AMD’s Ryzen 7000X3D V-Cache processors, which will aim to take the number one spot on the list of best CPUs for gaming, are almost among us. However, before the rumor mill grinds to a stop, new benchmarks of the Ryzen 9 7950X3D reportedly illustrate the flagship Zen 4’s supremacy over the Intel Core i9-13900K.
The gaming benchmarks (via chi11eddog (opens in new tab)) have the Ryzen 9 7950X3D pairing up with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 in five different titles. Additionally, the user seemingly tested the Ryzen 9 7950X3D’s gaming performance at a 1080p (1920×1080) resolution with maximum graphics settings. Granted that it’s a small sample size of games and being leaked benchmarks from an unidentified source, throw some salt over the results.
Overall, the Ryzen 9 7950X3D outperformed the Core i9-13900K by 11%. However, the margins were more pronounced in some games than others. For example, the Ryzen 9 7950X3D delivered up to 35% higher performance in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.
In other games, such as Far Cry 5 and Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Ryzen 9 7950X3D was only 12% and 11% faster than the Core i9-13900K, respectively. The Ryzen 9 7950X3D’s dominance in Metro Exodus dropped to 5%. The only victory for the Core i9-13900K was in Star Control, where the Raptor Lake barely edged out the Ryzen 9 7950X3D by a 2% margin.
Ryzen 9 7950X3D Gaming Benchmarks
| Processor | Assassin’s Creed Valhalla – Ultra | Far Cry 5 – Ultra | Shadow of the Tomb Raider – Highest | Metro Exodus – Extreme | Star Control – Great | Geometric Mean |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryzen 9 7950X3D | 149 | 240 | 249 | 88.32 | 168.7 | 167.7 |
| Core i9-13900K | 110 | 215 | 225 | 83.82 | 172.7 | 150.4 |
| Ryzen 9 7950X | 107 | 182 | 215 | 84.54 | 167.1 | 142.7 |
The Ryzen 9 7950X3D, on average, posted 18% better gaming performance than the Ryzen 9 7950X, one of the two highest-performance chips for gaming. Again, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla heavily favored the Ryzen 9 7950X3D, as evidenced by the 39% delta between it and the Ryzen 9 7950X. The Ryzen 9 7950X3D also excelled in Far Cry 5, outperforming its vanilla counterpart by 32%.
Regarding Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Metro Exodus, the Ryzen 9 7950X3D pumped out 16% and 4% higher frame rates, respectively. Furthermore, unlike the case with the Core i9-13900K, the margin between the Ryzen 9 7950X3D and Ryzen 9 7950X was almost non-existent.
The Ryzen 9 7950X3D launches on February 28 for $699, the original MSRP for the Ryzen 9 7950X. However, much has changed, and the Ryzen 9 7950X currently retails for as low as $576 (opens in new tab). If you trust the benchmarks, the Ryzen 9 7950X3D offers 18% higher gaming performance for 21% more money. Comparing the Ryzen 9 7950X3D to the Core i9-13900K suddenly doesn’t look like a good deal, though. The Core i9-13900K debuted at $599, but discounts have brought the Raptor Lake down to $570 (opens in new tab). Therefore, the Ryzen 9 7950X3D only provides gamers with 11% faster gaming performance at a 23% higher price tag.
However, this will come with some tradeoffs in creativity applications, which could impact the chips’ ranking on our CPU benchmarks hierarchy.
The review embargo for the Ryzen 7000X3D V-Cache processors allegedly lifts on February 27 (opens in new tab), one day before the chips hit the retail market. We’ll see what the Ryzen 9 7950X3D brings to the table soon enough, so put your final purchase decision on hold until the reviews come out.