AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D review: faster than 13900K and 7950X3D for gaming?

Our benchmark results are presented a little differently to what you might be used to elsewhere on the web. On mobile, you'll get a basic overview, with metadata from the video capture of each CPU being translated into simple bar charts with average frame-rate and lowest one per cent measurements for easy comparisons.

On a desktop-class browser, you'll get the full-fat experience with embedded YT videos of each test scene and live performance metrics. Play the video, and you'll see exactly how each CPU handled the scene as it progresses; you can even choose exactly what CPUs at what resolutions you're interested in and it'll update in real time. Below the real-time stuff is a bar chart, which you can mouse over to see different measurements and click to switch between actual frame-rates and percentage differences. As always, all the data here is derived from video captured directly from each CPU, ensuring an accurate replay of real performance.

We'll start with three games that offer a stern test for gaming CPUs: Flight Simulator 2020, Hitman 3 and the benchmarker's favourite, Ashes of the Singularity Escalation.

Flight Simulator 2020

Flight Sim is our first contender and one of the game that seems to benefit most from the extra L3 cache that AMD's X3D processors provide. Our benchmark is the first 10,000 frames on an autopilot flight from London City airport to London Heathrow, all over some of the city's most well-known landmarks.

The 13900K performs well here, delivering around 75fps at 1080p and only a hair less at 1440p, but the two X3D chips are significantly better. The 7800X3D is 30 percent faster, while the 7950X3D is 36 percent faster - enough to exceed the 100fps barrier. Both AMD CPUs offer a transformative upgrade, and with the 7800X3D also at the lowest price it's the obvious value pick here.

Hitman 3

Hitman 3's Dartmoor benchmark comes next. Of the two integrated benchmarks provided in the pre-game options menu, Dartmoor offers the greater CPU load than Dubai, with a comprehensive demonstration of the Glacier Engine's destruction physics that is pretty fun - even if it isn't too indicative of normal stealthy gameplay.

Here all three CPUs are more-or-less tied, with the 13900K within three percentage points of the 7800X3D at 1080p. All options are close to 250fps at this resolution, so outside of Hitman speedruns where every frame matters, I think we can call this a draw.

Ashes of the Singularity is historically a RAM benchmark for us, but its surprisingly modern, thread-aware design is still a good test of processor performance - even at 1080p, its dense CPU benchmark can bring a modern CPU to its knees. We see that the 13900K ties the 7950X3D here, with about a five percent margin for both CPUs over the 7800X3D.

With three games in the bag, we've already seen a range of scenarios - from outright dominance with the X3D CPUs in Flight Sim 2020, to a small but respectable lead in Hitman 3 and a 13900K comeback in Ashes of the Singularity Escalation. The only way to break is this deadlock is to test more games - so let's do it.

AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D analysis

• Introduction, test rig and content creation benchmarks
• Gaming benchmarks: Flight Simulator 2020, Hitman 3, Ashes of the Singularity [this page]
• Gaming benchmarks: Counter-Strike: GO, Metro Exodus EE, Black Ops Cold War
• Gaming benchmarks: Cyberpunk 2077, Far Cry 6, Crysis 3 Remastered
• AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D: the Digital Foundry verdict