The last word:
Will our conclusion be any different from the ZEN 5-based Ryzen 5 9600X and Ryzen 7 9700X review? Not really. Without being a revolution, ZEN 5 has shown itself to be very promising on a number of points. Let’s start with performance in single-threaded tasks, where this new generation does as well as, or even much better than, its direct Intel rivals. In some benchmarks, the Ryzen 9 9900X even managed to take first place! In multithreaded tasks, performance is better than the previous generation, but without creating a significant gap, with a gain of up to 10%.
One thing is certain: the drop in TDP from 170 watts for the Ryzen 9 7900X to 120 watts for the Ryzen 9 9900X has a lot to do with it. So, at a time when Intel is experiencing a fair amount of stability problems with its 13th and 14th generation processors, it’s a credit to the Reds and, in the end, a good move on AMD’s part. As we have seen, the cores during a ‘ multithreaded ‘ task, such as under Cinebench R23, reach a lower frequency than the previous generation, in order to maintain lower power consumption, but ultimately perform better. AMD is therefore not obliged to continue increasing the frequencies of its processors to improve the performance of this ZEN 5 generation.
Overclocking confirms AMD’s intention to offer a generation of processors with more reasonable power consumption. In fact, we had no difficulty in increasing the core frequencies of our Ryzen 9 9900X, enabling us to achieve a gain of over 22% compared with the Ryzen 9 7900X. Thanks to overclocking, you can look for the best compromise for your needs and, above all, for your cooling system.
EDIT: At the time of publishing this article, ASUS was posting a new BIOS with a new AGESA. We’re currently busy testing it.
A clean sweep for AMD?
Unfortunately, as you’re know, at the end, future buyers will take the price into account, and in this case, AMD is doing AMD. The price we’ve been given by AMD is €548.90 for the Ryzen 9 9900X. The Ryzen 9 7900X is currently available for 380 euros! Suffice to say that owners of an AM5 platform and this processor will see no point in upgrading their configuration. For us, it’s impossible to recommend this new Ryzen 9 9900X at such a price, especially as this is the price recommended by AMD. The price announced by AMD for the Ryzen 7 9700X does not correspond to the price offered by online shops at the time of writing. We’re used to this with AMD, and this ZEN 5 generation should become more affordable in the months to come.
The good
news for AMD is that Intel’s current problems could encourage future buyers to take the plunge and opt for an AMD AM5 platform, although they may currently be limited to the Ryzen 7000X generation. There is still one unknown: will the arrival of the new AMD chipsets have an influence on the performance of this generation? And what if AMD launches a Ryzen 7 9800X3D to replace the Ryzen 7 7800X3D ?
AMD could be surfing the wave between Intel’s troubles and this promising generation, provided that the prices of the latter drop in the next few weeks. Thanks to AMD France for making this Ryzen 9 9900X available, and we hope to be able to bring you the performance of the Ryzen 9 9950X soon.
