Is the price premium for a 9800X3D CPU worth it for longevity ?
Posted by Dagladou@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 27 comments
[Long post, but not written by an LLM or AI-translated]
tldr : in my region, the 9800X3D is available for around 425€, 7800X3D is 75€ less and 270K Plus from Intel is 100€ less.
Ideally I'd want to spend a bunch on a new high-end CPU now, and keep it for years on end before I need to replace it. Do you think buying the more expensive 9800X3D worth it to get a few more years out of the CPU ?
Long version : I have to build myself a PC from scratch despite the awful current market, so I've decided to commit a solid amount of money to it in the hopes that I can just keep it for as long as I can, maintain it, and only have to spend additional money in like a decade.
My use case for the PC is primarily 1440p high gaming (prob capped at 120 FPS), mostly story-driven games rather than competitive, but I would also be doing occasional *light* code compilation (gamedev) and 3D modelling on it.
For the CPU, I figured I should go high-end, and there's three candidates : the Ryzen 7 7800X3D, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D and the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus, respectively 350€, 425€ and 330€ rn in France (without shady Aliexpress offers).
I have the budget for all 3 of course, and already decided on a GPU, although the extra money can get me better storage and stuff like that.
Thing is, I know gaming performance-wise the 9800X3D is undoubtedly the best, but I don't really care for any FPS above 120... What I really value is longevity, I'm trying to get the most bang for my buck over a 10 years period, while being able to play recent games.
I'm having a hard time figuring out which one is the best play !
Another important consideration is power consumption : electricity is pretty expensive, especially considering extended use, and tbh I cannot figure it out on that front either
The 7800X3D seems to be the most energy efficient, but I'm having trouble figuring out how much worse the 9800X3D is, since it seems to consume more on average, but at the same time since it's faster, shouldn't it go back to idle consumption faster as well ?
As for the Intel one, I know Intel has a reputation of being power hungry and the TDP is 125 W as opposed to 120 W for the ryzens, but I've seen some benchmarks where the 270K Plus was *more* efficient than the 9800X3D. I'm mostly confused now lol
For thermals, all 3 seem to be pretty darn close, with the 9800X3D in the lead ?
Lastly, looking at release dates the 7800X3D is from 2023, the 9800X3D is from 2024 and with the latest AMD architecture, and the 270K Plus just came out...
In short, the way I see it, pros of each are :
- 7800X3D is still a *very* good gaming CPU with 3DVcache and is very energy efficient
- 270K Plus is very close so far with the 9800X3D gaming performance-wise, better for productivity (tho it matters little in my case), is maybe (?) less power-hungry than the 9800X3D and is the most recent, being a current-year release
- 9800X3D is a **killer** for gaming performance with 3DVcache, is on the latest Zen 5 microarchitecture from AMD (being also more recent than the 7800X3D) and is possibly the chillest of the CPUs
There you have it, if the 270K Plus really is less power-hungry it sounds like a really compelling option, despite not being gaming focused (thus not the absolute fastest) and offering less upgradability
I also kinda want to turn my brain off and get the celebrated 9800X3D without second-guessing myself.
What is your opinion on all of this ? Any help or feedback would be greatly appreciated !!
Also, many thanks for reading thus far, and please excuse my syntax as I am not a native speaker
notadroid@reddit
the only concern about the 270 processor is that its on a dead platform according to intel. otherwise its an amazing deal at the moment.
I'd honestly say go with the 7800X3D. You'll get close to top tier gaming performance and be on a platform that has some ability to upgrade in the future, especially if you go with an 870 mobo.
jedi2155@reddit
Remember you can always upgrade more often and sell the old part if you find yourself in the opportunity.
notadroid@reddit
yep!
changen@reddit
No.
use a 7800x3d until zen 7 releases (probably 12800x3d or something like that). This will still you get the frames for esport games and is much cheaper. Most of the time, the CPU is running at 40-45W in games. You get all the benefits of ddr5 and 3d cache without the markup on the extra 10-15% CPU performance that you won't see anyways in games.
9800x3d actually uses way more power than the 7800x3d due to the fact that it clocks way higher. You can probably run it at 90-120W for marginal gains over stock.
Melliodass@reddit
9800x3d is worth the premium!
prank_mark@reddit
Personally, I'd go for the 270K Plus. Unless you're doing heavy productivity, you could even opt for the 250K Plus. It's nearly identical to the 270K Plus in games, and still better than the 7800X3D in productivity. And it'll save you some money that you can use for other things.
1sh0t1b33r@reddit
For the price difference, I’d just go 9800x3d. 7800x3d is still great though and not a huge performance difference if you need to save a few dollars. Intel sucks.
Dagladou@reddit (OP)
Thanks ! Why do you think Intel sucks so bad ?
prank_mark@reddit
He doesn't have a reason. The 250K Plus and 270K Plus are amazing CPUs.
Muah_dib@reddit
Personally, I'd go for the 270k Plus; it's more efficient. However, Intel isn't known for keeping its sockets for long, so when you decide to change your CPU, you'll probably have to change your motherboard too. With AMD, on the other hand, the motherboard will be usable even if you change your CPU within 2-4 years (AM6 should arrive sometime in 2029-2030). In terms of gaming performance, the two are equal, or nearly so, but the X3D processors are less sensitive to high-speed RAM compared to Intel CPUs, which prefer high-clocked memory modules (and that comes at a price: RAM with low CL and high MT/s)...it's up to you to decide...
Dagladou@reddit (OP)
Thanks a lot for your answer !
I don't think the socket is a big issue since I plan to keep my CPU + MOBO combo for ideally a decade, so unless AMD or Intel come out with huge leaps I'll probably be changing sockets altogether when it comes time to upgrade
How much more efficient are the Intel chips ?
The caveat is memory tho, I'll definitely not have high speed memory for the build, but then it depends on how much the 270K Plus cares about the speeds I'm probably gonna get 5600-6000 CL36-30 DDR5...
prank_mark@reddit
It doesn't matter that much. It will be a difference of less than 5% at 1080p, and even less difference at 1440p. Also, that's with a 5090. With anything less, you'll likely not notice a difference at all.
yumdumpster@reddit
For gaming the 270k plus seems to be closer to the 5700 and 5800x3d's from AM4.
That being said for the price it is a very solid CPU. Seems to perform similarly to the 14700/14900 in gamaing.
If you go with the 7800/9800x3d's you have the advantage of being on AM5 which will get at least 1 or 2 more releases on the platform. There are no gurantees how long the current socket by Intel will continue to be supported.
prank_mark@reddit
That is just straight up not correct. It beats the 9700x and in most cases performs close to a 7800X3D.
https://tweakers.net/reviews/14510/intel-core-ultra-5-250k-plus-en-core-ultra-7-270k-plus-veel-cpu-voor-je-geld.html
https://youtu.be/jQmQEypnHRY
nnodante@reddit
What kind of crack are you smoking?
yumdumpster@reddit
Knowledge and Research, you should try it sometime.
nnodante@reddit
Then I dont think u can read graphs in that case.
Dagladou@reddit (OP)
Thanks !
Is the 270K Plus that much slower compared to the 9800X3D ? I probably haven't looked at enough benchmarks then
Socket upgradability, tho, is unlikely to be an issue, since I'll be looking to upgrade my CPU in 8-10 years anyway probably... so when the time comes I think I'll change platforms
yumdumpster@reddit
Here is a review by Gamers Nexus
Honestly seems very decent for the money. If you are playing at 1080 or 1440p you will notice more of a difference with the 9800, CPU is going to matter less and less as the resolution increases.
Dagladou@reddit (OP)
Thanks !
Is the 270K Plus that much slower compared to the 9800X3D ? I probably haven't looked at enough benchmarks then
Socket upgradability, tho, is unlikely to be an issue, since I'll be looking to upgrade my CPU in 8-10 years anyway probably... so when the time comes I think I'll change platforms
Dagladou@reddit (OP)
Thanks !
Is the 270K Plus that much slower compared to the 9800X3D ? I probably haven't looked at enough benchmarks then
Socket upgradability, tho, is unlikely to be an issue, since I'll be looking to upgrade my CPU in 8-10 years anyway probably... so when the time comes I think I'll change platforms
OkSystem455@reddit
What's on paper can be debated and compared until one is blue in the face, but it may well be that what isn't on paper is going to drive longevity or lack of more so.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqIf5yvQdbc
At the moment, I'm playing with two proof-of-concept builds with Ivy Bridge CPU's, circa 2012 and 2013, respectively, and here's what they can do at 1080p LOW/HIGH/FSR 2 mix with the 2022 Tiny Tina's Wonderlands: https://imgur.com/a/zuHD7Wm. Did anyone in 2012/2013 anticipate that the Ivy Bridge Xeons could be capable of this via Linux? Would drive to Vegas and place a bet on "No."
At the same time, the RX 470 and RX 580 used will currently not run Crimson Desert due to DX 12_1...win some, lose some.
Yes, you will spend a lot of money to build your system with overpriced components today. At some point in the future, it will be unable to do "everything," but it will be still able to do somethings as long as you are willing to focus on what's possible.
Just get as much enjoyment out of the system and skip overthinking it.
(I responded to this on a 2011 Thinkpad T420 running Linux Mint 21...)
nnodante@reddit
Depends on how much more expensive 9800X3D is than 9800X3D for you. If money isn't a concern then sure, otherwise it's between 7800X3D and 270K(F) Plus atm. Since Intel offers more performance in strictly CPU intensive apps and similar gaming performance, that's what I would go for personally.
Dagladou@reddit (OP)
I do care about money but I can stretch my budget if I need to/if it's worth it. In my country the 9800X3D is 100€ more, I can afford it but it's still 100€
The 270K Plus is very compelling tbf
nnodante@reddit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQmQEypnHRY
Here, as you can see it's not that huge of a difference, its cheaper for you than both 7800X3D and 9800X3D. If the games you mainly play are cpu busy and/or where cache plays a big part of the performance then you can consider choosing 7800X3D over 270K Plus but as far as value goes, both 7800X3D and 270K Plus are the better value options.
John_Mat8882@reddit
I went for a 7800x3D. It just runs a bit hotter, but still nothing any decent air cooler can't cope with.
The true upgrade that will make AM5 final for many years, is the upcoming 12c on a single CCD 10800x3D or whatever they will name it. Once that comes out, the 9800x3D is going to be remembered as a 8 core X3D cpu, as much as the 7800x3D. So I found little sense to get the newest part since the performance difference couldn't justify the 100+€ offset.
greggm2000@reddit
Next gen consoles likely out late next year will be based on Zen 6, their performance will be a baseline for many games from a few years from now to likely the rest of your 10 year period. Therefore, it makes sense for you to hold out for Zen 6 X3D about a year from now, and if you are choosing to build now, get a AM5 CPU that’s cheap rn (such as a 7600), and swap out that CPU with the one you really want when the (guessing at naming) the 11800X3D is out, that will be hugely better.
Ofc one can do a great build with a 9800X3D now, and swap in Zen 6 X3D or maybe even Zen 7 X3D later on if one feels the need for more performance in a few years, but by your own words, that’s not what you want to do.
Don’t choose Intel, btw. Arrow Lake is ok now, but no way is it going to hold up longterm, and there is zero upgrade path. Again, not much of an issue of you were open to upgrades in a few years, but you’re not.