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AMD’s new thread management technique requires Windows 10 (1903) or 11 (21H2) and four components — a new chipset driver, updated BIOS, Windows Game Mode, and an updated version of the Xbox Game Bar (you can update through the Microsoft Apps store). The Ultimate Processor for Gaming, with AMD 3D V-Cache™ Technology for Even More Game Performance 1 Speaking of performance — boy howdy, this is a hell of a processor. It doesn't always hit the highest score on a given test, and it can often lag 5% to 10% behind the 7950X or i9-13900K on a few synthetic CPU benchmarks like CineBench R23 or Geekbench 5, but that could be chalked up to the pre-release BIOS and chipset drivers I used for testing. Even if that isn't the case, nobody buys a processor to run artificial test suites on it. The Ryzen 9 7950X3D pretty much matches the 7950X in Blender and Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Premiere tests, though it lags a bit in VRay 5 (though not by that much). Where it really shines though is with HandBrake 1.6. This is one of the creative tests we use where we get to measure it's true real-world performance on a creative workload, especially one that is highly CPU dependent.
AMD designed the Ryzen 9 7950X3D based on its Zen 4 microarchitecture, which I went over in greater detail in my review of the Ryzen 9 7950X, linked above. Instead of going over the Zen 4 nuances again (hit the review for more detail if desired), let’s focus on what’s unique with the Ryzen 9 7950X3D. In most CPU tests, however, the cache is not that helpful, and this is what paints the worst picture of the Ryzen 9 7950X3D. Out of all of our CPUs tests, the Ryzen 9 7950X3D is beaten by the Ryzen 9 7950X in all of them except one. That one is the single-threaded POV-Ray 3.7 test, and admittedly that's within the margin of error. For most tests, we utilize an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Founders Edition graphics card as the primary display adapter. This is also used for all of the gaming tests—except those focused on testing the integrated graphics processor, or IGP. During those tests, we remove the Nvidia graphics card from the system. All tests are performed on Windows 11 Pro with all the latest Windows updates installed. Many will draw parallels between AMD’s approach and Intel’s Thread Director, the latter of which steers threads to either high-performance or efficiency cores in the company’s x86 hybrid CPUs. The two mechanisms have plenty of similarities, but as you would expect, each company has a unique implementation with different goals.
The lower power consumption measured during Adobe Premiere and Cinebench gives the Ryzen 9 7950X3D better overall performance per watt and slightly better overall energy efficiency. This is hurt by the high idle power consumption, however, which never drops below 97W with the system sitting idle at the desktop for prolonged periods. This latter issue may be resolved with a BIOS or driver update, though. PlaneInTheSky said:The cons just weigh too heavy for me to even consider the CPU or the AM5 platform. Update Windows game bar via the Windows Store. It usually needs to be updated twice, same for all MS Store apps so restart the MS Store mid way through and update again. Only fusing the SRAM onto one CCD also reduces manufacturing costs, as the hybrid bonding process and additional chiplet make this an expensive technology. AMD also says that using two V-Cache chiplets doesn’t provide enough performance uplift to justify the extra costs. What's also so notable about the 7950X3D is that while Intel's latest processors have been outstanding, that performance is far more a function of just throwing power at the problem, literally, than it is some kind of technological magic behind the scenes.
With both tuned, I'd still rather have the 16 core variant personally. It'll be the better overall chip IMO, basing this off the 7950X vs the 7700X. Maybe but getting another 8 cores for "cheap" is money set on fire if you then spend the next 3 years gaming gaming and gaming.While prices are high, we were very impressed by the Ryzen 9 7950X3D in our review, praising it for its high performance and low power draw. You can read our full review, HERE. AMD’s Collaborative Processor Performance Control (CPPC2) interface already ranks the fastest cores as the highest priority, enabling the OS to schedule threads into these ‘preferred’ cores first. Not all Ryzen cores can reach the rated peak frequency, so this tech is critical to ensure strong performance in lightly threaded apps, like gaming. Testing a processor is arguably one of the most involved processes of any component I review because there are so many things to measure and quantify. Putting one CCD to sleep saves some power, but not having them there at all will save more power. Makes sense if you think about it. The second CCD is basically in a deep sleep state, but can be woken up to work if required. Curious as to what games are struggling to run on PC and also what PCs are struggling to run games? Also, are those affected games also having issues on consoles?
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