AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D Game Performance Continued
We are going to continue to explore the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D CPU in gaming performance, focused on game performance only, at 1080p with the highest in-game graphics settings. We will be using an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition video card with each CPU, and our comparison CPUs are the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X, AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D, AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D, and Intel Core Ultra 9 285K. A manual run-through is being used in each game being tested below for real-world gaming performance data, and the games are listed in alphabetical order. All data in this review has been benchmarked fresh on each CPU for this review with updated drivers, BIOS, and game versions.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
In Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, we are running at 1080p in the Supreme graphics preset quality, note that Path Tracing is not enabled. We are using a manual run-through for testing. This game has a very linear scaling in terms of CPU performance, which is interesting to see. Also interesting is perhaps some sort of core parking or X3D optimization issue occurring with the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D, which is sitting at the bottom of the charts, which is not typical in other games. We saw perhaps an issue in Horizon Forbidden West as well, on the previous page, and we are seeing this again in this game.
Once again the single-CCD X3D cache Zen 5 Ryzen 7 9800X3D takes the lead in performance, but this time it takes a huge, commanding lead, which again is not typical compared to the previous games we looked at. Here, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D is 19% faster than the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D, that’s the biggest difference we’ve seen between those CPUs yet. We are really starting to think the dual-CCD X3D CPUs are not quite behaving as they should.
The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D CPU is, though, 19% faster than the previous generation Ryzen 9 7950X3D, so that’s pretty big, but we don’t think the Ryzen 9 7950X3D is behaving right in the first place here. The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D CPU is 14% faster than the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X, so it does appear the X3D is doing something, perhaps. The Intel Core Ultra 9 285K does pretty well in this game; the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D is 6% faster.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
In Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, we are running at 1080p in the Ultra quality preset, and we are using a manual run-through. We see another very linear scaling in this game; the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is slightly faster than the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D by 4%. The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D is only 2% faster than the previous generation Ryzen 9 7950X3D, however, so that is not a big difference in this particular game. However, be aware that our run-through is in an area of the game that is more graphically demanding area and geared for that than a CPU benchmark for this run. There are other areas in the game that can be more CPU-dependent. The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D is 5% faster than the Ryzen 9 9950X and 10% faster than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K. Other areas in the game need to be explored to find a more CPU-dependent run-through, so be aware of that information.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl
In Stalker 2, we are running this game at 1080p and the graphics quality preset of Epic. We also are using a manual run-through in a very CPU-dependent area of a village, where it is greatly affected by CPU performance. In this game, the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D takes a slight lead over the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D by 3%. The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D is 18% faster than the previous generation Ryzen 9 7950X3D, showing a very big generational uplift. The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D is 21% faster than the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X, proving the huge performance gain from the X3D cache. Interestingly, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K doesn’t do too badly in this game, though the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D is still 12% faster than that CPU.
Starfield
In Starfield, we are running at 1080p and Ultra settings in a very CPU-dependent area of a big city, and we are using a manual run-through. This game also shows the advantage of the X3D cache. The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D still has a slight leg up on the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D, by 2%. The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D is 17% faster than the previous generation AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D, which is a very sizable generational uplift. The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D is also 28% faster than the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X, proving once again the benefit of that X3D cache. The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D is 20% faster than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K.
Star Wars Outlaws
In Star Wars Outlaws, we are running at 1080p and Ultra settings with a manual run-through in a populated city area, which is CPU-dependent. For the first time, the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D actually outperformed the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D this time, which was unique in our testing, usually they match or the 9800X3D takes the lead, but here, the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D is 3% faster than the Ryzen 7 9800X3D. The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D is 8% faster than the Ryzen 9 7950X3D for a generational uplift. The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D is 34% faster than the Ryzen 9 9950X, which is a pretty big improvement for that X3D cache. The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D is also 27% faster than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K.
The Last of Us Part I
In The Last of Us Part I, we are running at 1080p with the Ultra preset and using a manual run-through. Well, just like Star Wars Outlaws we actually see the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D beat the Ryzen 7 9800X3D slightly, by 1.2%. The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D is 13% faster than the Ryzen 9 7950X3D for a generational uplift and 12% faster than the Ryzen 9 9950X. The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D is 5% faster than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, which does remarkably well in this game now by comparison.