Conclusion
We thought there was no better time than now to re-examine the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X in comparison to the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X and AMD Ryzen 7 7700. It has now been more than two years since the Ryzen 7 9700X (and Zen 5) was launched, and it has certainly been enough time to squeeze all the performance out of this 8-core CPU, as we are possibly going to get. It’s also been four years since the Ryzen 7 7700X (and Zen 4) was released, and therefore we have certainly got all the performance we are going to get out of these CPUs. There have been BIOS updates, Windows Updates, driver updates, AMD Chipset updates, and game updates since then. Therefore, in today’s CPU review, we have re-tested with fresh data in newer games, AMD’s 8-core Zen 4 and Zen 5 CPU lineup (non-X3D). We have re-examined whether the “Zen 5%” meme remains true in 2026.
The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X and Zen 4 in general were launched, debuting the AMD AM5 platform in late 2022. The introduction of the new AMD AM5 platform was huge, with a new socket, chipset, and move to DDR5 memory. The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X was AMD’s flagship 8-core CPU, priced at $399 at launch, with 8-cores/16-threads based on the Zen 4 architecture. It ran at up to a 5.4GHz turbo clock, with a 105W TDP and 142W PPT. The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 was launched shortly after, in January 2023, with an MSRP of $329. It was also based on the Zen 4 architecture and the same 8-core/16-thread configuration but with a lower turbo clock of 5.3GHz, a lower base clock, and a lower 65W TDP and 88W PPT.
Then, the brand-new next-generation Zen 5 architecture was launched in late 2024, with the Ryzen 7 9700X leading as the flagship 8-core/16-thread CPU. The Ryzen 7 9700X had an MSRP of $359, Zen 5 architecture, 8-core/16-thread, and a turbo clock at up to 5.5GHz. It had a 65W TDP and a PPT of 88W at launch. Later, AMD extended this with special motherboard BIOS support to 105W TDP and 142W PPT. Note that in our testing today, we ran the Ryzen 7 9700X at its DEFAULT BIOS configuration (same as each CPU tested here), which meant the original launched and intended 65W TDP/88W PPT configuration.
Performance Review
Let’s first talk about the synthetic benchmark results, and then we’ll dive into the game conclusion. It is clear that the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X has a very small performance improvement over the Ryzen 7 7700X specifically when all the cores are being utilized in multi-core workloads. We saw only 1%-2% performance difference over the Ryzen 7 7700X in 3DMark and Geekbench 7. Only in Cinebench 2026 did we experience a more acceptable 7% performance uplift. Compared to the Ryzen 7 7700, the Ryzen 7 9700X was around 12% faster in the same power wattage profile, which was good to see.
The one thing that stuck out to us is that it is actually the single-core/single-thread performance of the Ryzen 7 9700X that is vastly improved compared to the Ryzen 7 7700X. In 3DMark, the Ryzen 7 9700X was 15% faster than the Ryzen 7 7700X in single-thread testing; in Geekbench 7, it was 12% faster, and in Cinebench 2026 it was 18% faster. Therefore, yes, the Ryzen 7 9700X is an acceptable performance uplift over the Ryzen 7 7700X, BUT ONLY in Single-Core/Single-Thread workloads.
Now let’s get to the games; this is the primary intent of the review. The claim made when Ryzen 7 9700X was launched was that it was “Zen 5%”, that’s the meme. Well, unfortunately, that meme still seems to be true in 2026. Let’s look at it this way. We will take all the performance we accumulated in this review with the AVERAGE FPS and see what the AVERAGE uplift of the Ryzen 7 9700X was over the Ryzen 7 7700X in the AVERAGE FPS part of the graphs.
If we calculate all 12 games, then we find the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X was, on average, 4.1% faster than the Ryzen 7 7700X. OUCH. We didn’t even hit the 5% meme in this review. This is because, in most games, the percentages were below 5%. In fact, only three games had any significant difference at 7% in Doom: The Dark Ages, 11% in Hogwarts Legacy, and 6% in Stalker 2. Otherwise, the performance uplift for the average framerate was rather small.
However, while that was the average framerate above, we do need to look at the 1% Low performance, because the Ryzen 7 9700X had a somewhat better experience with the 1% Low improvement, depending on the game. There were some games like Dying Light: The Beast that had a significant 1% Low improvement at a 15% performance uplift. There was also an 8% performance uplift in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. However, even with some of those big uplifts, when we take an overall average of the 1% Lows across all 12 games, it is only overall a 4.8% performance uplift in the 1% Lows over the Ryzen 7 7700X.
This evaluation today also gave us the opportunity to look at how the Ryzen 7 7700X compares to the Ryzen 7 7700, and the Ryzen 7 9700X to the Ryzen 7 7700 as well. If we run the numbers, we find that, on average, the Ryzen 7 7700X is 2% faster than the Ryzen 7 7700. The Ryzen 7 7700X and Ryzen 7 7700 are very close in gaming performance, despite the large power difference between them. The Ryzen 7 7700X is generally faster, especially in 1% Lows, but not by much. When we do the averages, we find the Ryzen 7 9700X is 5% faster than the Ryzen 7 7700 on average. I think that pretty much says it all.
Final Points
It was interesting to review the Zen 4 architecture 4 years later, and the Zen 5 architecture 2 years later. It meant that we can now fully explore both generations of 8-core CPUs in the latest benchmarks and games with all the updates and drivers since then. We also got to test some new games that were not out yet when these CPUs were originally launched. This, therefore, has been a great refresher on performance across the Ryzen 7 7000 and Ryzen 7 9000 series 8-core CPU line in 2026. It’s a good check-up to see where performance has landed across the generations.
Our conclusion is that the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X’s performance in 2026 is still within that 5% range compared to the previous-generation Ryzen 7 7700X for gaming. There were some specific games that received a larger, more significant increase, so it is game-dependent. There were also some games that did receive noticeable 1% Low performance improvements with the Ryzen 7 9700X, but again this is very game-dependent. Generally, the Ryzen 7 9700X was faster, but the degree and amount that it was faster in gaming over Zen 4 doesn’t hold value. Still, if you are locked into 8-core CPU pricing, the Ryzen 7 9700X is the best option right now for the smoothest experience out of AMD’s standard Non-X3D CPUs.
There are two areas where the Ryzen 7 9700X does very well. The Ryzen 7 9700X has clearly improved in the Single-Core/Single-Thread performance over the Ryzen 7 7700X, according to our synthetic benchmarks. If you carry out these types of workloads, it can be beneficial. However, that did not extend to the Multi-Core/All-Core workloads, with the difference being pretty nonexistent. The other area that is of most benefit is the efficiency of performance and Wattage. The Ryzen 7 9700X is a more efficient CPU when all cores are being utilized. For less power than the Ryzen 7 7700X (a lot less), you get the same performance. From that perspective, the Ryzen 7 9700X is a choice for a build that needs the most performance you can get, with power being a prime consideration.
Why is 8-Core Zen 5 not much faster than 8-Core Zen 4 two years later, with all the BIOS/Driver/Windows updates? Part of that answer is simple: the updates also helped improve Zen 4 performance at the same time. With new BIOS and AGESA updates came better performance with the AMD Ryzen 7 7000 Zen 4 CPUs. With new Windows Updates and power profile updates, there was better performance with the AMD Ryzen 7 7000 Zen 4 CPUs. With newer and better AMD Chipset drivers and other driver updates, there was better performance with the AMD Ryzen 7 7000 Zen 4 CPUs. Since the architecture of Zen 5 just doesn’t have any real-world advantage over Zen 4 for gaming, the performance just scaled between both architectures equally as newer updates rolled out.
This has all been a very interesting exercise and re-testing of AMD 8-Core performance across the Zen 4 and Zen 5 lineup from AMD. We basically did an AMD 8-Core Zen 4 and Zen 5 showdown to see how things measure up in 2026. It’s much the same, unfortunately, with no major changes or new information. On the one hand, you’ll know that your 8-Core Zen 4 CPU lives on, and there really isn’t a new 8-Core alternative to upgrade to at the moment. On the other hand, it’s kind of sad that AMD’s newer Zen 5 architecture for 8-Core didn’t offer much as an upgrade, or a generation. “Zen 5%” Lives On…
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