Test of the AMD CPU with the biggest price drop, the Ryzen 7 5800X

CPU temperature

Why did we ignore the Ryzen 7 5800X for a long time and only add it to our tests now? Because it had a higher price, which made other models more attractive. However, thanks to AMD’s recent CPU price cuts, the R7 5800X will have its place in the market even after the release of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with 3D V-Cache. That excellent price/raw (multi-threaded) performance ratio won’t be taken away from the 5800X.

AMD Ryzen 7 5800X in detail

The 8-core Vermeer, or Ryzen 7 5800X processor, came out already in late 2020. That, along with other Ryzen 5000s without an integrated graphics core. It even had the best availability initially. But that’s also to some extent because of the up to $120 higher recommended price than the one generation older Ryzen 7 3700X (also 8 cores/16 threads). That’s why we avoided this processor and left its analysis for “rainy days”, when there is nothing to test.

And although there’s definitely no rainy days coming for us when it comes to testing, we can’t put off testing the R7 5800X any longer. Firstly, because this processor has become significantly cheaper. Its Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) has been lowered from $449 to $300.The price cuts affected all Vermeer family processors from the Ryzen 5 5600 to the Ryzen 9 5950X, but it was the 5800X where AMD projected the most significant percentage drop.

The fact that AMD will soon release another, also 8-core processor, but with 3D V-Cache seems to play a part in the 5800X’s biggest price drop. However, this is to be no successor and in order for the two processors not to cannibalize each other’s sales, the processor with the “normal” cache is significantly cheaper. And that brings us to the second reason why those Ryzen 7 5800X tests couldn’t be put off any longer. The Ryzen 7 5800X3D is coming out next week, and testing it without a direct confrontation with the 5800X wouldn’t be spicy enough.

The standard Ryzen 7 5800X has eight cores and sixteen threads (so it supports SMT technology). Compared to the six-core 5600X model, this processor is currently about a hundred euros more expensive, has an official 100 MHz higher base frequency of both all cores (3.8 GHz) and a single core in single-threaded applications. In practice, however, with favorable cooling and no power limits, the all-core boost of the Ryzen 7 5800X is 200-300 MHz higher. This is associated with significantly higher power draw. The 5800X’s PPT value is shared with Ryzen 9s, at 142W, while the Ryzen 5’s is only at 88W.

Before moving on to the measurements themselves (or our interpretation of the measurements’ conclusions), we have a comparison chart comparing the complete parameters of the Ryzen 7 5800X and Ryzen 5 5600X processors.

* After official discount by AMD. The suggested price at launch (strickenthrough value) was higher.

Why did we ignore the Ryzen 7 5800X for a long time and only add it to our tests now? Because it had a higher price, which made other models more attractive. However, thanks to AMD’s recent CPU price cuts, the R7 5800X will have its place in the market even after the release of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with 3D V-Cache. That excellent price/raw (multi-threaded) performance ratio won’t be taken away from the 5800X.

Gaming tests

We test performance in games in four resolutions with different graphics settings. To warm up, there is more or less a theoretical resolution of 1280 × 720 px. We had been tweaking graphics settings for this resolution for a long time. We finally decided to go for the lowest possible (Low, Lowest, Ultra Low, …) settings that a game allows.

One could argue that a processor does not calculate how many objects are drawn in such settings (so-called draw calls). However, with high detail at this very low resolution, there was not much difference in performance compared to FHD (which we also test). On the contrary, the GPU load was clearly higher, and this impractical setting should demonstrate the performance of a processor with the lowest possible participation of a graphics card.

At higher resolutions, high settings (for FHD and QHD) and highest (for UHD) are used. In Full HD it’s usually with Anti-Aliasing turned off, but overall, these are relatively practical settings that are commonly used.

The selection of games was made considering the diversity of genres, player popularity and processor performance requirements. For a complete list, see Chapters 7–16. A built-in benchmark is used when a game has one, otherwise we have created our own scenes, which we always repeat with each processor in the same way. We use OCAT to record fps, or the times of individual frames, from which fps are then calculated, and FLAT to analyze CSV. Both were developed by the author of articles (and videos) from GPUreport.cz. For the highest possible accuracy, all runs are repeated three times and the average values of average and minimum fps are drawn in the graphs. These multiple repetitions also apply to non-gaming tests.

Computing tests

Let’s start lightly with PCMark 10, which tests more than sixty sub-tasks in various applications as part of a complete set of “benchmarks for a modern office”. It then sorts them into fewer thematic categories and for the best possible overview we include the gained points from them in the graphs. Lighter test tasks are also represented by tests in a web browser – Speedometer and Octane. Other tests usually represent higher load or are aimed at advanced users.

We test the 3D rendering performance in Cinebench. In R20, where the results are more widespread, but mainly in R23. Rendering in this version takes longer with each processor, cycles of at least ten minutes. We also test 3D rendering in Blender, with the Cycles render in the BMW and Classroom projects. You can also compare the latter with the test results of graphics cards (contains the same number of tiles).

We test how processors perform in video editing in Adobe Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve Studio 17. We use a PugetBench plugin, which deals with all the tasks you may encounter when editing videos. We also use PugetBench services in Adobe After Effects, where the performance of creating graphic effects is tested. Some subtasks use GPU acceleration, but we never turn it off, as no one will do it in practice. Some things don’t even work without GPU acceleration, but on the contrary, it’s interesting to see that the performance in the tasks accelerated by the graphics card also varies as some operations are still serviced by the CPU.

We test video encoding under SVT-AV1, in HandBrake and benchmarks (x264 HD and HWBot x265). x264 HD benchmark works in 32-bit mode (we did not manage to run 64-bit consistently on W10 and in general on newer OS’s it may be unstable and show errors in video). In HandBrake we use the x264 processor encoder for AVC and x265 for HEVC. Detailed settings of individual profiles can be found in the corresponding chapter 25. In addition to video, we also encode audio, where all the details are also stated in the chapter of these tests. Gamers who record their gameplay on video can also have to do with the performance of processor encoders. Therefore, we also test the performance of “processor broadcasting” in two popular applications OBS Studio and Xsplit.

We also have two chapters dedicated to photo editing performance. Adobe has a separate one, where we test Photoshop via PugetBench. However, we do not use PugetBench in Lightroom, because it requires various OS modifications for stable operation, and overall we rather avoided it (due to the higher risk of complications) and create our own test scenes. Both are CPU intensive, whether it’s exporting RAW files to 16-bit TIFF with ProPhotoRGB color space or generating 1:1 thumbnails of 42 lossless CR2 photos.

However, we also have several alternative photo editing applications in which we test CPU performance. These include Affinity Photo, in which we use a built-in benchmark, or XnViewMP for batch photo editing or ZPS X. Of the truly modern ones, there are three Topaz Labz applications that use AI algorithms. DeNoise AI, Gigapixel AI and Sharpen AI. Topaz Labs often and happily compares its results with Adobe applications (Photoshop and Lightroom) and boasts of better results. So we’ll see, maybe we’ll get into it from the image point of view sometime. In processor tests, however, we are primarily focused on performance.

We test compression and decompression performance in WinRAR, 7-Zip and Aida64 (Zlib) benchmarks, decryption in TrueCrypt and Aida64, where in addition to AES there are also SHA3 tests. In Aida64, we also test FPU in the chapter of mathematical calculations. From this category you may also be interested in the results of Stockfish 13 and the number of chess combinations achieved per unit time. We perform many tests that can be included in the category of mathematics in SPECworkstation 3.1. It is a set of professional applications extending to various simulations, such as LAMMPS or NAMD, which are molecular simulators. A detailed description of the tests from SPECworkstation 3.1 can be found at spec.org. We do not test 7-zip, Blender and HandBrake from the list for redundancy, because we test performance in them separately in applications. A detailed listing of SPECWS results usually represents times or fps, but we graph “SPEC ratio”, which represents gained points—higher means better.

Processor settings…

We test processors in the default settings, without active PBO2 (AMD) or ABT (Intel) technologies, but naturally with active XMP 2.0.

… and app updates

The tests should also take into account that, over time, individual updates may affect performance comparisons. Some applications are used in portable versions, which are not updated or can be kept on a stable version, but this is not the case for some others. Typically, games update over time. On the other hand, even intentional obsolescence (and testing something out of date that already behaves differently) would not be entirely the way to go.

In short, just take into account that the accuracy of the results you are comparing decreases a bit over time. To make this analysis easier for you, we indicate when each processor was tested. You can find this in the dialog box, where there is information about the test date of each processor. This dialog box appears in interactive graphs, just hover the mouse cursor over any bar.

Why did we ignore the Ryzen 7 5800X for a long time and only add it to our tests now? Because it had a higher price, which made other models more attractive. However, thanks to AMD’s recent CPU price cuts, the R7 5800X will have its place in the market even after the release of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with 3D V-Cache. That excellent price/raw (multi-threaded) performance ratio won’t be taken away from the 5800X.

Methodology: how we measure power draw

Measuring CPU power consumption is relatively simple, much easier than with graphics cards. All power goes through one or two EPS cables. We also use two to increase the cross-section, which is suitable for high performance AMD processors up to sTR(X)4 or for Intel HEDT, and in fact almost for mainstream processors as well. We have Prova 15 current probes to measure current directly on the wires. This is a much more accurate and reliable way of measuring than relying on internal sensors.

The only limitation of our current probes may be when testing the most powerful processors. These already exceed the maximum range of 30 A, at which high accuracy is guaranteed. For most processors, the range is optimal (even for measuring a lower load, when the probes can be switched to a lower and more accurate range of 4 A), but we will test models with power consumption over 360 W on our own device, a prototype of which we have already built. Its measuring range will no longer be limiting, but for the time being we will be using the Prova probes in the near future.

The probes are properly set to zero and connected to a UNI-T UT71E multimeter before each measurement. It records samples of current values during the tests via the IR-USB interface and writes them in a table at one-second intervals. We can then create bar graphs with power consumption patterns. But we always write average values in bar graphs. Measurements take place in various load modes. The lowest represents an idle Windows 10 desktop. This measurement takes place on a system that had been idle for quite some time.

   

Audio encoding (FLAC) represents a higher load, but processors use only one core or one thread for this. Higher loads, where more cores are involved, are games. We test power consumption in F1 2020, Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Total War Saga: Troy in 1920 × 1080 px. In this resolution, the power consumption is usually the highest or at least similar to that in lower or higher resolutions, where in most cases the CPU power draw rather decreases due to its lower utilization.

Power limits are disabled for both Intel and AMD processors, unlocked at the PL2/PPT level. As is the case with most motherboards, this is also set in the default settings. This means that the “Tau” timeout after 56 seconds does not reduce power draw and clock speeds even under higher load, and performance is stable. We considered whether or not to accept the more economical settings. So, in the end, we won’t on the grounds that the vast majority of users don’t do it either and hence the results and comparisons would be rather uninteresting. The solution would indeed be to test with and without power limit, but this is impossible from a time point of view in the context of processor tests. However, we won’t ignore this issue and it will be given space in motherboard tests where it makes more sense to us.

We always use motherboards with extremely robust, efficient VRM, so that the losses on MOSFETs distort the measured results as little as possible and the test setups are powered by a high-end 1200 W BeQuiet! Dark Power Pro 12 power supply. It is strong enough to supply every processor, even with a fully loaded GeForce RTX 3080, and at the same time achieves above-standard efficiency even at lower load. For a complete overview of test setup components, see Chapter 5 of this article.

Why did we ignore the Ryzen 7 5800X for a long time and only add it to our tests now? Because it had a higher price, which made other models more attractive. However, thanks to AMD’s recent CPU price cuts, the R7 5800X will have its place in the market even after the release of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with 3D V-Cache. That excellent price/raw (multi-threaded) performance ratio won’t be taken away from the 5800X.

Methodology: temperature and clock speed tests

When choosing a cooler, we eventually opted for Noctua NH-U14S. It has a high performance and at the same time there is also the TR4-SP3 variant designed for Threadripper processors. It differs only by the base, the radiator is otherwise the same, so it will be possible to test and compare all processors under the same conditions. The fan on the NH-U14S cooler is set to a maximum speed of 1,535 rpm during all tests.

Measurements always take place on a bench-wall in a wind tunnel which simulates a computer case, with the difference that we have more control over it.

System cooling consists of four Noctua NF-S12A PWM fans, which are in an equilibrium ratio of two at the inlet and two at the outlet. Their speed is set at a fixed 535 rpm, which is a relatively practical speed that is not needed to be exceeded. In short, this should be the optimal configuration based on our tests of various system cooling settings.

It is also important to maintain the same air temperature around the processors. Of course, this also changes with regard to how much heat a particular processor produces, but at the inlet of the tunnel it must always be the same for accurate comparisons. In our air-conditioned test lab, it is currently in the range of 21–21.3 °C.

Maintaining a constant inlet temperature is necessary not only for a proper comparison of processor temperatures, but especially for unbiased performance comparisons. Trend of clock speed and especially single-core boost depends on the temperature. In the summer at higher temperatures, processors may be slower in living spaces than in the winter.

For Intel processors, we register the maximum core temperature for each test, usually of all cores. These maximum values are then averaged and the result is represented by the final value in the graph. From the outputs of single-threaded load, we only pick the registered values from active cores (these are usually two and alternate during the test). It’s a little different with AMD processors. They don’t have temperature sensors for every core. In order for the procedure to be as methodically as possible similar to that applied on Intel processors, the average temperature of all cores is defined by the highest value reported by the CPU Tdie sensor (average). For single-threaded load, however, we already use a CPU sensor (Tctl/Tdie), which usually reports a slightly higher value, which better corresponds to the hotspots of one or two cores. But these values as well as the values from all internal sensors must be taken with a grain of salt, the accuracy of the sensors varies across processors.

Clock speed evaluation is more accurate, each core has its own sensor even on AMD processors. Unlike temperatures, we plot average clock speed values during tests in graphs. We monitor the temperature and clock speed of the processor cores in the same tests, in which we also measure the power consumption. And thus, gradually from the lowest load level on the desktop of idle Windows 10, through audio encoding (single-threaded load), gaming load in three games (F1 2020, Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Total War Saga: Troy), to a 10-minute load in Cinebench R23 and the most demanding video encoding with the x264 encoder in HandBrake.

To record the temperatures and clock speed of the processor cores, we use HWiNFO, in which sampling is set to two seconds. With the exception of audio encoding, the graphs always show the averages of all processor cores in terms of temperatures and clock speed. During audio encoding, the values from the loaded core are given.

Why did we ignore the Ryzen 7 5800X for a long time and only add it to our tests now? Because it had a higher price, which made other models more attractive. However, thanks to AMD’s recent CPU price cuts, the R7 5800X will have its place in the market even after the release of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with 3D V-Cache. That excellent price/raw (multi-threaded) performance ratio won’t be taken away from the 5800X.

Test setup

* We use the following BIOSes on motherboards. For MSI MMEG X570 Ace v1E, for MEG Z690 Unify v10,  MAG Z690 Tomahawk WiFi DDR4 v11 , for MEG Z590 Ace v1.14 and for MSI MEG Z490 Ace v17.

Note: Graphics drivers used at the time of testing: Nvidia GeForce 466.77 and OS Windows 10 build 19043.

Intel CPUs are tested on the MSI MEG Z690 Unify, MAG Z490 Tomahawk WiFi DDR4, Z590 Ace and Z490 Ace motherboards. With MSI MEG Z690 Unify, the memory used is DDR5 Kingston Fury Beast (2× 16 GB, 5200 MHz/CL40):

   

   

Why did we ignore the Ryzen 7 5800X for a long time and only add it to our tests now? Because it had a higher price, which made other models more attractive. However, thanks to AMD’s recent CPU price cuts, the R7 5800X will have its place in the market even after the release of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with 3D V-Cache. That excellent price/raw (multi-threaded) performance ratio won’t be taken away from the 5800X.

3DMark

We use 3DMark Professional for the tests and the following tests: Night Raid (DirectX 12), Fire Strike (DirectX 11) and Time Spy (DirectX 12). In the graphs you will find partial CPU scores, combined scores, but also graphics scores. You can find out to what extent the given processor limits the graphics card.

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Why did we ignore the Ryzen 7 5800X for a long time and only add it to our tests now? Because it had a higher price, which made other models more attractive. However, thanks to AMD’s recent CPU price cuts, the R7 5800X will have its place in the market even after the release of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with 3D V-Cache. That excellent price/raw (multi-threaded) performance ratio won’t be taken away from the 5800X.

Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla

Test environment: resolution 1280 × 720 px; graphics settings preset Low; API DirectX 12; no extra settings; test scene: built-in benchmark.

   

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Test environment: resolution 1920 × 1080 px; graphics settings preset Low; API DirectX 12; extra settings Anti-Aliasing: low; test scene: built-in benchmark.

   

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Test environment: resolution 2560 × 1440 px; graphics settings preset High; API DirectX 12; no extra settings; test scene: built-in benchmark.

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Test environment: resolution 3840 × 2160 px; graphics settings preset Ultra High; API DirectX 12; no extra settings; test scene: built-in benchmark.

   

Why did we ignore the Ryzen 7 5800X for a long time and only add it to our tests now? Because it had a higher price, which made other models more attractive. However, thanks to AMD’s recent CPU price cuts, the R7 5800X will have its place in the market even after the release of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with 3D V-Cache. That excellent price/raw (multi-threaded) performance ratio won’t be taken away from the 5800X.

Borderlands 3

Test environment: resolution 1280 × 720 px; graphics settings preset Very Low; API DirectX 12; no extra settings; test scene: built-in benchmark.

   

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Test environment: resolution 1920 × 1080 px; graphics settings preset High; API DirectX 12; extra settings Anti-Aliasing: None; test scene: built-in benchmark.

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Test environment: resolution 2560 × 1440 px; graphics settings preset High; API DirectX 12; no extra settings; test scene: built-in benchmark.

   

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Test environment: resolution 3840 × 2160 px; graphics settings preset Ultra; API DirectX 12; no extra settings; test scene: built-in benchmark.

   

Why did we ignore the Ryzen 7 5800X for a long time and only add it to our tests now? Because it had a higher price, which made other models more attractive. However, thanks to AMD’s recent CPU price cuts, the R7 5800X will have its place in the market even after the release of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with 3D V-Cache. That excellent price/raw (multi-threaded) performance ratio won’t be taken away from the 5800X.

Counter-Strike: GO

Test environment: resolution 1280 × 720 px; lowest graphics settings and w/o Anti-Aliasing, API DirectX 9; test platform script with Dust 2 map tour.

   

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Test environment: resolution 1920 × 1080 px; high graphics settings and w/o Anti-Aliasingu, API DirectX 9; test platform script with Dust 2 map tour.

   

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Test environment: resolution 2560 × 1440 px; high graphics settings; 4× MSAA, API DirectX 9; test platform script with Dust 2 map tour.

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Test environment: resolution 3840 × 2160 px; very high graphics settings; 4× MSAA, API DirectX 9; test platform script with Dust 2 map tour.

   

Why did we ignore the Ryzen 7 5800X for a long time and only add it to our tests now? Because it had a higher price, which made other models more attractive. However, thanks to AMD’s recent CPU price cuts, the R7 5800X will have its place in the market even after the release of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with 3D V-Cache. That excellent price/raw (multi-threaded) performance ratio won’t be taken away from the 5800X.

Cyberpunk 2077

Test environment: resolution 1280 × 720 px; graphics settings preset Low; API DirectX 12; no extra settings; test scene: custom (Little China).

   

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Test environment: resolution 1920 × 1080 px; graphics settings preset High; API DirectX 12; no extra settings; test scene: custom (Little China).

   

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Test environment: resolution 2560 × 1440 px; graphics settings preset High; API DirectX 12; no extra settings; test scene: custom (Little China).

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Test environment: resolution 3840 × 2160 px; graphics settings preset Ultra; API DirectX 12; no extra settings; test scene: custom (Little China).

   

Why did we ignore the Ryzen 7 5800X for a long time and only add it to our tests now? Because it had a higher price, which made other models more attractive. However, thanks to AMD’s recent CPU price cuts, the R7 5800X will have its place in the market even after the release of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with 3D V-Cache. That excellent price/raw (multi-threaded) performance ratio won’t be taken away from the 5800X.

DOOM Eternal

Test environment: resolution 1280 × 720 px; graphics settings preset Low; API Vulkan; extra settings Present From Compute: off, Motion Blur: Low, Depth of Field Anti-Aliasing: off; test scene: custom.

   

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Test environment: resolution 1920 × 1080 px; graphics settings preset High; API Vulkan; extra settings Present From Compute: on, Motion Blur: High, Depth of Field Anti-Aliasing: off; test scene: custom.

   

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Test environment: resolution 2560 × 1440 px; graphics settings preset High; API Vulkan; extra settings Present From Compute: on, Motion Blur: High, Depth of Field Anti-Aliasing: on; test scene: custom.

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Test environment: resolution 3840 × 2160 px; graphics settings preset Ultra Nightmare; API Vulkan; extra settings Present From Compute: on, Motion Blur: High, Depth of Field Anti-Aliasing: on; test scene: custom.

   

Why did we ignore the Ryzen 7 5800X for a long time and only add it to our tests now? Because it had a higher price, which made other models more attractive. However, thanks to AMD’s recent CPU price cuts, the R7 5800X will have its place in the market even after the release of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with 3D V-Cache. That excellent price/raw (multi-threaded) performance ratio won’t be taken away from the 5800X.

F1 2020

Test environment: resolution 1280 × 720 px; graphics settings preset Ultra Low; API DirectX 12; extra settings Anti-Aliasing: off, Anisotropic Filtering: off; test scene: built-in benchmark (Australia, Clear/Dry, Cycle).

   

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Test environment: resolution 1920 × 1080 px; graphics settings preset High; API DirectX 12; extra settings Anti-Aliasing: off, Skidmarks Blending: off; test scene: built-in benchmark (Australia, Clear/Dry, Cycle).

   

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Test environment: resolution 2560 × 1440 px; graphics settings preset High; API DirectX 12; extra settings Anti-Aliasing: TAA, Skidmarks Blending: off; test scene: built-in benchmark (Australia, Clear/Dry, Cycle).

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Test environment: resolution 3840 × 2160 px; graphics settings preset Ultra High; API DirectX 12; extra settings Anti-Aliasing: TAA, Skidmarks Blending: off; test scene: built-in benchmark (Australia, Clear/Dry, Cycle).

Why did we ignore the Ryzen 7 5800X for a long time and only add it to our tests now? Because it had a higher price, which made other models more attractive. However, thanks to AMD’s recent CPU price cuts, the R7 5800X will have its place in the market even after the release of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with 3D V-Cache. That excellent price/raw (multi-threaded) performance ratio won’t be taken away from the 5800X.

Metro Exodus

Test environment: resolution 1280 × 720 px; graphics settings preset Low; API DirectX 12; no extra settings test scene: built-in benchmark.

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Test environment: resolution 1920 × 1080 px; graphics settings preset High; API DirectX 12; no extra settings; test scene: built-in benchmark.

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Test environment: resolution 2560 × 1440 px; graphics settings preset High; API DirectX 12; no extra settings; test scene: built-in benchmark.

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Test environment: resolution 3840 × 2160 px; graphics settings preset Extreme; API DirectX 12; no extra settings; test scene: built-in benchmark.

Why did we ignore the Ryzen 7 5800X for a long time and only add it to our tests now? Because it had a higher price, which made other models more attractive. However, thanks to AMD’s recent CPU price cuts, the R7 5800X will have its place in the market even after the release of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with 3D V-Cache. That excellent price/raw (multi-threaded) performance ratio won’t be taken away from the 5800X.

Microsoft Flight Simulator

Disclaimer: The performance of this game changes and improves frequently due to continuous updates. We verify the consistency of the results by re-testing the Ryzen 9 5900X processor before each measurement. In case of significant deviations, we discard the older results and start building the database from scratch. Due to the incompleteness of the MFS results, we do not use MFS to calculate the average gaming performance of the processors.

Test environment: resolution 1280 × 720 px; graphics settings preset Low; API DirectX 11; extra settings Anti-Aliasing: off; test scene: custom (Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Air Traffic: AI, February 14, 9:00) autopilot: from 1000 m until hitting the terrain.

   

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Test environment: resolution 1920 × 1080 px; graphics settings preset Low; API DirectX 11; extra settings Anti-Aliasing: off; test scene: custom (Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Air Traffic: AI, February 14, 9:00) autopilot: from 1000 m until hitting the terrain.

   

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Test environment: resolution 2560 × 1440 px; graphics settings preset High; API DirectX 11; extra settings Anti-Aliasing: TAA; test scene: custom (Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Air Traffic: AI, February 14, 9:00) autopilot: from 1000 m until hitting the terrain.

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Test environment: resolution 3840 × 2160 px; graphics settings preset Ultra; API DirectX 11; extra settings Anti-Aliasing: TAA; test scene: custom (Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Air Traffic: AI, February 14, 9:00) autopilot: from 1000 m until hitting the terrain.

   

Why did we ignore the Ryzen 7 5800X for a long time and only add it to our tests now? Because it had a higher price, which made other models more attractive. However, thanks to AMD’s recent CPU price cuts, the R7 5800X will have its place in the market even after the release of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with 3D V-Cache. That excellent price/raw (multi-threaded) performance ratio won’t be taken away from the 5800X.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Test environment: resolution 1280 × 720 px; graphics settings preset Lowest; API DirectX 12; extra settings Anti-Aliasing: off; test scene: built-in benchmark.

   

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Test environment: resolution 1920 × 1080 px; graphics settings preset High; API DirectX 12; extra settings Anti-Aliasing: off; test scene: built-in benchmark.

   

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Test environment: resolution 2560 × 1440 px; graphics settings preset High; API DirectX 12; extra settings Anti-Aliasing: TAA; test scene: built-in benchmark.

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Test environment: resolution 3840 × 2160 px; graphics settings preset Highest; API DirectX 12; extra settings Anti-Aliasing: TAA; test scene: built-in benchmark.

Why did we ignore the Ryzen 7 5800X for a long time and only add it to our tests now? Because it had a higher price, which made other models more attractive. However, thanks to AMD’s recent CPU price cuts, the R7 5800X will have its place in the market even after the release of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with 3D V-Cache. That excellent price/raw (multi-threaded) performance ratio won’t be taken away from the 5800X.

Total War Saga: Troy

Test environment: resolution 1280 × 720 px; graphics settings preset Low; API DirectX 11; no extra settings; test scene: built-in benchmark.

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Test environment: resolution 1920 × 1080 px; graphics settings preset High; API DirectX 11; no extra settings; test scene: built-in benchmark.

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Test environment: resolution 2560 × 1440 px; graphics settings preset High; API DirectX 11; no extra settings; test scene: built-in benchmark.

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Test environment: resolution 3840 × 2160 px; graphics settings preset Ultra; API DirectX 11; no extra settings; test scene: built-in benchmark.

Why did we ignore the Ryzen 7 5800X for a long time and only add it to our tests now? Because it had a higher price, which made other models more attractive. However, thanks to AMD’s recent CPU price cuts, the R7 5800X will have its place in the market even after the release of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with 3D V-Cache. That excellent price/raw (multi-threaded) performance ratio won’t be taken away from the 5800X.

Overall gaming performance

To calculate average gaming performance, we normalized the Intel Core i7-11900K processor. The percentage differences of all other processors are based on this, with each of the games contributing an equal weight to the final result. To see exactly what the formula we use to arrive at each value looks like, see „New average CPU score measuring method“.

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Why did we ignore the Ryzen 7 5800X for a long time and only add it to our tests now? Because it had a higher price, which made other models more attractive. However, thanks to AMD’s recent CPU price cuts, the R7 5800X will have its place in the market even after the release of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with 3D V-Cache. That excellent price/raw (multi-threaded) performance ratio won’t be taken away from the 5800X.

Gaming performance per euro

Why did we ignore the Ryzen 7 5800X for a long time and only add it to our tests now? Because it had a higher price, which made other models more attractive. However, thanks to AMD’s recent CPU price cuts, the R7 5800X will have its place in the market even after the release of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with 3D V-Cache. That excellent price/raw (multi-threaded) performance ratio won’t be taken away from the 5800X.

PCMark

Geekbench

Why did we ignore the Ryzen 7 5800X for a long time and only add it to our tests now? Because it had a higher price, which made other models more attractive. However, thanks to AMD’s recent CPU price cuts, the R7 5800X will have its place in the market even after the release of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with 3D V-Cache. That excellent price/raw (multi-threaded) performance ratio won’t be taken away from the 5800X.

Speedometer (2.0) and Octane (2.0)

Test environment: We’re using a portable version of Google Chrome (91.0.472.101) 64-bit so that real-time results are not affected by browser updates. GPU hardware acceleration is enabled as each user has in the default settings.

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Note: The values in the graphs represent the average of the points obtained in the subtasks, which are grouped according to their nature into seven categories (Core language features, Memory and GC, Strings and arrays, Virtual machine and GC, Loading and Parsing, Bit and Math operations and Compiler and GC latency).

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Why did we ignore the Ryzen 7 5800X for a long time and only add it to our tests now? Because it had a higher price, which made other models more attractive. However, thanks to AMD’s recent CPU price cuts, the R7 5800X will have its place in the market even after the release of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with 3D V-Cache. That excellent price/raw (multi-threaded) performance ratio won’t be taken away from the 5800X.

Cinebench R20

Cinebench R23

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Blender@Cycles

Test environment: We use well-known projects BMW (510 tiles) and Classroom (2040 tiles) and renderer Cycles. Render settings are set to None, with which all the work falls on the CPU.

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LuxRender (SPECworkstation 3.1)

Why did we ignore the Ryzen 7 5800X for a long time and only add it to our tests now? Because it had a higher price, which made other models more attractive. However, thanks to AMD’s recent CPU price cuts, the R7 5800X will have its place in the market even after the release of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with 3D V-Cache. That excellent price/raw (multi-threaded) performance ratio won’t be taken away from the 5800X.

Adobe Premiere Pro (PugetBench)

Test environment: set of PugetBench tests. App version of Adobe Premiere Pro is 15.2.

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Why did we ignore the Ryzen 7 5800X for a long time and only add it to our tests now? Because it had a higher price, which made other models more attractive. However, thanks to AMD’s recent CPU price cuts, the R7 5800X will have its place in the market even after the release of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with 3D V-Cache. That excellent price/raw (multi-threaded) performance ratio won’t be taken away from the 5800X.

DaVinci Resolve Studio (PugetBench)

Test environment: set of PugetBench tests, test type: standard. App version of DaVinci Resolve Studio is 17.2.1 (build 12).

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Why did we ignore the Ryzen 7 5800X for a long time and only add it to our tests now? Because it had a higher price, which made other models more attractive. However, thanks to AMD’s recent CPU price cuts, the R7 5800X will have its place in the market even after the release of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with 3D V-Cache. That excellent price/raw (multi-threaded) performance ratio won’t be taken away from the 5800X.

Graphics effects: Adobe After Effects

Test environment: set of PugetBench tests. App version of Adobe After Effects is 18.2.1.

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Why did we ignore the Ryzen 7 5800X for a long time and only add it to our tests now? Because it had a higher price, which made other models more attractive. However, thanks to AMD’s recent CPU price cuts, the R7 5800X will have its place in the market even after the release of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with 3D V-Cache. That excellent price/raw (multi-threaded) performance ratio won’t be taken away from the 5800X.

HandBrake

   

Test environment: For video conversion we’re using a 4K video LG Demo Snowboard with a 43,9 Mb/s bitrate. AVC (x264) and HEVC (x265) profiles are set for high quality and encoder profiles are “slow”. HandBrake version is 1.3.3 (2020061300).

x264 and x265 benchmarks

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SVT-AV1

Test environment: We are encoding a short, publicly available sample park_joy_2160p50.y4m: uncompressed video 4096 × 2160 px, 8bit, 50 fps. Length is 500 frames with encoding quality set to 6 which makes the encoding still relatively slow. This test can make use of the AVX2 i AVX-512 instructions.

Version: SVT-AV1 Encoder Lib v0.8.7-61-g685afb2d via FFMpeg N-104429-g069f7831a2-20211026 (64bit)
Build from: https://github.com/BtbN/FFmpeg-Builds/releases
Command line: ffmpeg.exe -i “park_joy_2160p50.y4m” -c:v libsvtav1 -rc 0 -qp 55 -preset 6 -f null output.webm

Why did we ignore the Ryzen 7 5800X for a long time and only add it to our tests now? Because it had a higher price, which made other models more attractive. However, thanks to AMD’s recent CPU price cuts, the R7 5800X will have its place in the market even after the release of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with 3D V-Cache. That excellent price/raw (multi-threaded) performance ratio won’t be taken away from the 5800X.

Audio encoding

Test environment: Audio encoding is done using command line encoders, we measure the time it takes for the conversion to finish. The same 42-minute long 16-bit WAV file (stereo) with 44.1 kHz is always used (Love Over Gold by Dire Straits album rip in a single audio file).

Encoder settings are selected to achieve maximum or near maximum compression. The bitrate is relatively high, with the exception of lossless FLAC of about 200 kb/s.

Note: These tests measure single-thread performance.

FLAC: reference encoder 1.3.2, 64-bit build. Launch options: flac.exe -s -8 -m -e -p -f

MP3: encoder lame3.100.1, 64-bit build (Intel 19 Compiler) from RareWares. Launch options: lame.exe -S -V 0 -q 0

AAC: uses Apple QuickTime libraries, invoked through the application from the command line, QAAC 2.72, 64-bit build, Intel 19 Compiler (does not require installation of the whole Apple package). Launch options: qaac64.exe -V 100 -s -q 2

Opus: reference encoder 1.3.1, Launch options: opusenc.exe –comp 10 –quiet –vbr –bitrate 192

Why did we ignore the Ryzen 7 5800X for a long time and only add it to our tests now? Because it had a higher price, which made other models more attractive. However, thanks to AMD’s recent CPU price cuts, the R7 5800X will have its place in the market even after the release of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with 3D V-Cache. That excellent price/raw (multi-threaded) performance ratio won’t be taken away from the 5800X.

Broadcasting

Test environment: Applications OBS Studio and Xsplit. We’re using the built-in benchmark (scene Australia, Clear/Dry, Cycle) v hre F1 2020, in a resolution of 2560 × 1440 px and the same graphics settings, as with standard game performance tests. Thanks to this, we can measure the performance decrease if you record your gameplay with the x264 software encoder while playing. The output is 2560 × 1440 px at 60 fps.

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Why did we ignore the Ryzen 7 5800X for a long time and only add it to our tests now? Because it had a higher price, which made other models more attractive. However, thanks to AMD’s recent CPU price cuts, the R7 5800X will have its place in the market even after the release of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with 3D V-Cache. That excellent price/raw (multi-threaded) performance ratio won’t be taken away from the 5800X.

Adobe Photoshop (PugetBench)

Test environment: set of PugetBench tests. App version of Adobe Photoshop is 22.4.2.

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Adobe Lightroom Classic

Test environment: With the settings above, we export 42 uncompressed .CR2 (RAW Canon) photos with a size of 20 Mpx. Then we create 1:1 previews from them, which also represent one of the most processor intensive tasks in Lightroom. The version of Adobe Lightroom Classic is 10.3

Why did we ignore the Ryzen 7 5800X for a long time and only add it to our tests now? Because it had a higher price, which made other models more attractive. However, thanks to AMD’s recent CPU price cuts, the R7 5800X will have its place in the market even after the release of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with 3D V-Cache. That excellent price/raw (multi-threaded) performance ratio won’t be taken away from the 5800X.

Affinity Photo (benchmark)

Test environment: built-in benchmark.

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Topaz Labs AI apps

Topaz DeNoise AI, Gigapixel AI and Sharpen AI. These single-purpose applications are used for restoration of low-quality photos. Whether it is high noise (caused by higher ISO), raster level (typically after cropping) or when something needs extra focus. The AI performance is always used.

Test environment: As part of batch editing, 42 photos with a lower resolution of 1920 × 1280 px are processed, with the settings from the images above. DeNoise AI is in version 3.1.2, Gigapixel in 5.5.2 and Sharpen AI in 3.1.2.

XnViewMP

Test environment: XnViewMP is finally a photo-editor for which you don’t have to pay. At the same time, it uses hardware very efficiently. In order to achieve more reasonable comparison times, we had to create an archive of up to 1024 photos, where we reduce the original resolution of 5472 × 3648 px to 1980 × 1280 px and filters with automatic contrast enhancement and noise reduction are also being applied during this process. We use 64-bit portable version 0.98.4.

Zoner Photo Studio X

Test environment: In Zoner Photo Studio X we convert 42 .CR2 (RAW Canon) photos to JPEG while keeping the original resolution (5472 × 3648 px) at the lowest possible compression, with the ZPS X profile ”high quality for archival”.

Why did we ignore the Ryzen 7 5800X for a long time and only add it to our tests now? Because it had a higher price, which made other models more attractive. However, thanks to AMD’s recent CPU price cuts, the R7 5800X will have its place in the market even after the release of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with 3D V-Cache. That excellent price/raw (multi-threaded) performance ratio won’t be taken away from the 5800X.

WinRAR 6.01

7-Zip 19.00

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Why did we ignore the Ryzen 7 5800X for a long time and only add it to our tests now? Because it had a higher price, which made other models more attractive. However, thanks to AMD’s recent CPU price cuts, the R7 5800X will have its place in the market even after the release of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with 3D V-Cache. That excellent price/raw (multi-threaded) performance ratio won’t be taken away from the 5800X.

TrueCrypt 7.1a

Aida64 (AES, SHA3)

Why did we ignore the Ryzen 7 5800X for a long time and only add it to our tests now? Because it had a higher price, which made other models more attractive. However, thanks to AMD’s recent CPU price cuts, the R7 5800X will have its place in the market even after the release of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with 3D V-Cache. That excellent price/raw (multi-threaded) performance ratio won’t be taken away from the 5800X.

Y-cruncher

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Stockfish 13

Test environment: Host for the Stockfish 13 engine is a chess app Arena 2.0.1, build 2399.

Aida64, FPU tests

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FSI (SPECworkstation 3.1)

Kirchhoff migration (SPECworkstation 3.1)

Python36 (SPECworkstation 3.1)

SRMP (SPECworkstation 3.1)

Octave (SPECworkstation 3.1)

FFTW (SPECworkstation 3.1)

Convolution (SPECworkstation 3.1)

CalculiX (SPECworkstation 3.1)

Why did we ignore the Ryzen 7 5800X for a long time and only add it to our tests now? Because it had a higher price, which made other models more attractive. However, thanks to AMD’s recent CPU price cuts, the R7 5800X will have its place in the market even after the release of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with 3D V-Cache. That excellent price/raw (multi-threaded) performance ratio won’t be taken away from the 5800X.

RodiniaLifeSci (SPECworkstation 3.1)

WPCcfd (SPECworkstation 3.1)

Poisson (SPECworkstation 3.1)

LAMMPS (SPECworkstation 3.1)

NAMD (SPECworkstation 3.1)

Why did we ignore the Ryzen 7 5800X for a long time and only add it to our tests now? Because it had a higher price, which made other models more attractive. However, thanks to AMD’s recent CPU price cuts, the R7 5800X will have its place in the market even after the release of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with 3D V-Cache. That excellent price/raw (multi-threaded) performance ratio won’t be taken away from the 5800X.

Memory tests…

… and cache (L1, L2, L3)

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Why did we ignore the Ryzen 7 5800X for a long time and only add it to our tests now? Because it had a higher price, which made other models more attractive. However, thanks to AMD’s recent CPU price cuts, the R7 5800X will have its place in the market even after the release of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with 3D V-Cache. That excellent price/raw (multi-threaded) performance ratio won’t be taken away from the 5800X.

Processor power draw curve

Why did we ignore the Ryzen 7 5800X for a long time and only add it to our tests now? Because it had a higher price, which made other models more attractive. However, thanks to AMD’s recent CPU price cuts, the R7 5800X will have its place in the market even after the release of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with 3D V-Cache. That excellent price/raw (multi-threaded) performance ratio won’t be taken away from the 5800X.

Average processor power draw

Why did we ignore the Ryzen 7 5800X for a long time and only add it to our tests now? Because it had a higher price, which made other models more attractive. However, thanks to AMD’s recent CPU price cuts, the R7 5800X will have its place in the market even after the release of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with 3D V-Cache. That excellent price/raw (multi-threaded) performance ratio won’t be taken away from the 5800X.

Performance per watt

Why did we ignore the Ryzen 7 5800X for a long time and only add it to our tests now? Because it had a higher price, which made other models more attractive. However, thanks to AMD’s recent CPU price cuts, the R7 5800X will have its place in the market even after the release of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with 3D V-Cache. That excellent price/raw (multi-threaded) performance ratio won’t be taken away from the 5800X.

Achieved CPU clock speed

Why did we ignore the Ryzen 7 5800X for a long time and only add it to our tests now? Because it had a higher price, which made other models more attractive. However, thanks to AMD’s recent CPU price cuts, the R7 5800X will have its place in the market even after the release of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with 3D V-Cache. That excellent price/raw (multi-threaded) performance ratio won’t be taken away from the 5800X.

CPU temperature

Why did we ignore the Ryzen 7 5800X for a long time and only add it to our tests now? Because it had a higher price, which made other models more attractive. However, thanks to AMD’s recent CPU price cuts, the R7 5800X will have its place in the market even after the release of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with 3D V-Cache. That excellent price/raw (multi-threaded) performance ratio won’t be taken away from the 5800X.

Evaluation

AMD Ryzen 7 may seem like a good choice for users who can’t get enough of the multi-threaded performance of the Ryzen 5 5600X and at the same time the Ryzen 9 5900X already exceeds the budget.

At full throttle, the R7 5800X is sometimes closer to the R9 5900X than the R5 5600X, even though it has four fewer cores compared to the Ryzen 9 and only two more cores compared to the Ryzen 5. This is due to more aggressive CPU core frequency management, for which even slightly higher power draw is achieved without power limits than with the two, frequency-wise slower Ryzen 9s (5900X and 5950X). Therefore, in terms of maximum performance, the Ryzen 7 5800X achieves the worst efficiency among all Vermeer processors.

In games, where the CPU load is always lower than in compute tasks, it’s already doing better and is 26–38 % more efficient than R9 59×0, but it still loses out to the R5 5600X. This is despite the fact that gaming performance is the same on average at the resolutions (FHD and QHD) that this processor will be used with. 12-24 W extra over the R5 5600X does not make the R7 5800X a better choice for a gaming PC. Sure, in select games, the 5800X’s performance gain is higher than the multi-game average. And that’s especially true in Full HD, where in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, the R5 5600X can be up to 10 % slower, in Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla up to 7 % slower.

The R7 5800X is also faster than the percentage difference from all games evokes in F1 2020. But then there are titles where it is weaker (and the 5600X has a bit of an edge). At higher resolutions, it’s Total War Saga: Troy (highest difference is in QHD resolution, up to 10 % to the detriment of the R7 5800X) and the 5600X has the upper hand in Cyberpunk 2077, by 5–8 %(QHD -FHD), as well. The Ryzen 7 5800X also falls behind a slight bit in Full HD resolution in DOOM Eternal. However, most games have differences of +/- 1 %, and these include Metro Exodus and Counter-Strike: GO.

The most significant average performance increase in games is at the extremely low 720p resolution, and even that’s only 3 %. At 1080p, it’s only 1 %, and at higher resolutions the difference in gaming performance between the 5600X and 5800X has disappeared altogether. For a primarily gaming PC where the best price-performance ratio is sought, the Ryzen 5 5600X is thus more interesting. And an even better choice, if the rest of the platform (motherboard + memory) will set you back the same money, is the Core i5-12400F. Intel’s cheapest 8-core processor, while also averaging the same performance as the 5600X, is a bit cheaper.

The premium for the Ryzen 7 5800X is justified if multi-threaded performance is also a high priority. That is already significantly higher compared to the 5600X, albeit at the price of an equally significantly higher power draw. The difference of the 5800X in (3D) rendering, video encoding, (de)cryption or (de)compression is significant, compared to the 5600X and is worth the 60-euro premium. Ryzen 7 5800X is always faster in single-threaded load as well thanks to higher frequency single-core boost, which often manifests itself in faster reactions on regular web work. However, these are not dramatic differences that would clearly show a build with a faster processor in a blind test.

A little disconcerting are the higher temperatures of the R7 5800X. It also exceeds the Ryzen 9 5900X by more than ten degrees Celsius.Power draw is similar, but in the case of Ryzen 7 5800X, the heat is concentrated in a smaller area (because the processor has fewer active cores), and the inaccuracy of the temperature sensor may also play into the final result.We have encountered this in the past with the Ryzen 5 3600. The contact of the CPU IHS with the base of the cooler that heats up to around 80°C under maximum load and 60-70°C in games, has nothing to do with it. The imprint of the thermal paste confirms sufficient and even pressure.

TL;DR: If the multi-threaded performance of Ryzen 5 5600X isn’t enough for you and you don’t mind higher temperatures, higher power draw and overall weaker efficiency of the Ryzen 7 5800X relative to AMD processors, the 8-core Vermeer priced between 300-350 euros is an adept for the right choice. However, don’t expect higher performance in games (compared to the R5 5600X).

English translation and edit by Jozef Dudáš

Games for testing are from Jama levova

Special thanks to Blackmagic Design (for a DaVinci Resolve Studio license), Topaz Labs (for licenses for DeNoise AI, Gigapixel AI and Sharpen AI) and Zoner (for Photo Studio X license)

• Contents
• AMD Ryzen 7 5800X in detail
• Methodology: performance tests
• Methodology: how we measure power draw
• Methodology: temperature and clock speed tests
• Test setup
• 3DMark
• Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla
• Borderlands 3
• Counter-Strike: GO
• Cyberpunk 2077
• DOOM Eternal
• F1 2020
• Metro Exodus
• Microsoft Flight Simulator
• Shadow of the Tomb Raider
• Total War Saga: Troy
• Overall gaming performance
• Gaming performance per euro
• PCMark and Geekbench
• Web performance
• 3D rendering: Cinebench, Blender, ...
• Video 1/2: Adobe Premiere Pro
• Video 1/2: DaVinci Resolve Studio
• Graphics effects: Adobe After Effects
• Video encoding
• Audio encoding
• Broadcasting (OBS and Xsplit)
• Photos 1/2: Adobe Photoshop a Lightroom
• Photos 2/2: Affinity Photo, Topaz Labs AI apps, ZPS X, ...
• (De)compression
• (De)cryption
• Numerical computing
• Simulations
• Memory and cache tests
• Processor power draw curve
• Average processor power draw
• Performance per watt
• Achieved CPU clock speed
• CPU temperature
• Evaluation