I can probably sell my Ryzen 7 9700X for around €150 and replace it with a Ryzen 7 7800X3D for roughly €200 more. I also have enough budget to buy a Ryzen 7 9800X3D instead, which would cost about €100 more than the 7800X3D. I play a lot of CPU-heavy games, especially Escape from Tarkov, so I'm trying to decide whether the extra €100 is worthwhile. My current system has 32GB of DDR5-6000 CL30 memory, a Radeon RX 9070 XT, a Ryzen 7 9700X, and a Samsung 980 SSD.
4 Answers
A good rule is to buy the fastest option you can comfortably afford, especially if you plan to keep the system for several years. €100 spread over the lifetime of the PC is relatively small, and it is usually less frustrating than upgrading again later because you settled for the slower chip.
The 9800X3D is probably the better long-term purchase. It sustains higher clocks than the 7800X3D and can be noticeably faster in some games, although the difference will vary. With an RX 9070 XT, you may still be GPU-limited in many titles, so the upgrade matters most in CPU-bound games like Tarkov.
For Tarkov and other CPU-heavy games, I’d lean toward the faster 9800X3D if the extra €100 fits comfortably within your budget. The stronger CPU should give you better minimums and more headroom, especially in demanding areas or late-game situations.
The 7800X3D is still a very capable gaming processor and would already be a major choice for CPU-heavy games, so the 9800X3D is not essential. However, since you specifically play Tarkov and already have the budget, I’d choose the 9800X3D for its extra performance and better headroom.
That makes sense. I’m mainly concerned about whether the difference will actually be noticeable in the games I play, rather than just looking better in benchmarks.