Tailor made for the latest AM5 platform, the Ryzen 9 7900X is among AMD’s top of the line desktop processors, featuring an MSRP of $549 USD (₱30,999 PHP locally).
Specification wise, the Ryzen 9 7900X is a 12-core processor with 24 threads in total. Base frequency is at 4.7 GHz while its maximum boost clock is rated at 5.6 GHz. TDP is at 170 W, which is a huge jump compared to the Ryzen 5 7600X.
Disclosure: AMD sent the Ryzen 9 7900X for the purpose of this review. The company did not ask me to say anything particular about it.
- Product Page: AMD Ryzen 9 7900X Desktop Processor
- Price: $549 USD (Amazon)/₱30,999 PHP (Lazada)
- Release Date: Q4 2022
Technical Specifications
| CPU | |
|---|---|
| Core/Thread | 12 cores/24 threads |
| Base/Boost Clock | 4.7 GHz/5.6 GHz |
| Architecture | Raphael |
| Manufacturing Process | TSMC 5 nm FinFET |
| TDP | 170 W |
| Memory | |
| Memory Speed | 52000 MT/s |
| Memory Channels | 2 |
| Memory Capacity | 128 GB |
| Memory Type | DDR5 |
| Connectivity | |
| PCI Express | PCIe 5.0 |
| PCI Express Lanes | 28 (24 usable) |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 40 mm |
| Width | 30 mm |
| Height | 8 mm |
| Weight | 104 grams (package) |
Packaging and Accessories
The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X comes in a boxed processor packaging. This is actually boxy compared to the slim Ryzen 5 7600X packaging but it is not that different when it comes to its contents.
The package comes with the following items inside:
- AMD Ryzen 9 7900X Desktop Processor
- Installation guide
- AMD Ryzen case badge
Nothing out of place here except for that huge block of foam.
Design, Layout and Connectivity
The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X sports a pin-less design just like the Ryzen 5 7600X – which no surprise. What’s different though is the extra die count under the hood due to the additional cores. L1, L2 and L3 cache capacities were also doubled compared to the Ryzen 7600X.
Unlike Intel’s LGA design, AMD sure saturated the bottom end with contact points for the AM5 socket. AMD managed to do this by placing the decoupling capacitors at the top side of the IHS – hence its unique design.
The LGA based AM5 socket latches like your typical Intel LGA 1XXX processor. In true AMD fashion though, compatibility with AM4 coolers is almost always certain due to the familiar plastic retention arms. Almost, since this new socket is secured to the backplate via torx screws. That said, if you have an AM4 compatible cooler that requires its own backplate for installation, you are out of luck.
My sample has been used already and I noticed the cut-outs were already filled with thermal paste residue. This is the only thing you should watch out for with the AM5 processor’s IHS design. Lucky enough, it is possible to 3D print a guard for such issue. You could even buy off the shelf solutions as well.
Test Setup and Methodology
Our test setup relies on the measurements taken from industry standard benchmark tools and real-world applications. It is important to note that we are testing the review sample after burn-in, with at least 24-hours of uptime. This is done so to negate the FOTB (fresh out the box) state of the DUT (device under test), yielding better benchmarking consistency.
| Test System Specifications | |
|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 9 7900X |
| Motherboard | GIGABYTE X670E AORUS Master |
| Cooler | TEAMGROUP T-FORCE SIREN GD240E |
| Memory | G.SKILL Trident Z5 Neo DDR5-6000 16 GB |
| GPU | GALAX RTX 2060 EX White 6 GB |
| Storage | Kingston FURY Renegade 2 TB |
| Case | Mechanical Library JXK-K2 |
| PSU | Thermaltake Toughpower PF1 850 W |
| Display | LG UF680T |
| OS | Microsoft Windows 10 Pro 64-bit |
The DUT is tested with the following configuration from our test system:
- UEFI configuration: Default
- Windows Power Plan: Balanced
Note: The Ryzen 9 7900X has been tested with a liquid cooler (TEAMGROUP T-FORCE SIREN GD240E) due to its TDP of 170 W.
Arithmetic
Pi calculation speed is measured in Seconds (s). This is done via SuperPI.
Roots calculation speed is measured in Seconds (s). This is done via WPrime.
Single core performance is faster compared to the rest of the processors tested and is more so when it comes to multi-core performance as seen at wPrime.
3D Rendering
Cinema 4D score is measured in Points (pts). This is done via Cinebench R20.
V-Ray 5 score is measured in V-Ray samples (vSamples). This is done via V-Ray 5 Benchmark.
On average, the Ryzen 9 7900X is faster by at least 100% which is in line with the doubled core count and cache capacity.
Digital Content Creation
Image editing speed is measured in Seconds (s). This is done via RealBench and its built-in GIMP benchmark.
Video encoding speed is measured in Seconds (s).This is done via RealBench and its built-in HandBrake benchmark.
GIMP results are not that far compared to the Ryzen 5 7600X, but we see excellent results from HandBrake.
Web Browsing
Web browsing speed is measured in Seconds (s). This is done via PCMark 10 and its built-in Chromium benchmark.
Web browsing speed is measured in Seconds (s). This is done via PCMark 10 and its built-in Firefox benchmark.
Our browser related benchmarks are mostly uneventful.
Office Productivity
Productivity speed is measured in Seconds (s). This is done via PCMark 10 and its built-in LibreOffice Writer benchmark. The test aims to check the speed of loading documents.
Productivity speed is measured in Seconds (s). This is done via PCMark 10 and its built-in LibreOffice Calc benchmark. The test aims to check the speed of copying data and compute.
Nothing noteworthy here either.
Compression
Compression speed is measured in Kilobyte per Second (KB/s). This is done via WinRAR and its built-in benchmark.
Instruction speed is measured in Giga-Instructions per Second (GIPS). This is done via 7-Zip and its built-in benchmark.
Compression benchmarks shows good performance margin over the competition. This is no surprise at this point of the review.
Gaming
Frame rate is measured in Frames per Second (FPS). This is done via Final Fantasy XVI: Endwalker and its official benchmark. The test aims to check the 1% low FPS performance.
Frame rate is measured in Frames per Second (FPS). This is done via Sid Meier’s Civilization VI and its built-in benchmark. The test aims to check the 1% low FPS performance.
Gaming performance is pretty good, considering the average and 1% percentile increase in FPS at CPU bound titles.
Thermals
Temperature is measured in degree Celcius (ºC) at system idle and load. This is done via AIDA64 Extreme and its System Stability Test.
Thermal output is possibly the only negative thing I could say about this CPU as we clearly hit its TJ max even with a liquid cooler. Granted, we only managed to hit it with the AIDA64 stability test.
Power
System power consumption is measured in Watts (ºC) at system idle and load. This is done via AIDA64 Extreme and its System Stability Test.
Now power consumption is definitely higher compared to the Ryzen 5 7600X. Still better compared to the Intel Core i9-12900K though.
Features
The Ryzen 9 7900X is based on the Zen 4 architecture, featuring a 5 nm process, support for PCIe 5.0 and DDR5 memory. Not only that, the Ryzen 7000 series is the first in AMD’s arsenal to receive a new socket design – hence the AM5 platform. This new platform replaces the AM4, finally accepting LGA over PGA designs of the past.
The Ryzen 9 7900X also comes with an integrated AMD Radeon Graphics (usually denoted in G) which is a first to the X series Ryzen processors. I did not test this as I have learned about it just as I was browsing my benchmark screenshots. That said, you may head over to Youtube for some graphics benchmarks.
Also a first is the support for AMD EXPO which is basically an improved XMP/AMP memory profiles tailor made for either the X670/650 chipsets. I have tested several kits here and EXPO certified ones are almost always certain to be faster at the same speed rating. Of course, there are still timings and binned chips to consider here but you get the idea. What I found different though is the increased power and thermals with the Ryzen 9 7900X compared to the 7600X with EXPO turned on.
Final Thoughts
The Ryzen 9 7900X is the fastest CPU we’ve tested this year. It obliterated the competition with its strong single core and multi-threaded performance which is something they really needed to do when the Intel Core i9-12900K came out. But then again, Intel just recently released the Core i9-13900K which is also something to look for at this price range so keep that in mind.
Now the one thing you need to watch out for this CPU is its thermal output. You really have to use a liquid cooler with the Ryzen 9 7900X to get the most out of it. Else, you’ll run out of headroom real quick – even with high-end air coolers like the Noctua NH-D15.
While I am not certain this will beat the recently released Intel Core i9-13900K in terms of performance, it is safe to assume the Ryzen 9 7900X is a good CPU for its price; Even more so considering its slightly favorable street price versus the competition.
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X Desktop Processor
Summary
The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X is a fast high-end desktop processor, featuring a strong single core and multi-threaded performance. I can’t say much about its current competitor but if you are looking forward to build a performance oriented PC, you cannot go wrong with it.
