The AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D vs Intel Core i9-13900K rivalry is a battle of flagships for the highest-end of the gaming market, however the chips take drastically totally different approaches to serving up main efficiency. The Core i9-13900K wields Intel’s 13th-Gen Raptor Lake x86 hybrid structure to sq. off towards AMD’s chiplet-based Zen 4 Ryzen 7000 chips, however AMD has a trick up its sleeve — the Second-Gen 3D V-Cache tech, which fuses on a 3D-stacked cache chiplet atop the processor to ship market-leading gaming efficiency. These two essentially totally different approaches have shaken up our checklist of the best CPUs for gaming, however every strategy has its respective strengths.
AMD’s $699 Ryzen 9 7950X3D is geared particularly for players trying to blast by CPU-limited video games whereas nonetheless having the threaded heft of 16 cores that stay aggressive within the heaviest of productiveness workloads. The Ryzen 9 7950X3D does lag opponents in some productiveness apps as a result of tradeoffs related to the 3D chip-stacking tech, and it does not speed up all video games equally. Nonetheless, one factor is for certain — it’s the quickest gaming chip available on the market.
The $589 Intel Core i9-13900K is Intel’s quickest gaming processor, and whereas it is not fairly as quick as AMD’s Ryzen 9 7950X3D in gaming, it has a a lot friendlier price ticket and serves up ultra-competitive efficiency in each gaming and productiveness apps. Intel additionally continues to assist DDR4 reminiscence to supply a less-expensive path for builders, reducing the bar for entry to flagship efficiency even additional. In the meantime, AMD’s choice to assist solely DDR5 has confirmed to be a pricing ache level.
The totally different strengths of those two chips make for a tough choice in the event you’re trying to decide one to your subsequent high-end construct. Under we have taken the Core i9-13900K vs Ryzen 9 7950X3D rivalry by a six-round faceoff to see which chips take the crown in our gaming and utility benchmarks, together with different key standards like energy consumption and pricing. Let’s have a look at how they stack up.
Options and Specs: AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D vs Intel Core i9-13900K
| Road/MSRP | Cores / Threads (P+E) | P-Core Base / Enhance Clock (GHz) | E-Core Base / Enhance Clock (GHz) | Cache (L2/L3) | TDP / PBP / MTP | Reminiscence | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryzen 9 7950X3D | $699 | 16 / 32 | 4.2 / 5.7 | 144MB (16+128) | 120W / 162W | DDR5-5200 | |
| Core i9-13900KS | $699 | 24 / 32 (8+16) | 3.0 / 6.0 | 2.2 / 4.3 | 68MB (32+36) | 150W / 253W / 320W | DDR4-3200 / DDR5-5600 |
| Core i9-13900K / KF | $589 (Ok) – $564 (KF) | 24 / 32 (8+16) | 3.0 / 5.8 | 2.2 / 4.3 | 68MB (32+36) | 125W / 253W | DDR4-3200 / DDR5-5600 |
AMD’s $699 Ryzen 9 7950X3D comes packing sixteen Zen 4 cores and the corporate’s second-gen 3D V-Cache tech that unlocks 128MB of L3 cache, a combo that delivers the quickest gaming efficiency obtainable available on the market. The 7950X3D has the identical underlying design because the Ryzen 9 7950X with a central I/O die and two eight-core compute chiplets that present a complete of 16 cores and 32 threads.
Not like the usual 7950X, one of many 7950X3D’s compute chiplets comes with an extra 3D-stacked L3 cache and boosts to five.25 GHz. In the meantime, the ‘commonplace’ compute chiplet with out cache boosts to five.7 GHz, the identical as the usual 7950X (details here). Regardless of the decrease frequency, the cache-equipped chiplet supplies the most effective efficiency for video games, whereas the quicker chiplet is finest for productiveness purposes. As such, AMD designed an progressive new driver that helps steer threads for several types of workloads to the proper chiplet.
The Ryzen 9 7950X3D brings the entire facilities we’d anticipate from a contemporary processor, together with assist for DDR5, PCIe 5.0, and the most recent USB connectivity requirements. AMD has additionally added built-in graphics for a primary show out for the primary time, which is a plus if it’s worthwhile to troubleshoot. You may see our iGPU testing here.
The 7950X3D sips energy — it has a base TPD of 120W and a max 162W PPT, which is 68W decrease than the 170W/230W ranking for the usual 7950X. The decrease energy threshold will end in much less efficiency in heavy purposes, however you may nonetheless have to plan for a 240mm to 280mm AIO (or higher) for the most effective efficiency.
The Ryzen 9 7950X3D requires an AM5 motherboard, so dear DDR5 reminiscence is the one choice. Sadly, DDR5 continues to be rather more costly than DDR4 reminiscence. Granted, that pricing strain is not as a lot of a consideration on the excessive finish, however you need to issue it into your buying choice. The AM5 platform is new, so the Ryzen 7000 chips aren’t backward suitable with older AM4 motherboards. Nonetheless, AMD will assist the AM5 platform till 2025+.
AMD solely allowed overclocking the reminiscence and Infinity Cloth for the previous-gen 5800X3D, however the 7950X3D additionally provides assist for each the auto-overclocking Precision Enhance Overdrive (PBO) and the Curve Optimizer. Sadly, AMD nonetheless doesn’t permit direct frequency overclocking attributable to a voltage limitation for one of many chiplets.
Intel’s $589 sixteen-core Core i9-13900K comes with eight hyper-threaded P-cores and 16 single-threaded E-cores, for a complete of 32 threads. That is a rise of eight further E-cores over the previous-gen Core i9-12900K, equating to extra threaded horsepower. It’s also possible to avoid wasting money with the $564 Core i9-13900KF, which has equivalent specs however lacks the built-in GPU.
Intel nonetheless makes use of the ‘Intel 7’ course of node for Raptor Lake however leveraged a more moderen revision of the silicon to push clock speeds larger whereas bettering energy effectivity. The P-cores include a 3.0 GHz base, however, extra importantly, a 5.8 GHz enhance that is a whopping 600 MHz enhance over the prior gen. In the meantime, the E-cores now have a 3.0 GHz base (+600 MHz) and stretch as much as 4.3 GHz (+400 MHz), which means that not solely do you get extra E-cores, however you additionally get extra out of every core.
The Core i9-13900K can be geared up with 32MB of L3 cache and 36MB of L2 and drops into present 600-series motherboards or the brand new 700-series fashions. The chip comes with the built-in UHD Graphics 770 engine with 32 EUs that enhance as much as 1.65 GHz.
Intel’s chips now have a Processor Base Energy (PBP) worth as an alternative of a TDP metric, and a secondary Most Turbo Energy (MTP) worth that denotes the best energy stage throughout enhance exercise. The 13900K comes with 125W PBP (base) and 253W MTP (peak) energy scores, however remember that the chip can at all times function on the 253W MTP when it’s underneath load, although the precise energy use will differ with utility depth. Intel permits full overclockability, however solely if you pair the chip with a Z-series motherboard.
Winner: Tie
The Core i9-13900K vs Ryzen 9 7950X3D battle yields a tie on this class. Each chips assist DDR5 and the PCIe 5.0 interface, which means neither has an inherent connectivity benefit.
Intel has the benefit of backward compatibility for DDR4 and the 600-series chipset, enabling lower-cost reminiscence and motherboards for worth seekers (caveats apply). Intel additionally has its Raptor Lake Refresh chips on the horizon, which means there will likely be another technology of upgrades for the LGA 1700 platform.
AMD’s new AM5 platform solely helps dear DDR5 and carries a premium over the Intel motherboard ecosystem, however it does afford prolonged ahead compatibility — AMD plans on supporting the AM5 platform till 2025+.
Given its new hybrid structure with two varieties of cores, Intel’s core counts aren’t straight similar to AMDs attributable to their totally different capabilities. Our efficiency outcomes will dictate the efficiency worth of the general designs.
Gaming Benchmarks and Efficiency: AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D vs Intel Core i9-13900K
Bear in mind, this text is an summary of our rather more in-depth testing in our AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D Review. Under you possibly can see the geometric imply of our gaming checks with the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D vs Intel Core i9-13900K at 1080p and 1440p, with every decision break up into its personal chart. As common, we’re testing with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 to scale back GPU-imposed bottlenecks as a lot as doable, however variations will shrink with lesser playing cards or larger resolutions.
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The Ryzen 9 7950X3D lives as much as its billing because the quickest gaming chip on the planet, beating out Intel’s flagship by spectacular margins in some titles. We additionally see the 7950X3D take a giant lead within the geometric imply of our check suite, however remember that the 3D V-Cache doesn’t speed up all titles equally. Subsequently, you must also have a look at the person sport benchmarks within the above album to evaluate the general development.
In our testing, the $699 Ryzen 9 7950X3D is 12% quicker than the $589 Core i9-13900K at 1080p gaming at inventory settings, and 9% quicker when the chips are overclocked. The latter rating is discouraging for Intel — the 13900K consumes much more energy but nonetheless cannot beat the 7950X3D. As a reminder, Intel launched its limited-edition Core i9-13900KS as a preemptive strike towards the 7950X3D, however regardless of its spectacular 6 GHz enhance clock and large price ticket, it gives mainly the identical gaming efficiency because the $589 Core i9-13900K. As such, it additionally falls behind the 7950X3D.
Whereas the 7950X3D is 12% quicker than the 13900K on this collection of titles, it additionally prices 19% extra. As talked about above, you may as well equip the 13900K with DDR4 to save lots of much more money, however remember that you’re going to lose a number of proportion factors of gaming efficiency on common (see our testing here).
Transferring over to 1440p pushes the bottleneck extra in the direction of the GPU, so the distinction between the chips shrinks. For instance, the Ryzen 9 7950X3D is 8% quicker than the Core i9-13900K at 1440p, and that shrinks to a 3% distinction after each chips are overclocked. It is logical to imagine that the majority high-end gaming methods will use higher-resolution screens, so the variations may very well be slight, however the 7950X3D provides you with extra headroom for future GPU upgrades.
Remember that giant deltas in particular person sport titles, as we see with the Ryzen 9 7950X3D, influence cumulative measurements. You may see examples of that in titles like Microsoft Flight Simulator 2021, Far Cry 6, and F1 2021. Our check suite closely favors the enhancements from 3D V-Cache, so we additionally included a desk beneath with outcomes from an extra 5 video games that we don’t usually check. You’ll additionally discover AMD’s personal benchmarks in a broad vary of titles on the finish of the above album to present you an concept of efficiency positive aspects in different titles. As with all vendor-provided benchmarks, take AMD’s slides with a grain of salt.
As at all times, the AMD vs Intel competitors can differ primarily based on the title and the GPU you utilize, so it is best to make an knowledgeable choice primarily based on the varieties of titles you play continuously.
| Tom’s {Hardware} – 1080p Extras | Ryzen 9 7950X3D | Core i9-13900K | 7950X3D vs 13900K |
| Grand Theft Auto V | 182.4 fps | 185.5 fps | -1.7% |
| Challenge Automobiles 3 | 357.6 fps | 295 fps | +21.2% |
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 332.2 fps | 274.6 fps | +21% |
| Borderlands 3 | 231.6 fps | 186.4 fps | +24.3% |
| Horizon Zero Daybreak | 264.7 fps | 218 fps | +21.4% |
Winner: AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D
On common, the Ryzen 9 7950X3D is the quickest gaming chip cash can purchase. In our check suite, the Ryzen 9 7950X3D is 12% quicker than the Core i9-13900K at 1080p gaming and eight% quicker at 1440p. After overclocking, these deltas shrink to 9% and three% at 1080p and 1440p, respectively.
These gaming outcomes include a number of caveats: The 7950X3D does not speed up all video games, and the Core i9-13900K prices 19% much less earlier than we consider its a lot decrease general platform prices. Nonetheless, you may at all times pay a disproportionate premium for main efficiency, and on the finish of the day, a win is a win.
As at all times, we do not suggest chips on this value vary in the event you’re solely all for gaming — you may discover lower-priced options from each AMD and Intel which are a much better worth for gaming. Nonetheless, there’ll at all times be these decided to construct the completely quickest gaming system no matter price, and the Ryzen 9 7950X3D is the quickest gaming chip at present obtainable for these high-end builds.
In the meantime, the remainder of us ought to in all probability wait to see how the eight-core $449 Ryzen 7 7800X3D fares when it arrives in April. This chip will seemingly provide practically the identical gaming efficiency because the Ryzen 9 7950X3D, however at a a lot lower cost.
Productiveness Efficiency: AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D vs Intel Core i9-13900K
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We are able to boil down efficiency in productiveness apps into two broad classes: single- and multi-threaded. The primary slide above reveals the geometric imply of efficiency in a number of of our most essential checks within the single-threaded class, however remember to have a look at the expanded leads to the above album.
The Core i9-13900K is 17% quicker than the usual Ryzen 9 7950X3D configuration in single-threaded work. We now have two overclocked configs right here for the 7950X3D — the auto-overclocked PBO, and PBO mixed with undervolting (PBO UV). Notably, the PBO UV config narrows the 13900K’s lead in single-threaded work to 11%.
Naturally, these efficiency deltas will not carry over to each sort of workload. Nonetheless, flipping by the album of check outcomes reveals that the Core i9-13900K excels in single-threaded work, which might finally present snappier efficiency than the 7950X3D in gentle purposes. The Ryzen 9 7950X3D does lead within the AVX-512 y-cruncher benchmark, however Intel leads all different lightly-threaded benchmarks.
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The primary slide within the above album incorporates a geometrical imply of efficiency in a number of of our multi-threaded benchmarks. In multi-threaded work, the $589 Core i9-13900K is 4% quicker than the $699 Ryzen 9 7950X3D at inventory settings, and a mere 1% quicker after overclocking. Each of those chips serve up loads of efficiency in the sort of work, but when gaming is not as essential and also you’re on the lookout for the utmost efficiency in threaded apps, the usual Ryzen 9 7950X is the higher selection.
Winner: Intel Core i9-13900K
The Core i9-13900K gives a extra balanced profile in each single- and multi-threaded productiveness purposes than the 7950X3D, delivering stable efficiency in each disciplines. In distinction, whereas the Ryzen 9 7950X3D stays inside placing distance in threaded purposes, it loses fairly a little bit of steam in single-threaded work. Not solely does that end in slower efficiency in lighter workloads and fewer responsiveness, however it could actually additionally hamstring efficiency in typical real-world productiveness workloads — these usually embody each lightly-threaded and multi-threaded parts within the workflow, and considerably slower efficiency in both class hampers general efficiency.
AMD’s Ryzen 7950X3D does profit from {hardware} acceleration to hurry AVX-512 workloads, a bonus over the 13900K in an rising variety of heavily-threaded duties, however these proceed to be pretty uncommon for almost all of customers. Given its general superior mix of efficiency in productiveness purposes, the Core i9-13900K takes the win.
Overclocking: AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D vs Intel Core i9-13900K
We now have lengthy since reached the land of diminishing returns for overclocking the highest-end chips from AMD and Intel, just like the Ryzen 9 and Core i9 households. As a result of AMD has pulled Intel right into a dogfight for efficiency superiority on the excessive finish, a lot of the overclocking frequency headroom is rolled into commonplace inventory efficiency. Nonetheless, there are nonetheless at the very least some positive aspects available, and each Intel and AMD expose tunable parameters and complicated software program overclocking utilities, like Intel’s XTU and AMD’s Ryzen Grasp.
The Ryzen 9 7950X3D does not assist overclocking through the CPU multiplier, so you possibly can’t change the core clocks straight. You additionally can not regulate CPU voltage straight. Nonetheless, you possibly can overclock the reminiscence and material. AMD has additionally added assist for altering the ability limits (PPT, TDC, EDC) by the auto-overclocking Precision Enhance Overdrive (PBO) function, and you may as well now undervolt the X3D chips utilizing the Curve Optimizer. These options weren’t supported on the previous-gen mannequin. You’ll discover loads of examples of the PBO and PBO+UV settings in our 7950X3D review.
In the meantime, the Intel Core i9-13900K exposes each knob doable for tweaking and tuning. Nonetheless, its aggressive out-of-the-box energy and boosting algorithms already eat many of the overclocking headroom you may obtain with standard cooling. Sub-zero overclockers with unique cooling options can attain a lot larger with the 13900K than the 7950X3D, however that is not as worthwhile to the overwhelming majority of customers.
| Overclocking %age achieve over inventory | Intel Core i9-13900K @ 5.6 | AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D PBO |
| Gaming (1080p) | +5.5% | +2.65% |
| Single-Threaded | -2.5% | +2% |
| Multi-Threaded | +3% | +2% |
As common, overclocking efficiency positive aspects can boil all the way down to your luck within the silicon lottery. As you possibly can see above, overclocking with standard cooling for each the Intel and AMD processors leads to pretty minimal positive aspects in purposes. In reality, the 13900K really suffers from decrease efficiency in single-threaded work as a result of its 5.6 GHz overclock is decrease than its inventory 5.8 GHz enhance. The Core i9-13900K does achieve 5.5% in gaming, the next proportion achieve than the 7950X3D, however it nonetheless lags behind the 7950X3D’s peak gaming efficiency.
Winner: Tie
The payoff for overclocking is extraordinarily restricted with at this time’s excessive finish chips. Nonetheless, each platforms have a wealth of tunable parameters for lovers, their respective overclocking benefits, and a collection of auto-overclocking and software program utilities. In fact, devoted tuners may discover bigger efficiency boosts by overclocking the core, material, and reminiscence extra aggressively than we now have, however keep in mind that you just’re at all times on the whims of the silicon lottery on the subject of overclocking.
AMD’s 3D V-Cache know-how prevents direct voltage and frequency manipulations, however AMD has unlocked reminiscence, material, Precision Enhance Overdrive, and undervolting through the Curve Optimizer, all of which mix to supply loads of avenues for enhancing efficiency through varied tuning methods. In reality, the 7950X3D usually delivers an identical quantity of efficiency uplift because the Core i9-13900K, displaying the worth of its considerably unconventional approaches.
In the meantime, Intel gives much more overclocking performance and the best peak frequencies you may get from direct tuning. Nonetheless, a lot of that functionality is already uncovered proper out of the field through the corporate’s aggressive boosting applied sciences and sky-high energy limits, thus decreasing its worth to informal overclockers.
Energy Consumption, Effectivity, and Cooling: AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D vs Intel Core i9-13900K
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The Ryzen 9 7950X3D is extremely energy environment friendly, drawing far much less energy than both the usual 7950X or the competing Core i9-13900KS, thus delivering excellent energy effectivity that ranks among the many finest we’ve ever examined. A fast look on the HandBrake renders-per-day-per-watt metric reveals that the effectivity competitors is not even shut — the 7950X3D is the hand’s down winner.
AMD’s Ryzen chips have glorious energy and effectivity metrics, however the Ryzen 9 7950X3D is much more environment friendly as a result of it has a decrease 120W TDP ranking. This implies the chip is just like a 7950X working barely above the 105W Eco Mode. In distinction, Intel’s chip consumes much more energy in each sort of workload, leading to larger thermal output.
Winner: AMD
Intel has made loads of progress in decreasing its energy consumption metrics, however the Ryzen 9 7950X3D is rather more energy environment friendly. Not solely does the 7950X3D eat far much less peak energy, however it additionally delivers extra work per unit of energy consumed. That leads to a win in energy consumption, effectivity, and thermal output, finally providing you with a cooler and quieter system.
Neither of those chips comes with a bundled cooler, however Intel’s larger energy consumption means you may want extra aggressive, and thus costlier, cooling to extract the height efficiency.
Pricing: AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D vs Intel Core i9-13900K
| Tom’s {Hardware} – Decrease is Higher | {Dollars}-per-fps — Chip Solely | {Dollars}-per-fps — Chip, board, reminiscence |
| AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D | $3.09 | $4.73 |
| Intel Core i9-13900K | $2.95 | $4.14 (DDR4) — $4.37 (DDR5) |
The Core i9-13900K has spectacular efficiency for its $598 price ticket, and you’ll even go graphics-less to avoid wasting money with the $564 Core i9-13900KF mannequin. That is exceptionally aggressive pricing towards AMD’s $699 Ryzen 9 7950X3D, however it does lag in peak gaming efficiency. Normalizing the efficiency values to a dollars-per-fps metric reveals that they’re fairly carefully matched when it comes to gaming worth, however as you possibly can see after we issue within the complete platform price above, there are different components at play.
Each the 13900K and the 7950X3D are finest suited to high-end motherboards, however AMD’s X670/E motherboards at present begin at roughly $80 greater than Intel’s Z790. The Core i9-13900K can be suitable with previous-gen motherboards if they have the right BIOS, and efficiency would be the similar between 600- and 700-series if the ability supply is equivalent. Which means you may select a DDR5 Z690 motherboard that provides practically all the identical facilities because the Z790 and have loads of lower-cost choices that prevent much more money.
Pricing for an appropriate reminiscence equipment may be a sticking level. To avoid wasting money, you possibly can go together with DDR4 with the 13900K and sacrifice a few percentage points of gaming performance whereas retaining the total efficiency in productiveness purposes. The financial savings are steep: You will pay round $60 bucks to start out with 32GB of DDR4, however pricing begins at $105 for 32GB of DDR5. That DDR5 tax is unavoidable for Ryzen 9 7950X3D customers. Moreover, maybe the most effective reminiscence equipment is the one you don’t have to purchase — many upgraders seemingly have already got a DDR4 equipment, which is a plus.
Winner: Intel Core i9-13900K
The $589 Core i9-13900K has a lower cost tag than the $699 Ryzen 9 7950X3D, however the fps-per-dollar contest is a wash if we solely consider chip pricing.
Nonetheless, the excessive price of AMD’s X-series motherboards provides further price to your construct in comparison with Intel’s Z790 platform. Moreover, you possibly can go for a previous-gen Z690 to save lots of much more money on a 13900K construct (remember to guarantee BIOS compatibility).
The excessive value premium for DDR5 additionally continues to be a sticking level even for a higher-tier Ryzen 9 construct. You will pay practically twice as a lot for DDR5 reminiscence than DDR4 reminiscence, and DDR5 is a strict requirement for AMD’s 7950X3D. Total, these components mix to make the Ryzen 9 7950X3D a a lot pricier construct, giving the Core i9-13900K the lead within the pricing class.
Backside Line: AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D vs Intel Core i9-13900K
| Row 0 – Cell 0 | AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D | Intel Core i9-13900K |
| Options and Specs | X | X |
| Gaming | X | Row 2 – Cell 2 |
| Productiveness Functions | Row 3 – Cell 1 | X |
| Overclocking | X | X |
| Energy Consumption, Effectivity, and Cooling | X | Row 5 – Cell 2 |
| Pricing | Row 6 – Cell 1 | X |
| Complete | 4 | 4 |
The Core i9-13900K vs Ryzen 9 7950X3D battle ends in a four-to-four tie, however the contest is not as shut because the rating implies. Ultimately, every of those processors has its personal distinct benefits and drawbacks relying in your goal use case.
For those who’re constructing a no-holds-barred gaming rig and pricing is not a priority, the $699 Ryzen 9 7950X3D is your chip. The 7950X3D is 12% quicker than the Core i9-13900K in our collection of gaming benchmarks. In fact, that comes with the caveat that its 3D V-Cache tech does not speed up all video games evenly, so the lead may differ relying in your gaming choice. In both case, this chip is the present gaming champ, and it usually is not an in depth contest, particularly in sure sport titles, as we see with Microsoft Flight Simulator 2021 and F1 2021.
The $589 Core i9-13900K is not as engaging for a gaming-focused construct in the event you’re going with DDR5 reminiscence, however it turns into rather more compelling with DDR4 in the event you’re trying to entry flagship-class efficiency at a lower cost level. You’ll sacrifice a number of proportion factors of gaming performance with DDR4, however you may save fairly a bit of cash for different system components. Nonetheless, in the event you’re strictly targeted on flagship-level gaming at a extra inexpensive value, the less-expensive $409 Core i7-13700K gives practically the identical gaming efficiency because the 13900K.
The Ryzen 9 7950X3D is aggressive in most varieties of apps, however its decrease efficiency in lightly-threaded duties may very well be a sticking level in the event you’re targeted on productiveness work with advanced workflows. For productivity-focused methods, or in the event you’re usually on the lookout for a stable all-rounder, the Core i9-13900K is the higher selection.
The 7950X3D holds the benefit in all energy consumption metrics, together with peak energy and effectivity, that ranks among the many finest we’ve ever examined. That leads to extra forgiving cooling necessities and a cooler and quieter system. On the opposite finish of the spectrum, overclocking is changing into more and more much less fascinating on the excessive finish for many lovers — you may get a greater payoff within the mid-range and low-end of the market. The Intel and AMD processors each present at the very least some uplift after overclocking, making that contest a wash.
On the pricing entrance, the $699 Ryzen 9 7950X3D carries a hefty premium that, mixed with the excessive motherboard and reminiscence pricing, limits it to the highest-end gaming machines. However there’ll at all times be efficiency addicts keen to pay prime greenback for the best possible; for these, the Ryzen 9 7950X3D gives the quickest gaming efficiency cash can purchase. We additionally anticipate that the 7950X3D will see steep reductions over time. In the meantime, the Core i9-13900K slots in as a extra inexpensive choice and a greater all-rounder in productiveness purposes.
We sometimes do not suggest spending this a lot on a chip if gaming is your major objective — yow will discover higher lower-cost choices from each camps. As an alternative, players ought to wait to see how the eight-core $449 Ryzen 7 7800X3D pans out when it arrives on April 6, 2023. AMD says it will nearly match the 7950X3D whereas delivering Core i9-13900K-beating efficiency at a a lot lower cost level.
| Intel Socket 1700 DDR5 (Z790) | Core i9-13900KS, Core i9-13900K, Core i7-13700K |
| Motherboard | MSI MPG Z790 Carbon WiFi |
| RAM | G.Ability Trident Z5 RGB DDR5-6800 – Inventory: DDR5-5600 | OC: XMP DDR5-6800 |
| AMD Socket AM5 (X670E) | Ryzen 9 7950X3D, 7950X, 7900X, Ryzen 7 7700X |
| Motherboard | ASRock X670E Taichi |
| RAM | G.Ability Trident Z5 Neo DDR5-6000 – Inventory: DDR5-5200 | OC/PBO: DDR5-6000 |
| AMD Socket AM4 (X570) | Ryzen 9 5800X3D, 5800X, 5950X |
| Motherboard | MSI MEG X570 Godlike |
| RAM | 2x 8GB Trident Z Royal DDR4-3600 – Inventory: DDR4-3200 | OC/PBO: DDR4-3800 |
| All Programs | 2TB Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus, Silverstone ST1100-TI, Open Benchtable, Arctic MX-4 TIM, Home windows 11 Professional |
| Gaming GPU | Asus RTX 4090 ROG Strix OC |
| Utility GPU | Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti FE |
| Cooling | Corsair H150i, Inventory Cooler |
| Overclocking be aware | All configurations with overclocked reminiscence even have tuned core frequencies and/or lifted energy limits. |