Ryzen R9 7950X3D Review Round Up – It’s good for SFF but…

Image Credit – AMD
 
Reviews are out for the Ryzen 7950X3D, and it’s actually quite interesting. For those that don’t know, the X3D version of Ryzens include a very large amount of 3D V-Cache. In this instance, it’s 128MB of level 3 cache. However, there is an important catch that anyone looking at the 7950X3D as a gaming CPU should be aware off.
Only One CCD Has 3D Cache.
The 7950X3D is a 16-core CPU. However, those cores are divided between two CPU clusters or dies. These are physically separate from each other, but can talk through a dedicated bus call Infinity Fabric. In the case of the 7950X3D, only one of the CPU dies has the 3D V-Cache. The other die is a normal 8-core die that you would find on a regular...

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[steelfractal]

so if someone already bought a 7950x it is not worth the hassle of returning it and waiting for the x3d to be available at the retailers

 

[Revenant]

so if someone already bought a 7950x it is not worth the hassle of returning it and waiting for the x3d to be available at the retailers

I wouldn’t pull it from a working system unless I was doing 1080P gaming at ultra high refresh rates or had cooling issues.

If I could choose between the two though, I would go with the 7950X3D.

 

[confusis]

Techpowerup's coverage also covers that you can force preference for one or the other CCD;

"Throughout this review we're presenting two additional results "Scheduler set to Prefer Cache" and "Scheduler set to Prefer Frequency". These numbers are based on a BIOS option that lets you customize the scheduling behavior in the processor. You may either use the default (controlled by AMD's drivers with input from game detection) or override that mechanism and push all workloads on the cores with 3DV-Cache first ("prefer cache"), and only when all those cores are busy use the high-frequency cores on CCD2. The third option is to run all tasks on the high-frequency cores first, and put additional load on the 3DV-Cache cores ("prefer frequency"). These results also serve as useful indicator to determine what apps benefit from more cache, or which are better served with more MHz."

They also have a nifty "preview" of how the cheaper 7800x3D may perform; https://www.techpowerup.com/review/ryzen-7800x3d-performance-preview/24.html

 

[Revenant]

Techpowerup's coverage also covers that you can force preference for one or the other CCD;

"Throughout this review we're presenting two additional results "Scheduler set to Prefer Cache" and "Scheduler set to Prefer Frequency". These numbers are based on a BIOS option that lets you customize the scheduling behavior in the processor. You may either use the default (controlled by AMD's drivers with input from game detection) or override that mechanism and push all workloads on the cores with 3DV-Cache first ("prefer cache"), and only when all those cores are busy use the high-frequency cores on CCD2. The third option is to run all tasks on the high-frequency cores first, and put additional load on the 3DV-Cache cores ("prefer frequency"). These results also serve as useful indicator to determine what apps benefit from more cache, or which are better served with more MHz."

They also have a nifty "preview" of how the cheaper 7800x3D may perform; https://www.techpowerup.com/review/ryzen-7800x3d-performance-preview/24.html

7800X3D is going to be the SFF gaming CPU of choice if those numbers pan out. That said, I’m going to leave my 5800X3D in my Thorzone Mjolner as that system is on a 4K display and has a 3070.

 

[confusis]

7800X3D is going to be the SFF gaming CPU of choice if those numbers pan out. That said, I’m going to leave my 5800X3D in my Thorzone Mjolner as that system is on a 4K display and has a 3070.

I'm looking forward to the 7800x3d. I can't even remotely afford it, but I want to see more power/perf density in SFF (who doesn't!) so any chip that helps with that is a boon for our market segment.

 

[steelfractal]

I wouldn’t pull it from a working system unless I was doing 1080P gaming at ultra high refresh rates or had cooling issues.

If I could choose between the two though, I would go with the 7950X3D.

no brand new system i am helping someone from work with also found prices from a danish retailer

 

[Revenant]

no brand new system i am helping someone from work with also found prices from a danish retailer View attachment 2350

If you’re cooling restricted then it’s probably worth it.

 

[steelfractal]

guy i am helping also bought a 360 aio so cooling should not an issue yes I did try talking him into going sff but he was not having it

 

[Revenant]

guy i am helping also bought a 360 aio so cooling should not an issue yes I did try talking him into going sff but he was not having it

Production is slightly faster on the original 7950X than on the 3D model. If he's not gaming much, or he games in 4K, then stick with what you have.