from i9-9900k to 5800X3d or 5950X

scajjr29

Weaksauce
Joined
Aug 19, 2011
Messages
106
Got a MSI MAG X570 Tomahawk wifi mobo, for gaming (Flight Sim 2020, the new Xplane, 2K & EA sports games) which would be better 5800X3D or 5950x? Have a 6900XT vid card.

sam
 
When it comes to gaming, the 5800X3D is clearly the way to go. Basically zero games make use of more than 8 cores. Most games don't even use 8 cores. All current consoles only have 8 cores. Intel's top-end chip, the 13900k, only has 8 "performance cores" (the other "efficiency cores" being irrelevant for gaming). 8 cores is still a very safe number of cores for gaming at this point, and that is unlikely to change at any point in the foreseeable future. The 5800X3D is also more forgiving if you have slower RAM, due to the extra cache.

How much faster the 5800X3D will be compared to the 5950X depends on the game, with most games showing at least some improvement. It really comes down to how well the game is able to utilize that extra cache. Some games will only show a tiny improvement, while others such as MS Flight Simulator will show a massive improvement. Furthermore, there are additional underlying reasons beyond pure FPS that show why the 5800X3D will provide a better gaming experience. The extra cache, and only having one CCD, provide a significant reduction in micro-stutter. Look at these measurements comparing the 5800X3D to the 5900X (which is identical to the 5950X, but with some cores disabled). The tall spikes represent micro-stutter:

5800x3d_review2.png

The situations where the 5950X would have the advantage generally have nothing to do with gaming. Things like file compression or running large numbers of Virtual Machines. Video encoding is faster on the 5950X if you use software encoding, but in reality most people use the hardware video encoder on their videocard to perform that task these days, at much greater speed than either CPU could achieve. Even if you do occasionally perform those types of tasks, the 5800X3D is no slouch.
 
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I have a 5950X and I can't say I have ever noticed micro stutter when gaming, but its also possible im not as sensitive to it, or maybe have tuned my system so hard that its been mitigated, I dunno.

But yeah, for gaming only? 5800X3D for sure... but if you use VMs like me for work, the 5950X is wonderful and never breaks a sweat.
 
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