RAM prices are high right now, but you can save on other components when building a new PC for productivity or gaming. Right now, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, AMD"s best processor for gaming, is available at the lowest price, saving you $50.
The Ryzen 7 9800X3D is a desktop AM5 processor with a base clock of 4.7 GHz. It can boost up to 5.25 GHz, and you can even overclock it beyond the stock speed if your cooling system has enough headroom. But it is not the speed that makes the 9800X3D special, particularly for gaming.
The processor has 96 MB of second-generation stacked L3 cache. A big pile of cache reduces latency and helps the processor run the game more efficiently. As such, your GPU can generate more frames with fewer FPS dips. Of course, AMD has higher-spec 3D models, but the Ryzen 7 9800X3D is considered the best, as it delivers the most optimal balance of price and performance.
The processor only supports DDR5 memory with the default mode of 5600 MT/s, so you may need a bit of luck sourcing memory for it. It also supports PCIe 5.0 with 24 lanes for high-bandwidth graphics cards, fast SSDs, and additional expansion cards.
Unlike Ryzen of the past, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D has a dual-core iGPU, which is enough for basic media tasks and display output, but do not expect anything beyond that from it. It is also worth noting that there is no stock cooling included with the chip, so make sure to buy one that can handle at least 120W of default TDP.
- AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D 8-core 16-thread AM5 CPU - $429.95 | $50 off on Amazon US
Get Prime (SNAP), Prime Video, Audible Plus or Kindle / Music Unlimited. Free for 30 days.
As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.