Upgrade from 5950x to 7800x3d: Good idea, or 7950x3d instead?

[JMSOG]

I know threads like this are annoying, but I have looked everywhere for the last 2 weeks and can't find anyone who actually did this move. I'm looking for an outside perspective so I actually know which trigger to pull, so I can fully take advantage of the 3d cache.

 

Short version: I have a 5950x. The main thing I have used my computer for for at least 2+ years (VRChat) will 100% certainly have massive performance gains from the 3Dcache, enough to make this more than worth it. Will dropping the 8 cores be outweighed by the improved cache/ddr5/improved frequency, or should I do the 7950x3d?

 

Longer story/list of my considerations:

• I play a LOT of vrchat, more than any other game. That game has proven to have absolutely nonsense performance gains with 3dcache CPUs, so this is undeniably a worthwhile jump.
• I don't want to go the route of the 5800x3d, since it feels like too much of a compromise this long after it's release.
• I also would rather jump platforms to AM5 NOW so I can get in on the AM5 ground floor, and *hopefully* my NEXT CPU upgrade after this will ONLY involve buying a new CPU, not a board/CPU/ram.
• I don't do production tasks as much as I used to. I'm expecting that, in the occasional situation where I need to edit a video, the 7800x3d will be good enough.
• Maybe I'm getting old, but the (apparently) 50-100 watt lower whole-system power usage between the 7800x3d and 7950x3d (or even the 5950x) seems...really nice for my power bill.
• I have proven that, during the summer, I have a significant difficulty keeping my apartment cool when I use my desktop. Dropping the power consumption should (in an admittedly small way) help that.
• The fact that the 7800x3d doesn't have the inconsistent core parking issues is...appealing.
• I can afford the 7950x3d, but it would obviously be *nice* if I only spent the money on a 7800x3d.
• I am obviously not considering the 7900x3d.

So, basically, based on how my computer is currently used, A recent 3DCache CPU seems like an incredible move, and reflecting on how my priorities have changed over time, the 7800x3d seems absolutely perfect. The *only* thing that could change my mind is if dropping the 8 cores would have a noticeable performance drop in my day-to-day basic computer use/multitasking, seeing as I have been using a 16 core machine for a while at this point.

 

So...has anyone else made that VERY SPECIFIC 5950x->7800x3d jump? Would the 7950x3d be better given my usecase, or am I right that the 7800x3d is fairly perfect here?

 

Sorry if parts of this are a bit incoherent/are poorly worded/have bad grammer, I am tired and writing this at 11:35pm. I'm just tired of stressing out over this decision, and just want some outside opinions lol. Thank you all for your time.

[RONOTHAN##]

4 minutes ago, JMSOG said:

Will dropping the 8 cores be outweighed by the improved cache/ddr5/improved frequency, or should I do the 7950x3d?

Yes, you will be fine with just 8 cores. The 7950X3D is a pretty niche chip, since it only really makes sense for a work by day, gamer by night build. If you don't do real work on your computer (and by that I mean CAD rendering, video editing, program compiles, etc., not writing up word documents or similar) the 7950X3D is actively worse than the 7800X3D as the core parking algorithm is clunky at best. In games (assuming the core parking is working correctly), they will perform identically as the 7950X3D only has vCache on one of the CCDs and the other CCD will be effectively disabled, and their boost clocks are within margin of error of each other. Games almost never use more than 8 cores, and when they do it's only minor uses of them. 

 

If you only occasionally edit a video, the 7800X3D is still plenty fast, similar to a theoretical 10 core Ryzen 5850X in multi core performance. Sure, the 5950X is faster, but if you aren't actually doing that most of the time there isn't much of a point to it. 

 

 

The 5800X3D is still a solid choice for your system, though seeing as how the pricing for it is fairly high now (almost the exact same price as the 7800X3D) unless you find it used it makes more sense to just go to AM5 instead. 

[Shimejii]

7950x3D is not really ever worth considering with the amount of issues people have had with it. If you want a gaming cpu, 7800x3D is more then enough. By the end of AM5 you can always upgrade to the last X3D cpu that is released and be fine for the next few years after.

 

 

The other thing is, are you having issues IN VR chat to make this jump needed? It seems like it runs well enough on the hardware you are currently on. If all you do is VR chat i dont know if it is "worth" it. 

[Eigenvektor]

26 minutes ago, JMSOG said:

The main thing I have used my computer for for at least 2+ years (VRChat) will 100% certainly have massive performance gains from the 3Dcache, enough to make this more than worth it.

How do you know, i.e. how did you determine that? Are you sure the CPU is the limiting factor and not e.g. the GPU or network bandwidth?

[JMSOG]

Alright, I had a full night of sleep, I'm expecting this to be a lot more coherant! Thanks for the responses everyone

 

10 hours ago, RONOTHAN## said:

Yes, you will be fine with just 8 cores. The 7950X3D is a pretty niche chip, since it only really makes sense for a work by day, gamer by night build. If you don't do real work on your computer (and by that I mean CAD rendering, video editing, program compiles, etc., not writing up word documents or similar) the 7950X3D is actively worse than the 7800X3D as the core parking algorithm is clunky at best. In games (assuming the core parking is working correctly), they will perform identically as the 7950X3D only has vCache on one of the CCDs and the other CCD will be effectively disabled, and their boost clocks are within margin of error of each other. Games almost never use more than 8 cores, and when they do it's only minor uses of them. 

 

If you only occasionally edit a video, the 7800X3D is still plenty fast, similar to a theoretical 10 core Ryzen 5850X in multi core performance. Sure, the 5950X is faster, but if you aren't actually doing that most of the time there isn't much of a point to it. 

 

 

The 5800X3D is still a solid choice for your system, though seeing as how the pricing for it is fairly high now (almost the exact same price as the 7800X3D) unless you find it used it makes more sense to just go to AM5 instead. 

I was very aware of the dual-CCD-ness of the 7950x3d, and it's one of the core (lol) reasons why I wanted to avoid it. There are ways I know of to force VRChat specifically onto the correct 8 cores, but having to (potentially) do that for not every program, but *any* program, felt...frustrating.

 

I was aware that in games (VRChat specifically), they tend to be pretty neck-and-neck, without there being a clear winner in terms of raw performance. There was one feature I knew of that *could* make it worthwhile for my purposes, and that is using a program to force any non-vrchat program (discord, firefox, steam itself, etc) onto the non-VCache CCD. However, I haven't seen anyone actually do this, or confirm it would have a notable benefit.

 

As far as price, the 7800x3d will cost more due to me having to buy a motherboard and DDR5 lol. But I already weighed the pros and cons of the 5800x3d and the 7800x3d offline, and already came to the conclusion that I'd rather jump platforms.

 

10 hours ago, Shimejii said:

7950x3D is not really ever worth considering with the amount of issues people have had with it. If you want a gaming cpu, 7800x3D is more then enough. By the end of AM5 you can always upgrade to the last X3D cpu that is released and be fine for the next few years after.

 

 

The other thing is, are you having issues IN VR chat to make this jump needed? It seems like it runs well enough on the hardware you are currently on. If all you do is VR chat i dont know if it is "worth" it. 

This was exactly my thinking. Buy a first-gen AM5, and a last or near-last gen AM5. Felt like the best long term solution. Maybe. We'll see.

 

I would disagree about it being worth it. Something about VRChat, it's engine, and the kind of assets that exist/get uploaded absolutely LOVE the 3dcache CPUs. I have heard performance gains of as much as double. This is based several examples where people have one-to-one compared VCache cpus with non VCache CPUs, me personally knowing many people in game who have made the jump, and me comparing my performance in-game to people with identical rigs to me, minus the CPU.

 

I would say it is personally worth it. I spend a lot of time in VRChat for social reasons, that game is an absolute resource hog. Spending 3-4 hours with a screen on my face running at 50FPS instead of 30 FPS sounds...absolutely incredible.

 

10 hours ago, Eigenvektor said:

How do you know, i.e. how did you determine that? Are you sure the CPU is the limiting factor and not e.g. the GPU or network bandwidth?

I have a tool called FPSvr that i regularly use to monitor my performance in-game, and I check it regularly because I am like that lol. It tells me a lot of things, but the key notes are framerate, frame *time* (including how much both the CPU and GPU contribute to said time), as well as VRam and Ram usage.

 

My network bandwith is 1gig up, 1gig down, and I regularly check that it actually *is* that speed. I connect to VRC servers typically on the same coast as me. Basically, without living next door to the correct datacenter, my network isn't going to get better.

 

My GPU is also fine. I'm not exceeding my VRAM limit regularly, and my GPU frametimes are always VERY good in comparison to my CPU (WHILE IN VRCHAT).

 

My CPU framtime, however, is usually clocking in at about double-triple what my GPU is getting. Anectdotally, this is a bit funny, but I have on at least a few occasions been hit with workloads in VRChat *so* CPU-bound that when they hit, I can see my CPU freaking out frametime-wise, while my GPU actually cools by as much as 10 degrees. it's hilarious.

 

 

 

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Overall in response to all of the above: I am certain that an AM5 3DCache CPU will provide a performance boost that, genuinely, will be meaningful enough for me week-to-week life that it's worth it to me. I am getting the impression that the 7800x3d is, in fact, the correct move. I'll hold off from hitting the *buy* button until tonight, just in case someone comes in swinging with a good counter argument, but I think I'm set now. Thank you everyone

[Eigenvektor]

30 minutes ago, JMSOG said:

My GPU is also fine. I'm not exceeding my VRAM limit regularly, and my GPU frametimes are always VERY good in comparison to my CPU (WHILE IN VRCHAT).

Question is, how much GPU load do you see? If the GPU is already at 100% load, then reducing the CPU time isn't going to help, since you're GPU bound regardless.

[JMSOG]

30 minutes ago, Eigenvektor said:

Question is, how much GPU load do you see? If the GPU is already at 100% load, then reducing the CPU time isn't going to help, since you're GPU bound regardless.

I don't remember exactly, but my GPU load is regularly sub-60%. VRChat on my current rig is *absolutely* CPU bound.

 

Trust me here: I am beyond certain that my current rig, in the case of *specifically* vrchat, my CPU is the bottleneck. 100%, absolutely no room for nuance. VRChat is weird man, lol.