The best AMD processor for gaming is on the horizon or less. Through many leaked benchmarks, we have already learned that they may be disappointing, and today’s leak only confirms that. According to leaked AMD data, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D may offer a slight improvement in gaming – although it will still be better than what most of the Zen 5 lineup has been able to deliver.
VideoCardz managed to obtain what appears to be an official marketing description of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D. This marketing reveals things like the expected improvement in Instructions Per Cycle (IPC), gaming performance, and multi-threaded workloads. It seems like the real deal, but as is the case with any other leak, it is important to remember that we will only learn the full story once we test the CPU ourselves.
According to the leaked marketing, AMD estimates that the 9800X3D will be up to 8% faster in games. Although AMD refers to this as a “strong generational uplift”, many expected something better – something more akin to the leap we saw from 5800X3D to 7800X3D.
In our own tests, the 7800X3D was up to 26% faster in some games. On average, most reviewers pegged it as being faster by anywhere from 13% to 25%, depending on the test suite. If AMD’s estimates expect the 9800X3D to only win by 8%, I am not optimistic about reviewers’ ability to extract more performance from the chip.
The multi-threaded performance seems slightly better, with a 15% increase compared to the 7800X3D. AMD also reveals that the CPU will support up to DDR5-6000, but memory overclocking support goes much further, reaching up to DDR5-8000 and beyond.
The Ryzen 7 9800X3D will work with most AM5 coolers and all AM5 motherboards, including the latest X870E and X870 boards. The specifications are not surprising, with eight cores and 16 threads, although the maximum boost clock is lower than some expected, reaching up to 5.2 GHz. However, leaked benchmark tests showed the CPU running at speeds of up to 5.7 GHz, so this may be a mistake. I am more inclined to believe that the benchmarks were inaccurate.
Although AMD has not yet officially confirmed that the CPU to be released on November 7th is the 9800X3D, every leak indicates that it is the first unit to be launched. Even if it may end up being somewhat disappointing, it may still sell well due to the fact that the Ryzen 7 7800X3D is almost out of stock everywhere.
