I'm considering an upgrade since my Ryzen 7 5700X has started bottlenecking performance in some games. With the prices being what they are, I'm stuck choosing between upgrading to the Ryzen 7 5700X3D or shifting to AM5 with something like the Ryzen 5 7500F. However, I've been scanning through benchmarks from various sources like TechPowerUp, GamersNexus, Tom's Hardware, and Hardware Unboxed, and the results are all over the place.
For example, I noticed the 7700 seems to match the 9700X, but then TechPowerUp claims the 9600X offers a 13% boost over the 7600, which apparently has similar performance to the 7700. I've also seen conflicting reports where some sources state the 7800X3D is 20-30% better than the 7600, while others suggest it's only 8%, making that premium price questionable.
Additionally, I found graphs showing the 5800X3D performing at the same level as the 7600 in some cases, but close to the top in others. Recently, I checked out the 7600 review on TechPowerUp and they mentioned it being only 8% faster than my 5700X. It's just frustrating that a CPU I bought for $140 two years ago is underperforming in demanding games like Baldur's Gate 3, particularly in Act 3, while seeing prices around $380 for new CPUs. At this point, I'm almost reconsidering an upgrade altogether! Can someone help clarify the actual performance differences among these CPUs?
5 Answers
There are significant differences in CPU performance depending on your GPU, resolution, and game type. However, since you're seeking benchmarks, 1080p tests usually have fast GPUs like the 4090 to prevent bottlenecking. Just keep in mind, that there can still be a lot of variance depending on the game.
The differences in performance can vary pretty widely by game and settings. If you're after a notable upgrade, considering the newer 9000 series might be worth it. Upgrading your motherboard, CPU, and RAM can be a hefty investment, though. Just keep in mind that if you're running demanding graphics settings, your GPU could also affect performance—make sure that’s up to par too!
AMD designs their chips for specific use cases, which is mostly why reviewer opinions vary so much. Depending on what you're utilizing your CPU for—gaming, productivity, editing—the ideal CPU can change. It's not so much contradicting reviews as it is different tests showing varying strengths.
If you want solid advice, it’s probably best to provide your gaming resolution and FPS targets. Generally speaking, though, the 5700X should hold up for most setups, so make sure you’re really ready for that upgrade before jumping in!
The reviews can be confusing because they test different scenarios. What reviewer claimed the 7800X3D is only 8% better than the 7600? If you account for different workloads and settings, the 7800X3D should really outperform the 7600 by a wider margin in CPU-bound scenarios, even without factoring in the 3D V-cache.
In less multi-threaded tasks that don't utilize that extra cache, an 8% uplift might make sense, but many factors play into it.
I have the 9070XT, and I can say it's quite powerful! In Baldur’s Gate 3, it doesn’t max out even in Act 3, usually sitting at around 40% usage, but in Clair Obscur, it struggles and hits around 92% at a 100fps bottleneck.