AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D Gaming Performance CPU Review

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Power and Temperature and Frequency on 7950X3D

On this page we are going to investigate the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D power draw, temperature, and frequency, but while gaming. This is not a test fully loading all cores, the tests below only represent the CPUs while running a game. This is a gaming focus and gaming-oriented look at the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D’s power draw, temperature, and frequency while gaming, and that is it. We will have the synthetic full-load all-core testing, in another review. The results you see are therefore lower than would be when pegging all the cores at once.

Power

We perform a manual run-through in Cyberpunk 2077 at “Ultra” settings for real-world in-game data.  We use HWiNFO64 sensor data to record the results.  We report on the sensor data for “Package Power” in Wattage.

AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D Power Gaming Graph

While gaming, the new AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D actually uses the least amount of power, even lower than the Ryzen 7 5800X3D by 6%. The TDP of the Ryzen 9 7590X3D is 120W compared to the Ryzen 9 7950X at 170W. This pans out while gaming. The Ryzen 9 7950X3D uses 35% less power than the Ryzen 9 7950X, this is absolutely amazing. It is amazing to get a performance boost and save on much power draw at the same time. Now, this may mostly be due to cores being parked, or partitioned off while running games, but the result is still real. By contrast, the Intel Core i9-13900K demands a lot of power, a lot. It uses 100% more power than the Ryzen 9 7950X3D while gaming, which is pretty massive.

Temperature

We perform a manual run-through in Cyberpunk 2077 at “Ultra” settings for real-world in-game data.  We use HWiNFO64 sensor data to record the results.  We report on the sensor data for “Tcidle” in Celsius.

AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D Temperature Gaming Graph

The opposite of power is true with temperature, with temperature the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D runs the hottest at 77.8c while gaming. This is 9% hotter than the Ryzen 9 7950X and 11% hotter than the Intel Core i9-13900K. Interestingly, even though the 13900K demands the most power, it runs the coolest.

CPU Frequency

We perform a manual run-through in Cyberpunk 2077 at “Ultra” settings for real-world in-game data.  We use HWiNFO64 sensor data to record the results.  We report on the sensor data for frequency in MHz. The data below is while gaming.

What we are interested in looking at is how the frequency clocks while gaming and how this compares to the 7950X, are the clocks similar, or is the 7950X3D being held back while gaming?

The AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D seems to be hitting (on the cores that are loaded by the game) 5,175MHz-5,200MHz. When we compare this to the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X we see that the Ryzen 9 7950X is running at 5,300MHz-5,350MHz while gaming (the Minimum column because we reset the data while the game was running).

This means that the Ryzen 9 7950X3D was running at a lower clock speed while gaming compared to the Ryzen 9 7950X. The Ryzen 9 7950X3D had a greater margin between frequencies while gaming (more distance from the minimum and maximum), and the Ryzen 9 7950X had a tighter frequency margin. The Ryzen 9 7950X maintained about a 150MHz frequency advantage over the Ryzen 9 7950X3D while gaming.

We also hit a frequency of 5,450MHz while in Windows with the game running in the background on the Ryzen 9 7950X, while the Ryzen 9 7950X3D was at a lower 5,200MHz a difference of 250MHz. Any way you slice it, the new AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D is running lower clock frequencies while gaming, compared to the Ryzen 9 7950X.

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REVIEW OVERVIEW

Performance
9
Efficiency (Perf per Watt)
10
Features
10
Value
7

SUMMARY

We review the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D Zen 4 3D V-Cache Gaming Processor and put it through its paces, focusing on the gameplay experience at 4K, 1440p, and 1080p with and without Ray Tracing. In this gaming-focused review, we find out the overall big picture of the Ryzen 9 7950X3D when it comes to gaming performance. The CPU had similar, or better performance compared to the Ryzen 9 7950X in gaming, and in specific cases, a lot more performance. It had much better performance per Watt efficiency and operated at lower power while gaming while being loaded with features. Overall the value for actual gaming performance uplift, due to the higher price, is offset and demands a premium for premium features that are forward looking.
Brent Justicehttps://www.thefpsreview.com
Former managing editor of GPUs at HardOCP for 18 years, Brent Justice has been reviewing computer components since the late 90s, educated in the art and method of the computer hardware review, he brings experience, knowledge, and hands-on testing with a gamer-oriented and hardware enthusiast perspective. You can follow him on Twitter - @Brent_Justice You can sub to his YouTube channel - Justice Gaming https://www.youtube.com/c/JusticeGamingChannel You can check out his computer builds on KIT - @BrentJustice https://kit.co/BrentJustice

Recent News

We review the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D Zen 4 3D V-Cache Gaming Processor and put it through its paces, focusing on the gameplay experience at 4K, 1440p, and 1080p with and without Ray Tracing. In this gaming-focused review, we find out the overall big picture of the Ryzen 9 7950X3D when it comes to gaming performance. The CPU had similar, or better performance compared to the Ryzen 9 7950X in gaming, and in specific cases, a lot more performance. It had much better performance per Watt efficiency and operated at lower power while gaming while being loaded with features. Overall the value for actual gaming performance uplift, due to the higher price, is offset and demands a premium for premium features that are forward looking.AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D Gaming Performance CPU Review