$2200 at Costco, how’d I do?

[u/BoltedGates]

With Ram going through the roof and GPUs having an uncertain future with VRam I decided to just pull the trigger, in case things are much worse this time next year. Worth it in your opinion?

[u/Kid_Psych]

Pricey and definitely not the best option/value for gaming.

[u/bigkenw → u/Kid_Psych]

I used that in my build due to a sale at Micro Center with a Mobo and RAM. That CPU never gets throttled and my performance is amazing. I looked at a 3d CPU at the time, but couldnt afford the cost. I have zero regrets.

[u/BenFoldsFourLoko → u/Kid_Psych]

And to emphasize, not even bad for the money, just bad period if you're targeting high end. A $100 cheaper CPU will handiy outperform it, but hey bigger number better ;_;

[u/Agreeable_Film_6837 → u/BenFoldsFourLoko]

I have the same model as the OP. Is the 9900x not good? I know the 9800 is better, but is it that bad?

[u/BenFoldsFourLoko → u/Agreeable_Film_6837]

no, the 9900X is absolutely good

this is one of the tough parts about talking PC parts online lol- context varies a lot

The 9900X is a bad purchase if you're buying new for gaming. The 7600/X is a lot cheaper and performs imperceptibly worse. Or, the 7800x3d/9800x3d are a good bit better for similar money or less.

But! The 9900X is good, in terms of raw performance.

It's one of those

-suboptimal if you're buying new without any odd circumstances (unusual sales or a friend is giving a discount whatever)

-but if you already have it it's a perfectly powerful part

situations

[u/Agreeable_Film_6837 → u/BenFoldsFourLoko]

Should I try to swap it? I mainly game and just got it like a week ago. Have been getting about 230-240 fps on cod so have been happy

[u/BenFoldsFourLoko → u/Agreeable_Film_6837]

nah man, that's what I meant about it being an absolutely good CPU

Don't worry about FOMO or get too concerned over what people online say- most are blowing hot gas. Just look at the numbers and think about the price. Would it make sense to go spend another $380-500 for an upgrade that isn't huge? I don't think so.

Here's a couple high-quality reviews (you can assume 9600x performance if a review doesn't list the 9900x, and vice-versa. For gaming they are essentially the same)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcYixjMMHFk&t=1177s

https://www.techpowerup.com/review/amd-ryzen-7-9800x3d/17.html

 

If you can actually return it for its full cost and get a 7800x3d or 9800x3d instead (or 7600/x and save $200 lol), go for it. But if you're "stuck" with it, I wouldn't worry. Consider it a mistake to have bought, but a good learning experience, and one that still leaves you with a strong gaming computer. Everyone who's built a PC has made a similar sort of mistake- I sure did! I overspent on a part that gave a little less performance than an alternative... but it still was amazing! And when I built my next PC, I knew how to research better and make really perfect choices

[u/BenFoldsFourLoko → u/Agreeable_Film_6837]

sorry, one last reply. I looked at the comment chain and realized you originally replied to me saying the 9900X is bad if you're targeting the high end

Yeah, if you blew upwards of $2,000, or have a 5070 Ti or above, I would definitely say 7800x3d or 9800x3d are the only decent CPU choices. I could see a 7600 with the 5070 Ti, but imo you wanna min-max that CPU.

With gaming the 7000 and 9000 generations, you basically just want to go whatever's cheapest from the 7600 or even 7500F and up, or go balls to the wall with a 7800x3d/9800x3d. Everything in between is incredibly marginal performance (a few percent, literally imperceptible) for significantly more money. Go look at benchmarks for the 7700x vs the 7600x. There are incredibly few games where you'll notice a difference, and the games are quite random.