What is the point of 9800X3D in 4k? Isn't 9950X better at the same price?

[Toss]

So I am building a new PC for RTX 5090. I was looking for CPU.
9950X is the same price as 9800X3D right now.
What's the point of 9800X3D if I will use my PC only in 4k+?
Isn't it better to go X and have 8 extra cores for the same price?

 

[phanbuey]

So I am building a new PC for RTX 5090. I was looking for CPU.
9950X is the same price as 9800X3D right now.
What's the point of 9800X3D if I will use my PC only in 4k+?
Isn't it better to go X and have 8 extra cores for the same price?

AFAIK the 9950X shuts off the second CCD in games to keep everything on one CCD, so it's basically the same as a 9700x - which is why it nets the same FPS in reviews. The 9800x3D still beats it out in the lows in 4k - especially if you use DLSS of anykind (since then you're not playing at 4k).

But yes for productivity or mixed use the 9950x is better - how much better depends on what you do, most things are still pretty lightly threaded.

 

[Toss]

AFAIK the 9950X shuts off the second CCD in games to keep everything on one CCD, so it's basically the same as a 9700x - which is why it nets the same FPS in reviews. The 9800x3D still beats it out in the lows in 4k - especially if you use DLSS of anykind (since then you're not playing at 4k).

But yes for productivity or mixed use the 9950x is better - how much better depends on what you do, most things are still pretty lightly threaded.

I have 5950x and nothing shuts off, I turned any core parking, it uses if it needed more, but if game coded for 8 cores then it stays in them

 

[dgianstefani]

9800X3D is better for gaming at any resolution, by a lot.

 

[Toss]

9800X3D is better for gaming at any resolution, by a lot.

in what way is it better at 4k

 

[Onasi]

@Toss
I mean, it’s theoretically/potentially better if you run an inherently CPU limited game with a 5090 or something. How practically relevant that is for your use case is debatable. What is a (minor?) point is that you will probably get better 1% and 0.1% lows with the X3D.
In practical terms though, for anything that is not an e-sports title running at ridiculous FPS, at 4K with a GPU that is in the realm of sanity the difference between reasonably powerful CPUs is almost irrelevant.

 

[phanbuey]

I have 5950x and nothing shuts off, I turned any core parking, it uses if it needed more, but if game coded for 8 cores then it stays in them

5950x <> 9950x

AMD Ryzen 9 9900X CPU Review & Benchmarks vs. 14700K, 7900X, 9950X, & More

the 9950x parks the second CCD in games, the 5950x does not.

 

[dgianstefani]

in what way is it better at 4k

View attachment 384501

Min.

 

[Solaris17]

Min.

not to mention avg. it’s literally in the graph he posted. I must be too tired or not understanding.

 

[GhostRyder]

in what way is it better at 4k

View attachment 384501

I mean its 2-3FPS average better at 4K which means in the long run it will last longer. If you need the other CCD for workloads that require it than yes you should probably look at the 9950X, but if your gaming you might as well get the extra couple of FPS.

 

[Frizz]

If you have a 4K Monitor then no, don't let anyone make you overthink it to the point you're paying a premium for 0 reason... buy the most current platform you can and a CPU that makes sense for you when it comes to Windows OS performance, productivity etc.

When I think of a gaming computer I think of the GPU first.

 

[Toss]

I mean its 2-3FPS average better at 4K which means in the long run it will last longer. If you need the other CCD for workloads that require it than yes you should probably look at the 9950X, but if your gaming you might as well get the extra couple of FPS.

I mean I game like in 4k only,, but 9800x3d gives only 1 extra fps which I will not even feel

If you have a 4K Monitor then no, don't let anyone make you overthink it to the point you're paying a premium for 0 reason... buy the most current platform you can and a CPU that makes sense for you when it comes to Windows OS performance, productivity etc.

When I think of a gaming computer I think of the GPU first.

View attachment 384507

At 4k it seems difference is so small that it doesn't matter at all, but the premium on 9800x3d is insane. Almost same price as 16 cores counterpart.

 

[GhostRyder]

I mean I game like in 4k only,, but 9800x3d gives only 1 extra fps which I will not even feel


At 4k it seems difference is so small that it doesn't matter at all, but the premium on 9800x3d is insane. Almost same price as 16 cores counterpart.

Yea but do you do anything that needs the extra cores is the question. Plus the review on here uses the RTX 4090 not the 5090 which means the gap will go up even further.

 

[Frizz]

I mean I game like in 4k only,, but 9800x3d gives only 1 extra fps which I will not even feel


At 4k it seems difference is so small that it doesn't matter at all, but the premium on 9800x3d is insane. Almost same price as 16 cores counterpart.

9800x3D has a good purpose for 240-400hz monitors although for most people at 144hz 4K it's almost irrelevant.


If you are thinking within the realm of 4K-5K 144hz then you'll see more options open up to you

 

[Toss]

Yea but do you do anything that needs the extra cores is the question. Plus the review on here uses the RTX 4090 not the 5090 which means the gap will go up even further.

yes, I mean sometimes I can launch more than 1 application like game. OBS, some other programs in parallel and sometimes extra juice can help not to drop.

 

[phanbuey]

This is more of a convincing yourself thread than actual advice.

If you play with DLSS on at all- it makes a difference. And no, if you max your GPU and like to play your games at 60 FPS fully GPU bound then you don't need to upgrade

 

[Toss]

This is more of a convincing yourself thread than actual advice.

View attachment 384509

If you play with DLSS on at all- it makes a difference. And no, if you max your GPU and like to play your games at 60 FPS fully GPU bound then you don't need to upgrade

isn't DLSS use frame gen x4 from 60 to 240 fps so the CPU is not so important?

 

[GhostRyder]

yes, I mean sometimes I can launch more than 1 application like game. OBS, some other programs in parallel and sometimes extra juice can help not to drop.

Well the problem is the Turbo on those two CCD's depends on lots of factors including if both are enabled, what is being asked of the cores, etc. So the gaming performance charts are showing in most cases a best case scenario on the chips including the Dual CCD chips. If you are really that concerned, maybe you should wait for the 9950X3D to come out and get that one.

isn't DLSS use frame gen x4 from 60 to 240 fps so the CPU is not so important?

Yes, but that is still helped by the CPU and you have to remember there is always a trade off in using those technologies.

 

[phanbuey]

isn't DLSS use frame gen x4 from 60 to 240 fps so the CPU is not so important?

Easiest way to tell is enable your GPU usage graph in game.

If your GPU is sitting below 80% utilization on average, or dipping into the 60's,70's, then you're CPU bound -- if it's sitting at 90%+ then upgrading your CPU will not do anything noticeable for you.

If you notice your games are struggling a bit with a high end gpu and the above is true, then upgrade time.

 

[Toss]

Easiest way to tell is enable your GPU usage graph in game.

If your GPU is sitting below 80% utilization on average, or dipping into the 60's,70's, then you're CPU bound -- if it's sitting at 90%+ then upgrading your CPU will not do anything noticeable for you.

If you notice your games are struggling a bit with a high end gpu and the above is true, then upgrade time.

I never got below 80% in anything except dota 2 and cs2, but in there I am still getting 300+ fps

 

[phanbuey]

I never got below 80% in anything except dota 2 and cs2, but in there I am still getting 300+ fps

Then definitely don't upgrade - you're not going to see much benefit. Or if you do upgrade go with the more cores since that's more important to you.

 

[redeye]

cpu does not “matter“ much at 4k… but if you use upscaling frequently, the 3d cache could be useful… the pcie4x vs pcie5x does not matter much on a 5090…

 

[bug]

So I am building a new PC for RTX 5090. I was looking for CPU.
9950X is the same price as 9800X3D right now.
What's the point of 9800X3D if I will use my PC only in 4k+?
Isn't it better to go X and have 8 extra cores for the same price?

For 4k, I would go for 9950X. 9800X3D gives zero advantage there, the additional cores will (if only on occasion).

 

[Frizz]

I personally want the 9950X3D but wasted on 4K 144hz and with a 5090 youre stuck at running 138hz with gsync. As then youll be comparing frames beyond 144hz especially with framegen whichll make no sense.

 

[phanbuey]

I personally want the 9950X3D but wasted on 4K 144hz and with a 5090 youre stuck at running 138hz with gsync. As then youll be comparing frames beyond 144hz especially with framegen whichll make no sense.

You will still see a much tighter fps with the X3D chip - your 1% lows will be closer to the 138 fps cap. UE5 games are so badly optimized even at 4K you will feel a difference with the faster chip.