Review: AMD Ryzen 7 3800X

Conclusion

The Ryzen 7 3800X is a fine CPU in its own right. It is the finest implementation of AMD's 8C16T blueprint that has become popular with enthusiasts, gamers and content creators.

Benchmarks show that while it still lags behind Intel's dearer Core i9-9900K in low-loads tests and FHD gaming, the Zen 2 multithreaded muscle is such that it is, on balance, better suited to proper multitasking.

In fact, it's between 25-30 per cent faster than the first-generation Ryzen 7 1800X that accommodates the same core-and-thread count. Sounds all peachy, right?

This chip's biggest problem isn't from Intel or previous Ryzens; it's the very presence of the Ryzen 7 3700X, which is available for £70 less and offers near-identical performance... all wrapped up in a lower power budget. Win-win-win, you might say.

Noting the current pricing on memory and storage, that £70 saving goes a long, long way, so it's hard to recommend the Ryzen 7 3800X for anyone other than system integrators who receive favourable buy-in pricing.

AMD may counter with the assertion that this chip actually competes against the Intel Core i7-9700K, which it totally demolishes in heavy-load tests and gets very close to in all other tasks. That may be true, but one can draw the same parallels with said Ryzen 7 3700X.

The bottom line is that whilst the Ryzen 7 3800X is a solid choice for those looking for a high-spec build in late 2019, we'd recommend its cheaper silicon sibling, the Ryzen 7 3700X, each and every time.

AMD Ryzen 7 3800X

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The AMD Ryzen 7 3800X is available to buy at Scan Computers.

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At HEXUS, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any company representatives for the products reviewed choose to respond, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim.