AMD Ryzen 7 7800x3D: Everything you Need to Know

At the moment we’re writing this article, AMD Ryzen 7 7800x3D is regarded as the best CPU/SoC for gaming. And that is not only due to its basic specs but also thanks to the AMD 3D V-Cache technology that has a low latency in games. Here’s all we know about it to help you decide if you want to upgrade.

AMD Ryzen 7 7800x3D

1. Technical specifications

As usual, we’re going to start with the raw data provided by AMD for their AMD Ryzen 7 7800x3D SoC.

Specification	Details
Architecture	Zen 4 (Raphael)
Cores / Threads	8 / 16
Base Clock	4.2 GHz
Max Boost Clock	Up to 5.0 GHz
L1 Cache	64 KB (per core)
L2 Cache	1 MB (per core)
L3 Cache	96 MB (shared)
TDP	120 W
Socket	AM5
Process Size	5 nm
Transistors	11,270 million
Memory Support	DDR5-5200 MT/s, Dual-channel, ECC supported
PCIe Support	PCIe Gen 5, 24 Lanes
Integrated Graphics	Radeon Graphics
Launch Price	$449
Release Date	January 4, 2023
Max Temperature (tJMax)	89°C
Virtualization	AMD-V, AVX, AVX2, AVX-512

As we highlighted in the beginning, AMD Ryzen 7 7800x3D shines in gaming thanks to the V-Cahe, or 3D Vertical Cache. The technology is all about adding an extra 64 MB of cache on a separate silicon layer, positioned directly above the Zen 4 CCD’s 32 MB on-die L3 cache.

These layers are interconnected using TSVs (through-silicon vias), allowing the additional cache to operate at the same speed as the on-die L3 cache. The result is a seamless 96 MB L3 cache block that the software and OS recognize as a single entity, rather than two separate chunks.

By placing a large, fast cache close to the processing logic, this setup significantly boosts gaming performance. However, this is also adding a little bit more heat because the cooling solution will struggle to reach the deeper layer. AMD recommends a liquid cooling system for this CPU. We would add that a 280 mm water cooler should suffice.

Thanks to the 8 core/ 16 threads and mainly to this huge amount of speedy cache, AMD Ryzen 7 7800x3D tops even the fastest of Intel’s 13th Gen Core Raptor Lake processors at gaming.

2. Integrated GPU

AMD Ryzen 7 7800x3D is a SoC, meaning that it comes with an integrated GPU. The RDNA 2 integrated GPU has a 4 ACE and 1 HWS compute units and will clearly bottleneck the powerful and fast CPU cores so you will need a discrete graphics card if you want to get the most out of this SoC.

Don’t get us wrong, everything will work fine, but it’s like having a horse carriage attached to a rocket. Also, the iGPU can’t access the L3 cashe will being on the I/O die, so you will get the same performance as from the regular Ryzen 7000 processors.

3. Switching to AM5 socket and a new motherboard

The newer Ryzen 7 SoCs use the AM5 socket LGA 1718 which borrows the clamping system from Intel. Now, you won’t need 3 hands to install a cooler as it happened on AM4 sockets, and the retention bracket only presses on the middle of the chip. Now, you don’t need to detach the backplate which makes installing the chip a lot easier.

The downside of the new AMD Ryzen 7 7800x3D is that it only works with DDR5 memory, so you won’t be able to use an older AM5 socket motherboard if it has DDR4 memory slots. That means buying a new motherboard and, of course, new RAM modules. DDR5 600 memory would work perfectly with the AMD chip.

4. Best graphics card choices for AMD Ryzen 7 7800x3D

Right off the bat, we would recommend pairing your AMD Ryzen 7 7800x3D with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX OC graphics card.

Just as an example, the ASUS build comes with 24 GB of GDDR6 video memory, and covers the Display Port and HDMI port connections. This behemoth is right there for your 4K gaming needs, especially if you supply a suitable monitor.

The downside is that you will also need to bring a 900 W PSU to the party if you want everything running smoothly.

AMD Ryzen 7 7800x3D will also play nice with the NVIDIA RTX 4080 or RTX 4070 GPUs, but the former will drain your budget a bit because it is currently more than double the price of the SoC.

5. Gaming benchmarking is off the charts

We didn’t test AMD Ryzen 7 7800x3D ourselves, but most of the benchmarks we found online put this SoC in top positions for games such as Elden Ring, Far Cry 6, F1 2021, Hitman 3, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2021, Red Dead Redemption 2, Watch Dogs Legion and many others, ahead of Intel’s Core i9 13900K.

To be fair, in the TechPowerup extensive benchmark tests, Core i9 setups prevailed in terms of FPS in games like Age of Empires IV and Counter-Strike: GO, or God of War. However, if you take into consideration the prices of the two CPUs, Intel’s CPU is a bit less expensive.

According to the PassMark benchmarks, AMD Ryzen 7 7800x3D is very close to Intel Core i9 14900KS and over the performance of Intel Core i9 13900KS.

6. Pricing

AMD released the SoC in 2023 at $450, but at the moment we wrote this piece, the lowest price on Amazon was $584. The best price we’ve found for AMD Ryzen 7 7800x3D was from techINN store at $467.

This proves that there is a lot of hype around AMD’s offering. In fact, most of the online stores we’ve checked didn’t have the SoC in stock so you might as well give them a call to check first.

In turn, we’ve found Intel Core i9 13900K at $416 on Amazon. However, that was a 34% discount price. Its original launch price was $589.

Is AMD Ryzen 7 7800x3D good for gaming?

All facts lead to the conclusion that AMD Ryzen 7 7800x3D is one of the best choices if you want to build a gaming PC right now. It will get you that high FPS count doubled with a low latency you were looking for. However, it has become so popular that it’s hard to get at a reasonable price.

We also remind you that AMD launched this SoC in 2023 and there are already rumors that the next x3D is around the corner for a late 2024 launch. Will you pay the extra to get this one, wait for the next version or opt for a Core i9 instead? It’s a tough choice, but whatever you will decide, you will still have a powerful gaming PC.