RTX 4090 & 53 Games: Ryzen 7 5800X vs Core i9-12900K

[Why_Me]

13700K is honestly just a bad pitch for Intel to me it's either 13600K with DDR4 or 13900K DDR5 no in between. The 13700K is in similar rock and hard spot to me as Zen 4 is currently prior to the X3D variants arrival. It's not a very good positioned chip to me generally I'd say the current Zen 4 parts aren't either. I'm either dipping my toes in the raptors mouth or all it's belly.

That's if I go with Intel at all the 5800X3D is still a relevant consideration and Zen 4 X3D I want to try to wait to see if it's even worth it. I'd even consider a few AM4 SKU's outside of the 5800X3D though depends on the relative value angle of certain options heavily. I'll know when I'm ready when the deal is good enough I don't want to pass on it. If I have to debate the purchase decision I probably don't need it and shouldn't.

I can understand not wanting to doll out more money on new cooler if it can be avoided.

The 12700K goes toe to toe with the 12900K in regards to gaming while costing less. Even a better deal are the locked Intel 12 gen cpu's such as the i7 12700 / 12700F. As far as an i7 w/DDR5 ... ya it works.

Example A:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1687328-REG/msi_mag_b660m_mortar_wifi.html
MSI MAG B660M MORTAR WIFI DDR5 $179.99

MAG B660M MORTAR WIFI

Powered by Intel 12th Gen Core processors, the MSI MAG B660M MORTAR WIFI is hardened with performance essential specifications to outlast enemies. Tuned for better performance by Core boost, Memory Boost, Premium Thermal Solution, M.2 Shield Frozr,

www.msi.com

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09NPJDPVG
Intel Core i7-12700F $312.99

Example B:

https://www.amazon.com/GIGABYTE-Z690-AORUS-AX-Motherboard/dp/B083NPKL1C/
GIGABYTE Z690 AORUS ELITE AX DDR5 $199.99

https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/Z690-AORUS-ELITE-AX-rev-1x#kf

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09NPJDPVG
Intel Core i7-12700F $312.99

Cheap DDR5 ftw

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09MTS5YH1
CORSAIR Vengeance DDR5 4800 32GB (2x16GB) CL40 $139.99

No need to break the bank keeping that locked cpu cool.

https://www.amazon.com/DeepCool-AK620-High-Performance-Dual-Tower-Dissipation/dp/B09CSXS3X4
DeepCool AK620 CPU Cooler $64.99

 

[Mussels]

The 12700K goes toe to toe with the 12900K in regards to gaming while costing less. Even a better deal are the locked Intel 12 gen cpu's such as the i7 12700 / 12700F. As far as an i7 w/DDR5 ... ya it works.

Example A:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1687328-REG/msi_mag_b660m_mortar_wifi.html
MSI MAG B660M MORTAR WIFI DDR5 $179.99

MAG B660M MORTAR WIFI

Powered by Intel 12th Gen Core processors, the MSI MAG B660M MORTAR WIFI is hardened with performance essential specifications to outlast enemies. Tuned for better performance by Core boost, Memory Boost, Premium Thermal Solution, M.2 Shield Frozr,

www.msi.com

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09NPJDPVG
Intel Core i7-12700F $312.99

Example B:

https://www.amazon.com/GIGABYTE-Z690-AORUS-AX-Motherboard/dp/B083NPKL1C/
GIGABYTE Z690 AORUS ELITE AX DDR5 $199.99

https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/Z690-AORUS-ELITE-AX-rev-1x#kf

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09NPJDPVG
Intel Core i7-12700F $312.99

Cheap DDR5 ftw

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09MTS5YH1
CORSAIR Vengeance DDR5 4800 32GB (2x16GB) CL40 $139.99

No need to break the bank keeping that locked cpu cool.

https://www.amazon.com/DeepCool-AK620-High-Performance-Dual-Tower-Dissipation/dp/B09CSXS3X4
DeepCool AK620 CPU Cooler $64.99

Outside of really high FPS gaming (240Hz) almost any modern CPU is good enough.
Very few CPU's give you boosts to the 99% FPS for the smoother gaming, which seems to be the x3D's strength

If you look at the stuff posted below this, you could simply pick a CPU that has 0.1% lows above your refresh rate and you're in for butter time. 4K120Hz smoothly requires a 5600x or above or... a 10900k and above?
(Although the 12100F is close enough. Any zen3 or 12th gen is enough for 120 smoothly.)


I'd never used CapFrameX before the memory testing i did here, but results like this please me

Compared to 13900k results where average FPS may be higher, but it seems to replace butter with stutter

0.1% low FPS:
13900k: 119.4
5800x: 133
12900k: 136.6
5800x3d: 149.4

And then ryzens 7000 series dominate (in backwards order, thanks to that windows scheduling bug)
7950x: 158.7
7900x: 171.3
7600x: 184.2
7700x: 189.1



The 5800x3D is ahead of every single intel CPU is 0.1% lows, and the 7000 series dominates even it despite those scheduling bugs

I get the feeling average FPS isn't enough these days, we're well and truly capable of blowing past refresh rates of even the highest frame rate displays - we need the 1% and 0.1% values to judge gaming merits

This might be an outlier result but wow
Anyone who says the intel wins this one because it got 15FPS higher just... non. Nein. Nope. Yeah Nah. Crikey.

Oh it's in more than one title, the 12900K gets lower average and worse 0.1% here

 

[medi01]

Now I'm waiting to the 7950X vs 13900K hehe

Also with AMD's top RDNA3 GPU please.

Something tells me that AMD drivers would be more optimized for AMD CPUs, unlike NVs.

 

[nguyen]

Outside of really high FPS gaming (240Hz) almost any modern CPU is good enough.
Very few CPU's give you boosts to the 99% FPS for the smoother gaming, which seems to be the x3D's strength

If you look at the stuff posted below this, you could simply pick a CPU that has 0.1% lows above your refresh rate and you're in for butter time. 4K120Hz smoothly requires a 5600x or above or... a 10900k and above?
(Although the 12100F is close enough. Any zen3 or 12th gen is enough for 120 smoothly.)


I'd never used CapFrameX before the memory testing i did here, but results like this please me
View attachment 266420View attachment 266421

Compared to 13900k results where average FPS may be higher, but it seems to replace butter with stutter

0.1% low FPS:
13900k: 119.4
5800x: 133
12900k: 136.6
5800x3d: 149.4

And then ryzens 7000 series dominate (in backwards order, thanks to that windows scheduling bug)
7950x: 158.7
7900x: 171.3
7600x: 184.2
7700x: 189.1



The 5800x3D is ahead of every single intel CPU is 0.1% lows, and the 7000 series dominates even it despite those scheduling bugs
View attachment 266422



I get the feeling average FPS isn't enough these days, we're well and truly capable of blowing past refresh rates of even the highest frame rate displays - we need the 1% and 0.1% values to judge gaming merits

This might be an outlier result but wow
Anyone who says the intel wins this one because it got 15FPS higher just... non. Nein. Nope. Yeah Nah. Crikey.
View attachment 266423

Oh it's in more than one title, the 12900K gets lower average and worse 0.1% here
View attachment 266425

Well except when 4090 comes into play, then Ryzen7000 and RPL pull ahead of 5800X3D in all metrics (avg FPS, 1% and 0.1%low)
GN 13600K review, he also explained (at 15:00) why 13900K has those low lowFPS with 3090Ti but not with 4090

From LTT review, 5800X3D gain nothing going from 3090Ti to 4090, meanwhile Ryzen7000 all have meaningful gains

With next gen GPUs coming out, 5800X3D probably doesn't cut it anymore, it need more single-thread performance.

Would be interesting when Wizzard benchmark CPUs with 4090

 

[medi01]

With next gen GPUs coming out, 5800X3D probably doesn't cut it anymore, it need more single-thread performance.

That likely flies (if at all) only with green GPUs.

NV even openly promised to address "drivers are slow on AMD CPUs" but I doubt it happened so far.

From LTT review, 5800X3D gain nothing going from 3090Ti to 4090, meanwhile Ryzen7000 all have meaningful gains

I fail to see how that sort of benchmark (800+ frames per second, are you kidding me) are even remotely relevant.

 

[killerbyte]

I think this is a messed up review cause Rysen 9 vs intel i9 mean 5900x vs 12900k yet we choose a lower r7 5800x to bash on amd ?

 

[Mussels]

Well except when 4090 comes into play, then Ryzen7000 and RPL pull ahead of 5800X3D in all metrics (avg FPS, 1% and 0.1%low)
GN 13600K review, he also explained (at 15:00) why 13900K has those low lowFPS with 3090Ti but not with 4090
View attachment 266470
View attachment 266471

From LTT review, 5800X3D gain nothing going from 3090Ti to 4090, meanwhile Ryzen7000 all have meaningful gains
View attachment 266472View attachment 266473

With next gen GPUs coming out, 5800X3D probably doesn't cut it anymore, it need more single-thread performance.

Would be interesting when Wizzard benchmark CPUs with 4090

Yeah the 5800x3D definitely has a limit these new CPU's can pass for max/average FPS


I'm just focused on the 0.1's as thats what my system(s) are designed to avoid - and when i see an obvious difference in reviews for the same metric i want to know why because sometimes that's how we learn situations to avoid (LIke 2x8GB being so harmful to Zen2 and Zen3, yet still SO DAMN COMMON in reviews)

 

[medi01]

I hope you'll start including 1% lows as I feel it's more important than average fps.

I second that.

Twice.

 

[W1zzard]

I think this is a messed up review cause Rysen 9 vs intel i9 mean 5900x vs 12900k yet we choose a lower r7 5800x to bash on amd ?

The goal of this review is NOT to test "AMD vs Intel at similar config", but "The current GPU Test System that I have right now, a decent but slightly aged config, vs 12900K" to find out how much of a difference an upgrade can bring.

 

[wheresmycar]

I second that.

Twice.

i thrice that!

I tend to revert to other benchmarks online to view 1% lows and it would be nice if we could get everything on TPU. Also a 25 game average pls hehe (at this rate we're gonna have to start paying w1z a fat salary and overtime for the sleepless nights)

 

[Mussels]

The goal of this review is NOT to test "AMD vs Intel at similar config", but "The current GPU Test System that I have right now, a decent but slightly aged config, vs 12900K" to find out how much of a difference an upgrade can bring.

I swear, you either need a title edit or to add that to the first page and conclusion in bold lettering

 

[seventy]

Oh, you sweet summer child...

Try testing it yourself and see if you keep laughing, instead of making a fool of yourself.

 

[Hofnaerrchen]

What I take from this article: If you are on AM4 don't waste money on upgrading your GPU to RTX 4000 or RX 7000, especially if you are already on a decent RDNA2 or RTX 3000 GPU.

Personally I don't like Aldor/Raptor Lake for the reason it is already end of life, there won't be any upgrade paths in the future and AM5 is still just to expensive. I personally would favor B650E but currently decent boards start at about 400 bucks. B650 is not really a future-proof (PCIe 4.0 x 16) platform in my opinion. Apart from that AMD as well as nVIDIA might have moved themselves in a postion where upgrading to their newest generation(s) it is not worth to consider based on where you come from. Especially AMD might see some hard times ahead when it comes to complete new systems builds, intel CPU and a GPU from either AMD or nVIDIA might - based on usage requirements - be just the better solution if you do not care about upgradability but pricing.

 

[Radxge]

This is great info! I have a 9700K + RTX4900 combination and curious about the impact of upgrading my CPU.

It would be useful to see the FPS under the slower processor in addition to the % impact... I game at 4K@120 and do not care much if a fancier CPU increases the speed beyond 120FPS. Also, not sure if the tested games are at their higher settings?

 

[THU31]

9700K is definitely a big bottleneck for the 4090 at 120 Hz. I still use that CPU because I play in 4K60.

Most modern games will not hit consistent 120 FPS on this CPU. And Spider-Man barely stays above 60 with ray tracing (which is also heavy on the CPU). Just google some recent CPU comparisons.

This is basically Skylake with 8 cores, the IPC is rather ancient.

 

[Radxge]

Sorry but *Big* bottleneck seems like an exaggeration in most circumstances (Spiderman may be an exception)... I have seen a huge impact from replacing a 3080 Ti by a 4090 in all games I tried so far (Dying Light 2, Metro Exodus, Bright Memory Infinite, AC Valhalla and Control). I now can run most of these at 4K@120FPS at max settings (or close to), which was not the case with my older 3080 Ti.

I agree that my rig would certainly benefit from an upgrade and I was tempted by the 13600K or 13700K but I think I am going to hold on until Zen4 3D is released next year.. I dont like the thermal of the new intel and primarily use my PC for gaming, so do not care much about the productivity angle.

 

[THU31]

Have you seen this?

Look at the 10600K, which is the closest equivalent (only 6 cores, but with HT, same amount of L3 cache).

The numbers are for 1080p, but that does not matter. It shows that it is very difficult to hit 120 FPS on this CPU. Of course I am only looking at 1% lows, which is the most relevant metric. The newest CPUs offer a minimum of 50% more FPS, sometimes even double.

I am not saying your setup is unplayable, because it obviously is, at least with a VRR display. With Vsync, personally I would need locked 120 FPS to consider it playable, or use a lower refresh rate.
But the fact is, 9700K is a bottleneck for the 4090. Yet like you mentioned, I would definitely wait for Zen 4 X3D. That might be the ultimate gaming platform for several years (Intel's future CPUs like Meteor Lake are not looking great for gamers).