AMD’s leaked Ryzen 7 9800X3D performance boost over the 7800X3D might be a reason for you to wait before your next CPU upgrade

A new leak claims AMD’s upcoming Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor will see an 8% performance boost over the Ryzen 9 7800X3D — in other words, the chip that is regarded as one of the best gaming CPUs on the market now looks set to be dethroned.

This could stand as a significant boost for PC gamers, especially considering the improvement in 3D V-Cache, which was a downside in our AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D review. The leak from VideoCardz contains a marketing description of the 9800X3D, revealing ‘Next-Gen 3D V-Cache’ which points towards better thermal performance when operating at higher clock speeds.

VideoCardz also reports that it’s expected to have a 15% enhancement over the 7800X3D in multi-threaded workloads, ideal for multi-tasking duties and video editing, using 8 cores and 16 threads — this strikes a balance for both content creators and gamers, along with the aforementioned 3D V-Cache improvements. These pivotal enhancements being leaked ahead of the 9800X3D’s confirmed November 7th launch and AMD’s full spec reveal gives gamers some insight into what to expect.

Will the 9800X3D be worth the upgrade?

While we have yet to see the full scope of what the Ryzen 7 9800X3D will have to offer specification-wise, the leaked marketing description gives us a great idea of what is in store for PC gamers. Considering the aforementioned 8% boost in gaming performance and room for slightly higher clock speeds up to 5.2GHz compared to the previous 5GHz, the switch is certainly worth contemplating – and for gamers who have yet to upgrade to an AM5 chip, this performance boost could finally be the push they need.

Despite the improvements listed in the leak, it’s important to note that there is only so much that can be done when it comes to poor game optimization on PC — an upgrade can help specifically with reducing stuttering in certain games, but it’s not the silver bullet for achieving optimal performance. Besides, most modern games are far more dependent on your GPU and available VRAM.

If you’re using the best GPUs on the market, like the Nvidia RTX 4080 Super or RTX 4090, any kind of upgrade isn’t entirely urgent, but we’ll have to wait to see everything AMD’s new processor has to offer before we can pass judgment on the value of this new chip.

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