The upcoming 9850X3D will no doubt tempt overclockers to unleash power limits and see how high she will soar, but I'm looking at a different target: efficiency.
I've got a passively cooled system which can cool a CPU up to 65W. I've currently got a Ryzen 7 8700G in there (65W – Zen 4) which works fine, but I see two opportunities for improvement:
- Zen 5
- AMD 3D V-Cache™
I've got a Ryzen 7 9700X (65W – Zen 5) in another system, and from testing and tinkering with that it's clear there are definitely improvements when comparing Zen 4 to Zen 5. There is less latency and more efficiency (depending on the use case about 10-20%).
Both of these chips don't have AMD 3D V-Cache™. So with the new 9850X3D forthcoming, I was thinking to get one of those and try it at 65W (or perhaps get a 9800X3D with discount).
I've seen some Zen 4 vs. Zen 5 comparisons (and did my own) so the generational benefit is clear. However, I can't really find anything about how the 9800X3D performs at 65W.
There are comparisons between the 9800X3D and 9700X but of course the 9800X3D is a much higher TDP chip (120W vs. 65W), so that's why question 1.
TechPowerUp has the best efficiency charts I could find: https://www.techpowerup.com/review/amd-ryzen-7-9800x3d/23.html
They write this in their conclusion:
Probably the most interesting result is 7800X3D vs 9800X3D in gaming. AMD's new processor requires 65 watts, which is quite good. However, the 7800X3D remains the undisputed king of gaming efficiency, using only 46 watts. This excellent efficiency is achieved because it is clocked lower and runs at a lower voltage to protect the cache die. These factors both contribute to its improved energy efficiency.
(Note they quote a TDP of 65W but that's in error, earlier on they report the correct 120W TDP.)
The 7800X3D being more efficient because it runs lower clocks and less voltage is true, but the 9800X3D could do that as well! Again, this makes me wonder what the 9800X3D can achieve when limited to just 65W.
Is this a bad idea, or worth a try? And would it make a difference to pick the 9850X3D over the 9800X3D (because it's supposedly better binned/tuned and therefore even more efficient)?
(BTW: I'm using a RTX 5070 as GPU and the use case for the system is basic – light – work and gaming.)