longevity Test [3950X, 5800X, 5800X3D]
29:14 - Watch Dogs Legion [2022]
30:14 - Shadow of the Tomb Raider [2022]
30:44 - Horizon Zero Dawn [2022]
31:04 - 3 Game Average [2022 Titles]
32:04 - Starfield [2023]
32:43 - Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine 2 [2024]
33:04 - Star Wars Jedi Survivor [2024]
33:34 - 3 Game Average [2024 Titles]
34:26 - Final Thoughts

Ryzen 7 9800X3D, Really Faster For Real-World 4K Gaming?

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Outro music by David Vonk/DaJaVo

[Hardwareunboxed]

From Gamers Nexus:

We currently run tests at 1080p and 1440p for CPU gaming benchmarks, though we mostly rely on 1080p results for comparison. Although we didn't bother for the 9800X3D review, we typically publish 1-3 1440p charts in games that are still mostly CPU-bound for perspective.

There are a lot of ways to approach reviews. We view bottleneck testing as a separate content piece or follow-up, as it also starts getting into territory of functionally producing a GPU benchmark.

What matters is a consistent philosophy: Our primary philosophy is to isolate components as much as possible, then as standalone or separate feature pieces, we run 'combined' tests that mix variables in ways we wouldn't for a standardized reviews. For us, reviews are standardized, meaning all parts (more or less) follow the same test practices. Introducing more judgment calls introduces more room for inconsistency in human decision making, so we try to avoid these wherever possible to keep comparisons fair. Choosing those practices is based upon ensuring we can show the biggest differences in components with reasonably likely workloads.

A few things to remember with benchmarks that are borderline GPU-bound:

- You can no longer fully isolate how much of the performance behavior is due to the CPU, which can obscure or completely hide issues. These issues include: poor frametime pacing, inconsistent frametime delivery, in-game simulation time error due to a low-end CPU dropping animation consistency despite good frame pacing, and overall quality of the experience. This is not only because it becomes more difficult to isolate if issues such as micro stutters are caused by the CPU or GPU, but also because the limitation may completely sidestep major issues with a CPU. One example would be Total War: Warhammer 3, which has a known and specific issue with scheduling on high thread count Intel CPUs in particular. This issue can be hidden or minimized by a heavy GPU bind, and so 4K / Ultra testing would potentially mean we miss a major problem that would directly impact user experience.

- Drawing upon this: We don't test for the experience in only that game, but we use it as a representative of potentially dozens of games that could have that behavior. In the same example, we want that indicator of performance for these reasons: (1) If a user actually does just play in a CPU bind for that game, they need to know that even a high-end parts can perform poorly if CPU-bound; (2) if, in the future, a new GPU launches that shifts the bind back to the CPU, which is likely, we need to be aware of that in the original review so that consumers can plan for their build 2-3 years in the future and not feel burned by a purchase; (3) if the game may represent behavior in other games, it is important to surface a behavior to begin the conversation and search for more or deeper problems. It's not possible to test every single game -- although HUB certainly tries -- and so using fully CPU-bound results as an analog to a wider gaming subset means we know what to investigate, whereas a GPU bind may totally hide that (or may surface GPU issues, which are erroneously attributed to the CPU).

One thing to also remember with modern 1080p testing is that it also represents some situations for DLSS, FSR, or XeSS usage at "4K" (upscaled).

A great example of all of this is to look at common parts from 4-5 years ago, then see how they have diverged with time. If we had been GPU-bound, we'd have never known what that divergence might be.

Finally: One of the major challenges with GPU-bound benchmarks in a CPU review is that the more variable ceiling caused by intermittent GPU 'overload' means CPU results will rarely stack-up in the hierarchy most people expect. This requires additional explanation to ensure responsible use of the data, as it wouldn't be odd to have a "better" CPU (by hierarchy) below a "worse" CPU if both are externally bound.

We still think that high resolution testing is useful for separate deep dives or in GPU bottleneck or GPU review content.

[FatetalityXI]

Surely 5090 is going to show how much more headroom 9800X3D has over other cpu's even in 4k.

[trackgg]

1. This shows what kind of beast 5800x3d was and still it.
2. It proves your point, obviously.
3. It may be anecdotal, but I moved from 3600x to 5800x3d on 3080, while in CP77 my FPS was not significantly affected at 1440pUW, the 1%low spiked by roughly 50%, greatly increasing stability and getting rid of any stutters. That's also a thing to consider, outside of raw FPS performance.

[krtman]

To be fair, I totally understand where you are coming from, but as an avid 4k gamer (at least when im gaming on my personal rig) understanding what kind of performance uplift id get from upgrading from my 7800x3d to the 9800x3d in 4k even if its only a few fps is helpful

[SgtRock]

I watched this video in 480p so that I get the most Steve's per Second.

[orangejuche]

I'm glad that Steve is getting some rest for his poor feet.

[HoodHussler]

Where r my 360p and 720p benchmarks at?

[KimBoKastekniv]

I fully agree that CPU testing should be done at 1080p, but I can't help but wonder why 4K balanced was chosen to prove the point. The input resolution is closer to 1080p than it is to 4K, why not quality mode?

[RafitoOoO]

He's not standing so this might be good.

[RadialSeeker]

@Hardware Unboxed Sim games and city builders seem to benefit the most. Missing games like anno 1800 and MSFS are vital to determine just how far a CPU can push. On avg a 9800x3d is about 50-60% faster than a 5800x3d without GPU restrictions which is completely insane.

[SchmakerSchmoo]

One minor anecdote from the "vocal minority" that I think may have been missed is how low resolution benchmarks are used to justify "over buying" the CPU on a mid range build. Someone will be doing a build for ~$800 and you'll see tons of comments about "7800X3D is 50% faster - you must get it!" but these comments ignore the budget of the build and the fact that opting for such a CPU means significantly downgrading the GPU.

A 7800X3D + 4060 is going to be a lot worse then a 7600X + 4070S in most titles.

It is misinterpreting the graphs on both sides but only one side seemed to have gotten called out here.

[keithduthie]

Thanks Steve. I have two hobbies - bitching _and_ moaning.

[aiziril]

Saying that it's not about raw performance, but more about having headroom when and where you need it (which depends on the game played) is a really smart way to explain this.

[mihaighita]

I think one of the best use cases for the 9800 x3d should be MS Flight Sim with all the streaming/decompressing going on. Maybe you could add a comparison for that one too.

[BigPeter]

1080p IS and SHOULD be the standard for CPU testing. HOWEVER, I really enjoy the 4K benchmarks as well. You said it yourself, none of the mainline tech reviewers are showing 4K benchmarks. This forces the part of your audience who want 4K CPU benchmarks to go to less than reliable sources. Wouldn't it benefit everyone involved to offer it on the slide during your reviews?

[zodwraith]

This discussion will never end because both sides have a point.

2:40. This is a good point that I think gets missed a lot. When you focus on competitive gaming that's tuned to be lighter on GPUs then CPU performance at 1080p is going to be FAR more important. But if you _don't_ play just competitive games what people are asking for is knowing _where_ those diminishing CPU returns are BEFORE we buy new hardware. Of course I can test my own system to see where a bottleneck occurs but how am I supposed to magically know that if I _DON'T_ own the hardware yet?

Anyone that's asking for 1440 and 4k and thinks 1080 is useless is a f'ing idiot so don't lump all of us in with them. What the reasonable ones of us that want more than just 1080p are asking for is _exactly_ what GN does in your pinned message, just throw in ONE "don't overspend on your CPU" bench to let people see _where_ a lot of games slam into a really low GPU bottleneck. Even better if you throw in a 4070 or 6750xt because if you hit that bottleneck with a _4090_ at 1440p? That's a minefield for anyone with a midrange GPU, and you _still_ only used 4090 testing which completely ruins your claim this is "real world" testing when the vast majority of people DON'T own a 4090. The ones that do already have a 9800X3D on order so they aren't watching this anyways.

We aren't stupid. We KNOW 1080p is the best option for CPU testing and expect it to be prevalent in CPU reviews. The issue is it's ONLY good for CPU vs CPU testing and some of us WANT to know where those GPU bottlenecks kick in. I think Daniel Owen touched on this best. Reviewers are laser focused on the testing of CPUs only, but some of the viewers are looking for real world buying advice when they're watching reviews.

We're not challenging the scientific method, we're asking for a convenience instead of having to collect the data of GPUs ranked with only $500 CPUs at max settings, CPUs ranked with only $2000 GPUs at minimal settings, then trying to guess where a mid range GPU and mid range CPU will perform with mid range settings. There's almost NO reviewers out there that give you this content, except of course Daniel Owen that will sit for an hour and bounce through all kinds of settings and different CPUs and GPUs. But that's only helpful if he features the game you're interested in.

[evanractivand]

Got the 9800X3D and no regrets so far. I play on 4K usually with DLSS quality or balanced to boost frames on my 4080, and it has significantly improved things. MMO's and games like Baldur's Gate 3 now don't have any CPU bottlenecks, it's made a pretty large difference to my average framerates and 1% lows in a number of CPU heavy games I play. I came from a 12700K that I thought I wouldn't get much benefit upgrading from, but boy was I wrong.

At the end of the day you need to look at the games you play and figure out how much money you want to throw at your PC to get a level of performance you're happy with.

[frankguy]

As a 5800X owner I appreciate the comparison at the end a lot, I got the CPU right before the 5800X3D arrived and couldn't justify the purchase, been waiting for my time to switch off AM4 and the 9800X3D is the answer. Should pair fine with my 3080 until I upgrade and then see even more performance. AMD really doubling down on giving gamers what we want and I appreciate it.

[klevzor]

Been waiting for a 4k test of this processor! Thanks. Considering moving on from my 5900x now

[kentaronagame]

Ever since the 9800X3D dropped Steve has been smiling a lot in his thumbnails 😂