Introduction

Ryzen 9 7900X processor review
Twelve Zen4 cores at 46 bucks a pop - A creator processor

For our fourth and last Ryzen 7000 review, we take a look at the 12-core Ryzen 9 7900X. A CPU that will be less popular due to its relatively unusual core configuration, but make no mistake, it is a proper gaming and excellent content creation beast. Priced at 549 USD, you can also purchase this unit, a processor with 24 threads and some very powerful performance. Due to its core design and a PPT restriction the temperatures seem more manageable than its bigger brother the 7950X. It may become a processor for those that perform a lot of video or content creation, for them this might be a sweet spot processor due to its exceptional performance and new architecture that enables PCIe Gen 5, DDR5, and a CPU that quickly hits the 5.6 and with good cooling, a 5.7 GHz range.

AMD announced its first ZEN4-based Ryzen 7000 processors. While some updated graphics cards have been released this year, not much else has been released in the component hardware arena.  However, the year will close with a bang, with new products from AMD, Intel, and NVIDIA. Over the summer, nearly all specifications somehow leaked the products you see launched today. Today is about the processor and motherboards. The new 5nm FinFET fabrication technique used, the first for a desktop CPU, and enhanced performance combined with higher power efficiency are among the primary highlights of the new processor generation. More information on AM5 motherboards for these models can now be provided, as well as AMD EXPO, a new automatic RAM SPD standard. The AMD Ryzen 7000 series is available today and launches based on the Ryzen 9 7950X and 7900X, the Ryzen 7 7700X, and the Ryzen 5 7600X. The base and boost clock speeds are significantly increased in the four new CPU types compared to their predecessors. Unlike Intel, Zen4 has no hybrid design and solely big/P(erformance) cores. It remains to be seen whether AMD will ever launch hybrid (big/small) cores. You can even argue that design, as it requires significant work on the Windows scheduler for Windows 11, workloads do not easily lend themselves to a hybrid design, even on mobile platforms where efficiency is a significant goal.

A non-hybrid design, such as the Zen4, is strongly favored in this regard for desktop users and PC gamers. The flagship Zen4 desktop CPU Ryzen 9 7950X will have 16 cores and 32 threads and is priced at USD 699. The Ryzen 9 7900X with 12 cores and 24 threads with a boost speed of up to 5.6 GHz will cost USD 549. Probably the most popular processor will be the 8-core Ryzen 7 7700X priced at USD 399; closing the lineup, for now, is the Ryzen 5 7600X proceed USD 299. On September 27th, 2022, all four CPUs are now available. The Ryzen 7000 series will offer a 13% increase in IPC over its predecessors and up to a 29% increase in single-thread performance. This is primarily due to the higher clock speeds, which now reach 5.7 GHz on the flagship model, a staggering 800 MHz increase over the existing series.  This is mainly attributable to the upgraded Zen 4 architecture and smaller TSMC 5nm manufacturing process.

A new processor socket, DDR5, and PCIe 5.0 all need the purchase of new motherboards, is the first in a long time we see a new socket. These are embedded with 600-series chipsets (X670E, X670, B650E, and B650), (E suffix is Extreme). Every processor chip now has an inbuilt RDNA2 GPU and PCIe 5.0 and DDR5 support. It will provide excellent gaming and creator workloads; given its higher-of-the-positioning, it will not be cheap. The 7900X excels in both single-threaded and multithreaded tasks. This processor will be tested using an ASUS ROG Crosshair X670E Hero motherboard.