So last year, I wrote a small article on my experience upgrading from the AMD Ryzen 5 5600x to the AMD Ryzen 7 5800x3d.
In short, it was an excellent idea, providing a significant upgrade in framerates for pretty much every game I tested. Not to mention it was one of the easiest updates since the CPUs were swappable without any additional upgrades on the motherboard or RAM or anything else.
Needless to say, with the recent release of the AMD Ryzen 7 7800x3d, they certainly had my attention. And all the early reviews showed a significant improvement even over the Ryzen 7 5800x3d that I had. Considering I now have an RTX 4090 in my desktop rig, surely I’d see these benefits.
So I decided to give it a shot. I realized that it would mean getting a new motherboard too, but I did a little research and found that I could still get a decent amount for my current CPU and motherboard on Facebook marketplace.
But what I didn’t consider – and I found out the hard way – was that these new Ryzen motherboards all require DDR5 ram. Ugh!! So there was an extra expense that I wasn’t prepared for.
So what I ended up getting with this upgrade was the CPU itself (of course), an NZXT N7 B650 motherboard, and 32GB of G.Skill Trident DDR5 6000 ram. I probably could have gone a little cheaper, but I was going for aesthetics too. Assuming I get what I’m asking for with the original components, I’m looking at a net loss of $350. So is it worth it? Let’s see.
I upgraded my Ryzen 7 5800X3d rig to the more recent AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D platform
Here are the benchmarks I tested.
We’re not looking at apples to apples like the last time since I have a new motherboard and RAM, but everything else is the same. The GPU is an Asus TUF RTX 4090 and all the gaming settings were set to maximum with Ray Tracing being on where applicable.
Here’s what I got in 3DMark and Cinebench:
| AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D + RTX 4090 | AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D + RTX 4090 | |
| Time Spy | Total – 25548 Graphics – 36087 Physics – 9623 |
Total – 27918 Graphics – 36832 Physics – 11773 |
| Fire Strike | Total – 46673 Graphics – 78542 Physics – 27043 |
Total – 51101 Graphics – 81857 Physics – 29945 |
| Cinebench r23 | Multi – 12559 Single – 1412 |
Multi – 15849 Single – 1698 |
And here are a couple of games, on Ultra settings with RT and at WQHD (3440 x 1440 px) resolution:
| AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D + RTX 4090 | AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D + RTX 4090 | |
| Valheim | 130 fps avg, 50 fps low | 170 fps avg, 62 fps low |
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 173 fps avg, 97 fps low | 204 fps avg, 133 fps low |
| Cyberpunk | 137 fps avg, 78 fps low | 166 fps avg, 120 fps low |
| Battlefield 5 | 167 fps avg, 88 fps low | 188 fps avg, 125 fps low |
| Time Spy | Total – 25548 Graphics – 36087 Physics – 9623 |
Total – 27918 Graphics – 36832 Physics – 11773 |
| Fire Strike | Total – 46673 Graphics – 78542 Physics – 27043 |
Total – 51101 Graphics – 81857 Physics – 29945 |
| Cinebench r23 | Multi – 12559 Single – 1412 |
Multi – 15849 Single – 1698 |
Simply put, we’re looking at a 20% increase in CPU power alone from this upgrade. And depending on the game, we’re looking at 10-20% gains, even with the best GPU out there. Not bad really!
Of course, take my findings with a grain of salt. Because while I’m seeing these gains in my rig, depending on what GPU you are using, they may differ for you. In other words, if you’re using a RTX 4070 for example, your game may be GPU bound to a point where the CPU choice may not make that much of a difference.
But there’s more to this Zen 4 CPU that makes it appealing to me and that’s with the power consumption. Simply put, this is one of the most power-efficient CPUs out there and it certainly shows in my limited tests.
For example, with my Cinebench benchmark, on the 5800x3d, the temps would hit 90C easily, but on the 7800x3d I topped out at 70C. The same goes with gaming – Horizon Zero Dawn resulted in CPU temps in the mid 70s, while on the 7800x3d, I’m barely breaching 60C.
The reason for the temperature change is due to the 7800x3d running at lower wattages, which I unfortunately didn’t monitor on my old rig, so I can’t provide a comparison for context. But from a little research, that is one of the claims to fame with this Zen 4 architecture with 3D V-cache – it’s arguably the most power-efficient gaming CPU available right now.
I got my CPU from Amazon for $450, which matches the Ryzen 7 5800x3d when it launched last year. A fair price, but as I said, it’s an upgrade that requires a new motherboard and potentially new RAM.
So while I’m a little annoyed by the extra cost of having to buy new RAM, I’m very satisfied with the increased performance as well as the near-silent running I’m currently enjoying. All in all, this was a good upgrade in my opinion and if you’re in the market for a new motherboard and CPU, this Ryzen 7 7800X3D platform should be towards the top of your list.
Happy to hear your thoughts, especially if you got this CPU. I’m interested to hear if you’re enjoying it as much as I am.
