Comparison of 9700X and 9800X3D at 1080p Analyzing their specifications and performance differences
Comparison of 9700X and 9800X3D at 1080p Analyzing their specifications and performance differences
I’m working with an i5 9600k paired with a 3060 TI and 16G DDR4 RAM on a 1080p 144Hz Pixio display. I’m planning to upgrade to an AM5 platform and a Ryzen 7 processor. My gaming mix includes CPU-intensive titles like competitive games, MMOs, RuneScape, Apex Legends, League of Legends, Overwatch 2, Fortnite, COD, and recently Marvel Rivals. I often experience stuttering and high CPU usage during these sessions. I also play Witcher 3, No Man’s Sky, Skyrim, Valheim, and am currently working on finishing Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. I frequently run RS3 or OSRS alongside these games, though I’m reducing that overlap as performance drops. Streaming for friends is another priority. At my local Micro Center, the 9700X costs around $400, while the 7800X3D is about $700—similar models with DDR5 6000 Cl36 RAM. Would spending another $300 on a 9800X3D be a good investment given my usage patterns? I expect to upgrade my GPU in about 1.5 to 2 years, so it’s hard to judge current performance against future benchmarks. These titles’ results are hard to compare since most benchmarks focus on games I don’t play much.
Generally speaking: since the X3D CPUs have had poor availability and their price has jumped, the increase on a CPU like the 7700X or 9700X is not justified. However, if you play at 1080p (which you do), with a strong GPU and especially so in a game that loves the cache, there's no other upgrade that can offer you the kind of gains that the X3D CPUs can. If you plan on buying a graphics card that is much better than a 5070 or 9070 (AMD) and will continue to play at 1080p, I'd either get a cheaper stopgap and upgrade later (e.g. 7500F), or just make the painful investment in the CPU.
The logic remains consistent, but there are scenarios where the 3060 Ti may restrict performance (acting as a frustrating bottleneck). In such cases, the 9700X and 9800X3D will perform equally well since the graphics card becomes the limiting factor. However, in CPU-constrained situations—common at 1080p competitive levels with a 3060 Ti—the 9800X3D will outperform. These scenarios are becoming less frequent with weaker GPUs.