The first gaming performance tests of AMD’s Ryzen 9 9900X “Zen 5” desktop processor appear to have been leaked by an Italian YouTuber.
AMD Ryzen 9 9900X “Zen 5” vs Ryzen 7 7800X3D “Zen 4” Gaming benchmarks leak, last-gen 3D V-Cache ahead of next-gen chip
The benchmarks come from SaddyTech, an Italian YouTuber who managed to get his hands on an AMD Ryzen 9 9900X CPU at retail ahead of the launch. The YouTuber tested the chip on a Gigabyte X670 AORUS Elite AX motherboard with the latest BIOS, a pair of DDR5-7200 memory (clocked at 2400) and compared it in various games to the Ryzen 7 7800X3D.
The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X “100-000000662” processor is a 12-core and 24-thread variant. This chip has a base clock speed of 4.4 GHz and a boost clock speed of up to 5.6 GHz with 76 MB cache. The interesting thing about this chip is that it has a TDP of 120W much lower than the 170W of the Ryzen 9 7900X chips.
Once again, while the chip retains the same boost clock as the Ryzen 9 7900X, the base clock sees a drop of -300 MHz, which again should fit within the 120W power limit, but again the 12-core should be able to boasted some nice multithreading capabilities.
As for performance data, both the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X 12-Core “Zen 5” and AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D “Zen 4” processors were tested in various titles at 2160p, 1440p and 1080p resolutions. The first game on the list is Alan Wake 2, where the new Zen 5 chip was slightly faster at mid FPS, but the Zen 4 3D V-Cache chip managed to beat it at both mid and low. In Cities Skylines 2, the Zen 4 3D V-Cache chip managed a 23% lead in average FPS, while lows of 1% and 0.1% were similar.
In Call of Duty Warzone 2, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D once again managed to outperform the Ryzen 9 9900X at mid and low levels and tie it in terms of average FPS. Counter-Strike 2, a game that loves CPU performance, was once again led by the Ryzen 7 7800X3D, which dominated all three metrics (avg/1%/0.1%). For Cyberpunk 2077, the Ryzen 9 9900X managed to be on par at 4K, which is a GPU-limited scenario, but at lower 1440p and 1080p resolutions, the Zen 5 chip once again took the lead by double-digit increases. In Fortnite we also see the 3D V-Cache CPU winning by a good margin. The differences are detailed below:
- Ryzen 9 9900X vs Ryzen 7 7800X3D @ 1080p (Avg FPS) = -8.83%
- Ryzen 9 9900X vs Ryzen 7 7800X3D @ 1440p (Avg FPS) = -5.60%
- Ryzen 9 9900X vs Ryzen 7 7800X3D @ 2160p (Avg FPS) = -6.01%.
- Ryzen 9 9900X vs Ryzen 7 7800X3D @ 1080p (1% low FPS) = -11.08%
- Ryzen 9 9900X vs Ryzen 7 7800X3D @ 1440p (1% low FPS) = -7.5%
- Ryzen 9 9900X vs Ryzen 7 7800X3D @ 2160p (1% low FPS) = -9.78%.
AMD Ryzen 9 9900X vs Ryzen 7 7800X 3D Gaming “AVG FPS” Benchmarks (Source: SaddyTech)
| A game | AMD Ryzen 9 9900X (average FPS) | AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D (average FPS) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alan Wake 2 (1080 Ultra) | 176.9 | 175.2 | +1.00% |
| Alan Wake 2 (1440 Ultra) | 123.7 | 122 | +1.39% |
| Alan Wake 2 (2160 Ultra) | 66.7 | 66.7 | +0% |
| Cities Skylines 2 (1080 Ultra) | 70.3 | 86.9 | -19.1% |
| Cities Skylines 2 (1440 Ultra) | 66.3 | 77.6 | -14.5% |
| Cities Skylines 2 (2160 Ultra) | 40.2 | 54.2 | -25.8% |
| COD: Warzone 2 (1080 Competitive) | 249.1 | 249.7 | -0.02% |
| COD: Warzone 2 (1440 Competitive) | 248.8 | 249.6 | -0.03% |
| COD: Warzone 2 (2160 Competitive) | 220.5 | 222.8 | -0.36% |
| CS2 (1080 Competitive) | 346.8 | 376.1 | -7.7% |
| CS2 (1440 Competitive) | 344 | 373.1 | -7.7% |
| CS2 (2160 Competitive) | 341.8 | 370.2 | -7.6% |
| Cyberpunk 2077 (1080 Ultra) | 165.2 | 191.1 | -13.5% |
| Cyberpunk 2077 (1440 Ultra) | 139.1 | 150.5 | -7.5% |
| Cyberpunk 2077 (2160 Ultra) | 70 | 70.7 | -0.05% |
| Fortnite (1080 Competitive) | 320.3 | 371.4 | -13.7% |
| Fortnite (1440 Competitive) | 315.2 | 332.8 | -5.28% |
| Fortnite (2160 Competitive) | 287.5 | 294.3 | -2.3% |
| Average difference | -6.81% |
AMD Ryzen 9 9900X vs. Ryzen 7 7800X3D Gaming “1% Low Performance” (Source: SaddyTech)
| A game | AMD Ryzen 9 9900X (1% low FPS) | AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D (1% low FPS) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alan Wake 2 (1080 Ultra) | 137.1 | 143.6 | -4.5% |
| Alan Wake 2 (1440 Ultra) | 105.2 | 106.9 | -1.5% |
| Alan Wake 2 (2160 Ultra) | 60 | 60.8 | -1.3% |
| Cities Skylines 2 (1080 Ultra) | 43.7 | 42.3 | +3.3% |
| Cities Skylines 2 (1440 Ultra) | 44.4 | 43.4 | +2.3% |
| Cities Skylines 2 (2160 Ultra) | 33.3 | 38.5 | -13.5% |
| COD: Warzone 2 (1080 Competitive) | 209.2 | 216.2 | -3.2% |
| COD: Warzone 2 (1440 Competitive) | 204.2 | 212.2 | -3.7% |
| COD: Warzone 2 (2160 Competitive) | 181.7 | 183.1 | -0.7% |
| CS2 (1080 Competitive) | 161.8 | 190.5 | -15.0% |
| CS2 (1440 Competitive) | 154.9 | 189.3 | -18.1% |
| CS2 (2160 Competitive) | 159.1 | 188.1 | -15.4% |
| Cyberpunk 2077 (1080 Ultra) | 93.5 | 122.3 | -23.5% |
| Cyberpunk 2077 (1440 Ultra) | 91.8 | 99.7 | -7.9% |
| Cyberpunk 2077 (2160 Ultra) | 52.3 | 53.1 | -1.5% |
| Fortnite (1080 Competitive) | 230.4 | 301.6 | -23.6% |
| Fortnite (1440 Competitive) | 213.9 | 255.1 | -16.1% |
| Fortnite (2160 Competitive) | 124.4 | 168.8 | -26.3% |
| Average difference | -9.45% |
AMD has officially stated that the Ryzen 7 9700X will be about 2% faster on average compared to the Ryzen 7 7800X3D. The Ryzen 7 9700X has a lower TDP and a lower clock speed than the 9900X, but that may be true since the choice of games is the most important. It just means we need to see the Zen 5 tested in a wider range of games to really determine the gaming potential of these new chips.
In terms of power, the CPU consumed 111W and averaged 102W during gameplay during COD/CS2 and peaked at temperatures of 66C, which is a pretty incredible number. In Cyberpunk, temperatures did reach 85C, which is still lower than the 90C+ temperatures of the Ryzen 7000 CPU series, and power peaked at 144W.
The lower power and temperature claim made by AMD is spot on. With that said, the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X should prove to be a strong overall multi-threaded chip if it’s priced right. AMD’s Ryzen 9000 “Zen 5” desktop processors will be available later this month on July 31st, so stay tuned for more information.
