LABS TESTLABS TEST // PROCESSORSPROCESSORS
A
MD’s mainstream product stack has
been squished at the top end, thanks
to the addition of the new 12-core
and 16-core models at the summit. These
chips haven’t just made life difficult for the
Ryzen 7 3800X, but for the entire CPU market
in general. This is the first time we’ve looked at
AMD’s fastest 8-core Ryzen CPU, but it
already looks quite different to when it
launched, due to a hefty £70 price cut from its
launch price of £380. It’s now priced at around
£310, but is that enough for it to be worth
buying over the cheaper Ryzen 7 3700X?AMD RYZEN 7
3800X /£309 inc VAT
SUPPLIER overclockers.co.ukIts main plus point is the peak boost frequency
of 4.5GHz, which is the second highest of any
mainstream Ryzen CPU, so it will be no slouch
in lightly threaded applications. Its all-core boost
speed, or at least the one while testing with
our all-in-one liquid cooler, was 4.2GHz. This
frequency is noticeably higher than that of the
Ryzen 7 3700X and also the Ryzen 9 3900X,
which managed 4.05GHz, albeit across four
additional cores.
The Ryzen 7 3800X lacks the huge cache
of the latter, as it only has two Core Complexes
enabled, meaning it has 32MB of L3 cache and
4MB of L2 cache, which isn’t dissimilar to AMD’s
current 6-core parts. The CPU also comes with
AMD’s Wraith Prism RGB cooler, just like the
Ryzen 7 3700X, but you also have to deal with
a higher TDP of 105W with the 3800X.
In terms of performance, at stock speed,
the Ryzen 7 3800X punched well above its
weight, bettering the Core i7-9700K and Core
i9-10900X in many tests, but ultimately failing
to topple the more expensive Core i9-9900KF.
Still, with similar performance in Cinebench and
Premiere Pro, it represents much better value.
We then applied our maximum 1.425V
vcore and the Ryzen 7 3800X managed to
hit a mighty 4.4GHz, which is the highest
all-core clock speed of any mainstream Zen
2 CPU we’ve tested so far. This meant that,
like its sibling, we only cut 100MHz from the
peak boost frequency, but added 200MHz to
the all-core boost. As such, a manual all-core
overclock is potentially a better option than
using Precision Boost Overdrive on this CPU.
Once overclocked, the 3800X was
generally neck and neck with the Intel Corei9-9900KF until we came to the game tests,
where it was still noticeably slower in these
specific games at 1080p. Overclocking helped,
but its 88fps 99th percentile frame rate in Far
Cry New Dawn still paled compared to the
100fps achieved by the Core i9-9900KF.Conclusion
The Ryzen 7 3800X finds itself in a tricky
position, with the Ryzen 7 3700X snapping
at its heels and costing £50 less, while Intel’s
mainstream CPUs remain quicker in some
game titles, especially at 1080p. The fact that
the 3800X only offers modest gains over
its sibling means that the latter is the better
buy – that extra £50 would be better spent
on a decent CPU cooler, or put towards a
faster SSD. If games are a concern, the Core
i9-9900KF does cost significantly more
money, but matches the 3800X in multi-
threaded tasks while beating it in games.
The Ryzen 9 3800X is a decent CPU, but the
3700X is ultimately a better buy.VERDICT
A fast, powerful and overclockable 8-core
CPU, but the Ryzen 7 3700X offers better
value for money.ZEN
+ Great multi-threaded
performance
+ Good overclocker
+ Matches pricier Intel
CPUs in many testsBULLDOZER- Intel chips are faster
in some games at
certain settings - Poor value compared
to the Ryzen 7 3700X - Outperformed by the
Core i9-9900KF
PERFORMANCE
39 / 50FEATURES
13 / 15OVERALL SCORE
82 %
VALUE
30 / 35SPEC
Base frequency 3.9GHz
Turbo frequency 4.5GHz
Core Zen 2
Manufacturing process 7nm
Number of cores 8 x physical (16 threads)
IGP None
Simultaneous Multithreading Ye s
Cache 32MB L3 cache, 4MB L2 cache
Memory controller Dual-channel
DDR4, up to 3200MHz
Packaging AMD Socket AM4
Thermal design power (TDP) 105W
Features Precision Boost 2, Precision Boost
Overdrive, FMA3, F16C, SHA, BMI / BMI1 + BMI2,
AVX2, AVX, AES, SSE4a, SSE4, SSE3, SSE2, SSELABS TEST / PROCESSORS
A
MD’smainstreamproductstackhas
beensquishedatthetopend,thanks
totheadditionofthenew12-core
and16-coremodelsatthesummit.These
chipshaven’tjustmadelifedifficultforthe
Ryzen7 3800X,butfortheentireCPUmarket
ingeneral.Thisis thefirsttimewe’velookedat
AMD’sfastest8-coreRyzenCPU,butit
alreadylooksquitedifferenttowhenit
launched,duetoa hefty£70pricecutfromits
launchpriceof£380.It’snowpricedataround
£310,butis thatenoughforit tobeworth
buyingoverthecheaperRyzen7 3700X?
AMD RYZEN 7
3800X/£309inc VAT
SUPPLIER overclockers.co.uk
Its main plus point is the peak boost frequency
of 4.5GHz, which is the second highest of any
mainstream Ryzen CPU, so it will be no slouch
in lightly threaded applications. Its all-core boost
speed, or at least the one while testing with
our all-in-one liquid cooler, was 4.2GHz. This
frequency is noticeably higher than that of the
Ryzen 7 3700X and also the Ryzen 9 3900X,
which managed 4.05GHz, albeit across four
additional cores.
The Ryzen 7 3800X lacks the huge cache
of the latter, as it only has two Core Complexes
enabled, meaning it has 32MB of L3 cache and
4MB of L2 cache, which isn’t dissimilar to AMD’s
current 6-core parts. The CPU also comes with
AMD’s Wraith Prism RGB cooler, just like the
Ryzen 7 3700X, but you also have to deal with
a higher TDP of 105W with the 3800X.
In terms of performance, at stock speed,
the Ryzen 7 3800X punched well above its
weight, bettering the Core i7-9700K and Core
i9-10900X in many tests, but ultimately failing
to topple the more expensive Core i9-9900KF.
Still, with similar performance in Cinebench and
Premiere Pro, it represents much better value.
We then applied our maximum 1.425V
vcore and the Ryzen 7 3800X managed to
hit a mighty 4.4GHz, which is the highest
all-core clock speed of any mainstream Zen
2 CPU we’ve tested so far. This meant that,
like its sibling, we only cut 100MHz from the
peak boost frequency, but added 200MHz to
the all-core boost. As such, a manual all-core
overclock is potentially a better option than
using Precision Boost Overdrive on this CPU.
Once overclocked, the 3800X was
generally neck and neck with the Intel Corei9-9900KF until we came to the game tests,
where it was still noticeably slower in these
specific games at 1080p. Overclocking helped,
but its 88fps 99th percentile frame rate in Far
Cry New Dawn still paled compared to the
100fps achieved by the Core i9-9900KF.Conclusion
The Ryzen 7 3800X finds itself in a tricky
position, with the Ryzen 7 3700X snapping
at its heels and costing £50 less, while Intel’s
mainstream CPUs remain quicker in some
game titles, especially at 1080p. The fact that
the 3800X only offers modest gains over
its sibling means that the latter is the better
buy – that extra £50 would be better spent
on a decent CPU cooler, or put towards a
faster SSD. If games are a concern, the Core
i9-9900KF does cost significantly more
money, but matches the 3800X in multi-
threaded tasks while beating it in games.
The Ryzen 9 3800X is a decent CPU, but the
3700X is ultimately a better buy.VERDICT
A fast, powerful and overclockable 8-core
CPU, but the Ryzen 7 3700X offers better
valueformoney.ZEN
Great multi-threaded
performance
Good overclocker
Matches pricier Intel
CPUs in many tests
BULLDOZER- Intel chips are faster
in some games at
certain settings - Poor value compared
to the Ryzen 7 3700X - Outperformed by the
Core i9-9900KF
PERFORMANCE
39 / 50FEATURES
13 / 15OVERALLSCORE
82 %
VALUE
30 / 35SPEC
Base frequency 3.9GHz
Turbo frequency 4.5GHz
Core Zen 2
Manufacturing process 7nm
Number of cores 8 x physical (16 threads)
IGP None
Simultaneous Multithreading Ye s
Cache 32MB L3 cache, 4MB L2 cache
Memory controller Dual-channel
DDR4, up to 3200MHz
Packaging AMD Socket AM4
Thermal design power (TDP) 105W
Features Precision Boost 2, Precision Boost
Overdrive, FMA3, F16C, SHA, BMI / BMI1 + BMI2,
AVX2, AVX, AES, SSE4a, SSE4, SSE3, SSE2, SSE