AMD Ryzen 7 9700X Evaluation: Zen 5 Arrives

As we speak we’re taking our first have a look at AMD’s new Zen 5 processors, beginning with the Ryzen 7 9700X, their newest 8-core / 16-thread CPU designed to exchange the 7700X. Forward of the launch, AMD was claiming a 16% common IPC uplift for the brand new era – much like AMD’s earlier Zen structure upgrades – whereas different features of the design stay unchanged from Ryzen 7000, together with the variety of CPU cores (between 6 and 16 throughout the line-up) and peak frequencies that push as much as 5.7 GHz.

The Ryzen 7 9700X will promote for $360, which is 10% lower than the MSRP of the 7700X when it launched. Nevertheless, it’s also 24% costlier than the present retail value, on condition that the 7700X can at present be purchased for simply $290.

That is an affordable premium for the brand new Zen 5 mannequin contemplating AMD’s claimed efficiency enhance, although a lot of the good points should be IPC associated because the 9700X is clocked simply 2% greater than the 7700X. Which means the 9700X clocks as excessive as 5.5 GHz and with a 65W TDP can clock as little as 3.8 GHz.

In whole, there’s 8MB of L2 Cache, 1MB per core, with a shared 32MB L3 Cache. As with the 7700X, the utmost protected working temperature, or TjMax, has been set at 95°C. The official most reminiscence pace is DDR5-5600, although overclocking to greater speeds is feasible.

AMD emphasizes that the TjMax is the utmost protected working temperature, not absolutely the most temperature. This implies these processors are designed to run at TjMax 24/7 with out danger of harm or deterioration. At 95 levels, it’s nonetheless working inside specs.

There was some dialogue that Zen 5 would help greater reminiscence speeds, however AMD tells us that DDR5-6000 continues to be going to be the candy spot, with all CPUs able to an FCLK of two,000 MHz. AMD notes that going above 2,000 MHz might compromise stability or decouple the material clock from the reminiscence clock, leading to suboptimal efficiency, relying on how excessive the reminiscence frequency is.

AMD additionally clarified that for finest efficiency, the reminiscence and IMC ought to run at a 1:1 ratio. For this, DDR5-6000 is perfect. Reminiscence help for Zen 5 is similar to Zen 4. A superb high quality DDR5-6000 package is really helpful, and that is what we might be testing.

Benchmarks

Check Setup

Cinebench 2024

First let’s take a look at how the 9700X behaves beneath an all-core workload in Cinebench. We noticed a sustained 5.25 GHz working frequency with all cores beneath load, leading to a bundle energy of 140 Watts and a peak working temperature of 91°C. With only a single core lively, the 9700X clocked as excessive as 5.5 GHz, which is the reported enhance clock, in order that checks out.

Now, here is a have a look at the Cinebench multi-core efficiency. The 9700X is a mere 2% quicker than the 7700X on this check, which isn’t a lot of a efficiency uplift. It additionally implies that for these multi-core workloads, AMD continues to be nicely behind Intel’s 14600K.

Regardless of the virtually an identical multi-core efficiency to that of the 7700X, the 9700X is 10% quicker in single-core efficiency, which is an affordable enchancment. This might imply good issues for gaming, and we’ll get to that quickly.

Energy Consumption (Cinebench)

However earlier than we do, listed here are the overall system energy consumption numbers when operating the Cinebench all-core workload. The 9700X averaged simply 221 Watts, which is a 27 Watt saving in comparison with the 7700X, understanding to an 11% saving.

7-Zip File Supervisor

Transferring on to the 7-Zip File Supervisor testing, we begin with the compression outcomes. Right here, the 9700X was truly 3% slower than the 7700X, which is a particularly disappointing consequence.

It was additionally barely slower for the decompression workload, trailing by a 1.5% margin. Whereas not a lot slower, the truth that it isn’t considerably quicker here’s a actual downside.

Blender Open Information

The Blender Open Information outcomes stay unchanged, with 129 samples per minute for each the 7700X and 9700X, making the brand new Zen 5 processor 11% slower than the 14600K.

Corona 10 Benchmark

Curiously, when operating the Corona 10 Benchmark, we discover that the 9700X is 11% quicker than the 7700X, indicating a good uplift, and we have been hoping to see extra of this.

Adobe Photoshop 2024

In Photoshop, we see that the 9700X is 3% quicker than the 7700X on this check, making it the quickest CPU examined. Whereas this can be a good consequence total, it’s nonetheless very disappointing when in comparison with the half it’s meant to exchange.

Adobe Premiere Professional 2024

The 9700X was additionally quicker in Premiere Professional, this time by a 6% margin. Whereas not wonderful, it’s higher than 3%. Nonetheless, when in comparison with the 14600K, it was 2% slower.

Gaming Benchmarks

Baldur’s Gate 3

Okay, time for the gaming benchmarks, and we’ll begin with Baldur’s Gate 3. Sadly, the 9700X is a mere 2% quicker than the 7700X, going from 113 to 115 fps, a modest 2 fps enhance. Let’s hope that is simply an outlier as we transfer on…

The Final of Us Half 1

Sadly, the Baldur’s Gate 3 outcomes aren’t an outlier. Testing with The Final of Us Half 1, we see that the 9700X is definitely slower than the 7700X by a 3% margin. We re-ran this check a number of occasions, tried a number of completely different motherboards and reminiscence kits, however one factor remained constant: the 9700X’s poor efficiency.

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty

Transferring on to Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, the 9700X is at the very least quicker than the 7700X right here by just a few frames, displaying a mere 2% enchancment. This can be a disappointing enchancment, however at the very least it is quicker on this instance.

Hogwarts Legacy

Efficiency in Hogwarts Legacy is way the identical utilizing both the 7700X or 9700X, so no enchancment right here. It is also disappointing to see that we’re solely taking a look at Core i7-12700K-like efficiency.

Assetto Corsa Competizione

The ACC outcomes are good, with the 9700X being considerably quicker than the 7700X, which is clearly what we wish to see. On this instance, the common body charge was improved by 18%, which is a major uplift, bringing the 9700X near the 14900K.

Spider-Man Remastered

The Spider-Man Remastered outcomes are much less spectacular, however at the very least we see a 5% enhance right here, averaging 153 fps. Nevertheless, that is nonetheless 12700K-like efficiency, which isn’t wonderful for a next-gen product.

Homeworld 3

The 9700X additionally seems to be sturdy in Homeworld 3, regardless of being simply 3% quicker than the 7700X. It matched the common body charge of the 14900K with a lot better 1% lows. For some purpose, the Intel CPUs tank the 1% lows on this check.

A Plague Story: Requiem

The 9700X additionally appeared sturdy in A Plague Story: Requiem, however once more it was simply 3% quicker than the 7700X, so only some frames higher than the 14900K however a lot slower than the 7800X3D.

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2 supplies us with a uncommon instance the place the 9700X is double digits quicker than the 7700X, averaging 536 fps, which means it was slower than solely the 7800X3D.

Starfield

Now, I am certain you may see some evaluations of the 9700X the place it is quicker than the 7700X in Starfield, however these evaluations will most likely be testing with completely different high quality settings or a unique part of the sport. After many re-tests, the most effective we noticed from the 9700X was a 4% loss to the 7700X.

Horizon Forbidden West

Subsequent up, now we have Horizon Forbidden West, one other instance the place the 9700X and 7700X are very comparable when it comes to gaming efficiency, with the older 7700X providing just a few further frames. That is tremendous disappointing stuff from AMD, particularly after 2 years.

Hitman 3

The 9700X was an entire % quicker in Hitman 3, taking us from 238 fps to 241 fps, in order that’s fairly riveting stuff.

Watch Canine: Legion

Lastly, now we have Watch Canine: Legion, and with it, one other instance the place the 7700X is barely quicker than the 9700X. It is value noting that we based mostly our knowledge on a median of six runs for this check, as the primary few runs are closely inflated for some purpose. On the finish of the day, each CPUs delivered comparable efficiency on this check.

13 Sport Common

Throughout the 13 video games we examined, the 9700X was a grand whole of three% quicker than the 7700X. So, it principally caught as much as the Core i5-14600K. AMD claimed of their evaluate information that the 9700X is 9% quicker than the 14700K throughout the video games they examined, however we have discovered it to be 5% slower.

We mentioned our outcomes at size with AMD, and so they did not suppose our knowledge was off for the pattern of video games we examined. Perhaps 1-2% decrease than what they have been seeing internally, although they have been unwilling to share that knowledge.

Nevertheless, the purpose is that we count on reviewers to report the 9700X to be 3-6% quicker than the 7700X, relying on the video games and high quality settings used for testing, which is a disappointing consequence.

Energy Consumption

Here is a fast have a look at whole system energy consumption when gaming. Please notice we did not have time so as to add all CPUs examined to this knowledge set, however we do have the vital ones, just like the 9700X and 7700X.

As you’ll be able to see, the 9700X solely diminished whole system utilization by 16 watts, a 3% discount. After all, that may be a 26% saving in comparison with the 14900K, which was restricted to 253 watts, however relative to Zen 4, the good points aren’t that spectacular.

We noticed a 23-watt discount in whole system utilization when testing with The Final of Us Half 1, because the 9700X dropped to 491 watts from 514 watts with the 7700X. On this instance, that is a 4% discount in energy utilization. It isn’t insignificant, but in addition not thrilling.

Value per Body

Here is a have a look at the price per body of simply the CPU. At this level, we must always point out that AMD’s asking $360 for the 9700X, making it 24% extra expensive than the 7700X, which is not nice given it was solely 3% quicker on common.

When factoring in the price of the CPU, the 9700X wound up costing 21% extra per body than the 7700X and 11% greater than the 7800X3D, so that you’d clearly simply purchase the X3D chip.

Value per Body (Whole Construct)

Now, if we consider the price of a good motherboard and a 32GB reminiscence package, the 9700X nonetheless finally ends up costing 11% extra per body than the 7700X. It is also 13% extra expensive than the 7800X3D, so once more, should you’re inquisitive about gaming, you’d nonetheless simply get the 7800X3D.

What We Realized: It is a Flop

Zen 5 seems to be a little bit of a flop in our opinion. In truth, it is giving us Intel Eleventh-gen vibes. Certain, it is somewhat quicker whereas utilizing rather less energy, however total, after 2 years, it is a lot the identical. Making issues worse is the value premium. If the 9700X was slotting in on the similar $290 asking value because the 7700X, then I suppose certain, that is tremendous – a small improve, nothing to get enthusiastic about, however it’s not dangerous. However at a 24% premium, AMD can hold it; now we have little interest in the 9700X at this time limit.

AMD appears a bit misplaced with this launch. They made a giant deal out of Zen 5 in the course of the Computex launch, regardless of having little or no to indicate for it. We had hoped for extra, given the IPC claims. However when it got here to gaming, little or no was revealed, and now we all know why.

This previous week has been very irritating for us, attempting to find out if what we have been seeing from the 9700X was correct. Did now we have a faulty chip, or was there one thing improper with our check system? AMD gave no steerage on how the 9700X ought to examine relative to the 7700X, and regardless of asking them instantly a number of occasions, we solely obtained imprecise solutions. As finest as we are able to inform after talking with AMD, our outcomes relative to the 7700X are correct, perhaps 1-2% down on what AMD was seeing, however thereabouts.

As we famous earlier, we’re certain you may come throughout evaluations with bigger margins favoring the 9700X over the 7700X in comparison with what we have proven you, however once more, that can largely come all the way down to the video games used for testing and the way the video games are examined, equivalent to check location and high quality settings used. However based mostly on what AMD tells us, you should not see considerably bigger margins. The 9700X simply is not that a lot quicker than the 7700X, at the very least not throughout a great pattern of video games.

We’re a bit miffed by the 9700X’s total efficiency. It appears fairly pointless, and we will not think about these X3D chips anticipated later within the 12 months are going to be a lot completely different given what we have seen right here. It was additionally surprising to seek out the 9700X slower than the 7700X in some video games, and it is this inconsistent efficiency that makes the 9700X notably dangerous in our opinion. It is underwhelming at finest.

If you happen to have been holding off to your new construct, this half adjustments nothing. You would be higher off shopping for the 7700X or 7800X3D, as each elements provide much better worth, and within the case of the 7800X3D, it is considerably quicker whereas costing simply $20 extra. Tell us what you suppose.