For anyone rocking an entry level AM5 gaming PC, the Ryzen 9 7900X is going to be a great-value upgrade for their system. With 12 Zen 4 cores and 24 threads of processing grunt, this is a serious desktop CPU for genuinely not a lot of cash.
Key specs: 12 Cores | 24 threads | 5.6 clock speed | 76 MB cache | 170 W TDPView Deal
Finding a worthwhile upgrade for your existing gaming PC can be an expensive business. If you want more storage space for the next big game that will cost you a pretty penny, if you want more memory AI has boned you on that front, and if you want a shiny new GPU prices have already shot up and show no signs of coming back down.
But processors, while they too are being courted by AI datacenters, are pretty safe in their desktop consumer guise. And that means there are deals to be had on CPUs. The best I’ve seen in a long while is this, the Ryzen 9 7900X for just $275 at Walmart today.
Weirdly, it’s sold and shipped via Walmart by Newegg. Which currently has the same chip on sale for $316. I’m not going to pretend to understand such shenanigans in the retail business, I’m just going to stay quiet and be happy that we’ve got such a quality chip at such a good price.
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It’s worth noting that this chip is the ‘X’ version and that means it’s the full-fat, 170 W version as opposed to the Ryzen 9 7900, which is a good 65 W processor. Just not quite as good as the 7900X and strangely a lot more expensive right now. But the thing to note here is that, thanks to AMD’s excellent Eco Mode, you don’t have to run your beefy ol’ Ryzen 9 7900X at the full power all the time if you want to save on power and the loudness.
I personally run its larger sibling, the Ryzen 9 7950X in Eco Mode pretty much permanently. It’s more than capable of keeping my powerful GPU fed with frames at that level, and won’t deafen me because my CPU cooler decides to go HAM.
The equivalent Zen 5 chip, the Ryzen 9 9900X is $329 at Walmart at the moment, but doesn’t give you a huge amount extra over this Zen 4 CPU for your money.
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1080p gaming performance
Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p RT Ultra + DLSS Balanced)Baldur’s Gate 3 (1080p Ultra)Homeworld 3 (1080p Epic)Metro Exodus Enhanced Ed. (1080p High)Total War: Warhammer 3 (1080p High)
Avg FPS
1% Low FPS
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X
110
80
AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
115
84
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
120
88
Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p RT Ultra + DLSS Balanced) Data
Product
Value
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X
110 Avg FPS, 80 1% Low FPS
AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
115 Avg FPS, 84 1% Low FPS
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
120 Avg FPS, 88 1% Low FPS
Avg FPS
1% Low FPS
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X
96
64
AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
103
67
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
118
77
Baldur’s Gate 3 (1080p Ultra) Data
Product
Value
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X
96 Avg FPS, 64 1% Low FPS
AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
103 Avg FPS, 67 1% Low FPS
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
118 Avg FPS, 77 1% Low FPS
Avg FPS
1% Low FPS
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X
72
39
AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
82
44
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
89
49
Homeworld 3 (1080p Epic) Data
Product
Value
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X
72 Avg FPS, 39 1% Low FPS
AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
82 Avg FPS, 44 1% Low FPS
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
89 Avg FPS, 49 1% Low FPS
Avg FPS
1% Low FPS
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X
146
77
AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
147
77
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
150
86
Metro Exodus Enhanced Ed. (1080p High) Data
Product
Value
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X
146 Avg FPS, 77 1% Low FPS
AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
147 Avg FPS, 77 1% Low FPS
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
150 Avg FPS, 86 1% Low FPS
Avg FPS
1% Low FPS
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X
158
111
AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
167
134
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
159
127
Total War: Warhammer 3 (1080p High) Data
Product
Value
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X
158 Avg FPS, 111 1% Low FPS
AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
167 Avg FPS, 134 1% Low FPS
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
159 Avg FPS, 127 1% Low FPS
CPU performance
Cinebench 2024Blender 4.2.07zipHandbrake 1.8.1Gaming thermalsGaming power
Single-core index score
Multi-core index score
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X
118
1589
AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
136
1805
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
113
1082
Cinebench 2024 Data
Product
Value
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X
118 Single-core index score, 1589 Multi-core index score
AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
136 Single-core index score, 1805 Multi-core index score
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
113 Single-core index score, 1082 Multi-core index score
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X
129
AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
149
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
81
Blender 4.2.0 Data
Product
Value
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X
129
AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
149
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
81
Compressing (GIPS)
Decompressing (GIPS)
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X
151
195
AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
160
206
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
118
128
7zip Data
Product
Value
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X
151 Compressing (GIPS), 195 Decompressing (GIPS)
AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
160 Compressing (GIPS), 206 Decompressing (GIPS)
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
118 Compressing (GIPS), 128 Decompressing (GIPS)
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X
103
AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
112
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
76
Handbrake 1.8.1 Data
Product
Value
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X
103
AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
112
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
76
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X
66
AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
62
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
64
Gaming thermals Data
Product
Value
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X
66
AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
62
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
64
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X
115
AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
123
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
69
Gaming power Data
Product
Value
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X
115
AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
123
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
69
It’s an AM5 chip, so if you’re currently on a Ryzen 5000-series processor that will mean a platform upgrade and potentially a new DDR5 purchase (eep), but if your current gaming PC is rocking a six- or eight-core Ryzen 7000-series processor this will deliver a healthy in-place upgrade without breaking the bank. Too much.
If you’re willing to spend more, and specifically value gaming performance over everything else (this is PC Gamer, after all) then I can also recommend the Ryzen 7 7800X3D for $370 at Walmart. That’s certainly not the cheapest it’s ever been, and if you’re talking about raw processing grunt the 7900X will outperform its eight Zen 4 cores, but in games it really will deliver. But is over $100 more, so that 12-core chip really does represent the value play here.
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