A confusing issue involving 9800X3D and Zbrush
A confusing issue involving 9800X3D and Zbrush
I considered this a difficult question because I’m not sure anyone has real-world experience with it. I haven’t found any useful information, and I don’t know any artist community that’s both tech-savvy and reliable. I’d need someone familiar with Zbrush running on both regular and high-end CPUs to give an accurate assessment. Right now I own a 13900KF and have access to a 9800X3D at no extra cost. I play games and would like to try the X3D CPU without expecting a massive jump over my current setup, but it would still be better for older models like the 5090. Since it’s free, I’m thinking about long-term benefits like warranty and resale value. There’s also the issue of performance in Zbrush itself—most data is lacking. Personally, I’ve noticed that viewport speed in Zbrush drops noticeably with fewer cores, especially when using Process Lasso. I also remember seeing single-core performance matter a lot during certain tasks. I’m not sure if synthetic tests or other programs like Blender or Cinebench will help much here. If you can confirm the impact of CPU changes on Zbrush, please let me know. My main concern is whether switching to the 9800X3D would noticeably slow things down enough to be noticeable. Zbrush really relies on CPU power, and I’m not sure what to expect.
Zbrush doesn't rely heavily on an X3D cache. I've experienced it with a 5800x3d and 5800xt setup before. Performance remained essentially consistent. The software is designed for multi-threading, but most times it prioritizes single-core efficiency. Adding more cores can help in specific scenarios you've noticed. A single core won't see a major improvement, though multi-core support is beneficial. Sticking with the 13900kf makes sense—benchmarks drop, but it still delivers solid FPS for games that run well. It might not be ideal for titles that struggle regardless of settings. Sometimes it's better to focus on gameplay rather than chasing high frame rates. In three years, when new games become more demanding, you'll likely run them at similar performance levels as before.
It appears the choice often hinges on specific needs. Several threads suggest a CPU tends to outperform a GPU unless you have particular tasks in mind. https://www.zbrushcentral.com/t/why-does...h/453868/2 and related discussions highlight that CPU usage spikes when running demanding ZBrush work.
From what I understand, focusing on single-core speed matters more than raw cores, since extra threads can limit performance. Higher core counts usually mean less thermal headroom, which affects results—especially for resource-heavy tools like threadrippers.
If you have access to powerful options such as the 9950x or its successors, or even the 7000 series CPUs, you’d see clearer benefits due to their extra cores. However, with the 9800x3D, people often cite 12 cores and 24 threads as ideal, though some still prefer AMD options like the Ryzen 9 9800X3D for better value.
For most users, a 13900KF remains a solid pick for both gaming and content creation, offering strong performance without the need for a high-core-count CPU.
I'm not sure if my background will apply, but I noticed a big boost in Blender sculpting after moving from 3900X to 5800X3D. I'm working with high-res dyntopo models close to 1M polygons. I don't have much experience with Z-brush.
Right, thanks for mentioning your experience with the X3D CPU. I am sticking with the 13900KF, but it's not just the small FPS difference that I was thinking about, but also the resale value and just being on a newer platform but also the gaming increase would come at no cost. I'm just so tempted to just break it out of the box and just create a benchmark scenario in Zbrush to see what happens. I had this fantasy that what if the larger cach somehow suddenly causes massive performance gains haha. *** That's useful information but unfortunately I have no experience with Blender so I also don't really know the performance difference they would have and how they approach performance in sculpting specifically. But I know that the two software are very different and Blender isn't really up to task for the amount of polys you might have on a model in Zbrush where 1m polys is considered super tiny. I'm just really frustrated that with Zbrush being as big a software as it is, and X3D CPUs being as popular as they are, I can't really find any actual reliable data or experience on this. Maybe somewhere some community of artists would be willing to give me money to cover my costs to compare the 9800X3D against my 13900KF and see the difference haha. If I do that I'll have to sell it back for used prices. *** @Millios Thanks for the write up. I find reddit and Zbrushcentral to be very inadequate and unreliable when it comes to this unfortunately for a number of reasons. Even that article comes with a lot of inaccuracies and irrelevant stuff. But aside from that neither of these help me see directly if anyone there has had an experience directly with X3D CPUs to compare and contrast. Like there are logical things that you could assume, like a higher multi-threaded render score could ***theoretically*** mean higher frame rates while rotating around the model in viewport. but then there are so many other small intricacies like what would the difference be in lazy mouse performance, or when the brush data is too heavy,... and most importantly how does the X3D measure up in terms of stability in Zbrush exclusively. Like I have benchmark files made for myself to test for stability and I can tell you that I could not figure this out with any other benchmark tool or software. I could go on about this for hours but that's why I need direct experience with the X3D CPUs from someone, and that's why I called a hopeless question =))
I’m wondering why you think Reddit and Zbrush forums aren’t good enough or trustworthy. I’m not trying to be rude—I’m just genuinely interested. What specifically bothered you about those articles? Also, don’t worry about it being another point; they do cover many topics, especially those related to CPU specs. I get that part too. There are also some well-known facts, like the idea that 3D v-cache doesn’t really boost performance and isn’t actually used much, which is why stability matters more than anything. As @jaslion mentioned, it’s a real concern. You seem to have a few unique concerns, perhaps about stability tests or other aspects you didn’t see in other tools. What made you think they were needed or what they offered that others didn’t?
I value your enthusiasm, but I’m focusing on reaching out to those familiar with the software and hardware in our group. Your input is important, and I’m hoping to connect with members who have hands-on experience with this topic. Thank you for considering this request.
I've included the 9800X3D in my listing, but if I don't sell it within a week, I'll change its status to one that shows it's been opened and tested before proceeding with further testing.
Then proceed? The resale worth of CPUs and boards stays stable once the box is opened. They’re handled like second-hand items as soon as they hit the marketplace. The only parts that have shown value are storage models and collector editions, occasionally some GPUs too. CPUs and boards generally don’t hold up well unless it’s a premium model like Z790 or AM5 X870. Usually everyone treats them similarly on the used side.