AMD Ryzen 7 3800X Review: Core i7 Has a New Challenger

By Paul Alcorn
last updated

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Far Cry 5 and Final Fantasy XV

Far Cry 5

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The Ryzen 7 1800X reminds us how far AMD has come since its first-gen products, and even the overclocked second-gen model lags behind the stock Ryzen 3000's by a decent margin.

After tuning, the 3800X ranks as the fastest AMD processor, and there is little difference between the manual and auto-overclocked configurations. Less than ~1 FPS separates the overclocked Ryzen 7 3800X and 3700X, which has become a theme. Intel asserts itself with faster performance across the board.

Final Fantasy XV

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We run this test with the standard quality preset to sidestep the impact of a bug that causes the game engine to render off-screen objects. We see the slightest of gains for the manual overclock over the PBO configuration, but that's with expected variance for this benchmark, so consider this a tie.

Again, the Ryzen 7 3700X with PBO applied lands within striking distance of the overclocked 3800X. 


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Paul Alcorn
Paul Alcorn
Deputy Managing Editor

Paul Alcorn is the Deputy Managing Editor for Tom's Hardware US. He writes news and reviews on CPUs, storage and enterprise hardware.

31 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Math Geek
    pretty much what i expected from all the Ryzen 3000 series so far. i am not disappointed at all in what i am seeing.

    it does look like the 3700x is the better buy. use that $70 savings for better cooling and you got a winner on your hands it looks like. i personally don't care about a few fps at 1080p when both AMD and Intel hit some nice numbers. 140 fps vs 150 fps is pretty much the same thing to me.

    but those extra cores/threads from AMD will go a long way with VM's, production software and the other non-game stuff i do regularly. AMD FTW :geek:
    Reply
  • TJ Hooker
    In light of the 3700X, the 3800X doesn't seem to have much reason to exist to be honest. Not unless boost/OC behavior somehow changes significantly in the future.
    Reply
  • nitrium
    Given you can get just about the same performance by OCing a 3700X (and the 3800X doesn't OC really at all), I don't really see why AMD even released this chip - especially considering how much more they are asking for it. The value just isn't there.
    Reply
  • mattkiss
    What command rate are you running your memory kits at? Also, is the memory write speed nerfed like it is on the 3700X?
    Reply
  • JamesSneed
    Im curious why the 3700x with PBO is pulling considerably more wattage versus the 3800x with PBO. Is binning really making that large of a difference?
    Reply
  • JamesSneed
    nitrium said:
    Given you can get just about the same performance by OCing a 3700X (and the 3800X doesn't OC really at all), I don't really see why AMD even released this chip - especially considering how much more they are asking for it. The value just isn't there.

    If you are going to OC then I mostly agree however the binning looks like it impacts power draw a lot. However you are not guaranteed 3800x performance out of a 3700x. If you do not intend to OC then there are many valid reasons for the 3800x. The 3800x makes a good case for non overclockers especially because it pulls less power than the stock 3700x. However for me I would much rather they had one more tier like a 3850x that was say 4-4.1Ghz base and 4.8 to 4.9 Ghz boost. A higher binned version I would step up for over the 3700x.
    Reply
  • xcomp666
    I was waiting for a decent review.

    My conclusion:

    I am not planning to OC ( I am using an Asrock Fatal1ty B450 Gaming-ITX ) with 105W TDP, I don't think my motherboard's VRM can handle properly ;:coldsweat:
    Performance It is just about ~2% over 3700x that has TDP of 65W ;:mad:
    PBO is not hitting 4.4 GHz easily ( depends on silicon lottery);:ouimaitre:
    70 USD (92 CAD ) over 3700X;
    Single Core performance is not that great;So, I am going to buy a Rysen 7 3700X
    🤘
    Reply
  • Makaveli
    Does the 3800x have the same memory write limitation as the 3700x

    32b vs 16b ??
    Reply
  • TJ Hooker
    Makaveli said:
    Does the 3800x have the same memory write limitation as the 3700x

    32b vs 16b ??
    From what I can find that applies to all Ryzen 3K chips with a single compute die, in which case yes it'd be the same for the 3800X.
    Reply
  • jclaine
    I just did a 3700x Asrock x470 itx build. I imagine that I will need to use the wifi on it at some point in it's life, that's why I went with the x470 (Intel (1733) ) version over the b450 (Intel 3168 (433) ). I really didn't want a chipset fan because in 8 years I don't want to have to think about that failing in an old abused system, so I passed on x570.

    http://www.mustnotsleepgames.com/Comp/A1%2001.jpg
    Reply