Overall and Final Verdict
With all of the testing out of the way and the dust has settled how did AMDs two new CPUs perform? Well, they did overall improve on their previous generation counterparts with the 9700X compared to the 7700X and the 9600X compared to the 7600X. In a few tests, it is a big jump, but for every test that sees a big improvement, there are some with small improvements and a few with no improvement at all. That improvement though is a lot more impressive once we add in that the 9700X and 9600X are both 65-watt CPUs whereas the 7700X and 7600X were both 105-watt CPUs. That lower TDP made for huge improvements in our power testing and the same goes for temperatures in our tests while still improving on the past generation's performance. I would call that a win. Both CPUs performed especially well in all of the single-threaded tests and that translated to solid gaming performance in most games with the 9700X doing especially well. I did also test out the integrated GPUs as well and both the 9700X and 9600X have the same iGPU as the Ryzen 7000 Series but at least in my tests, they performed slightly lower, most likely from the new lower TDP.
Where things do get complicated is when it comes to pricing. The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X is launching with a suggested price of $359 which is an improvement over the $399 that the Ryzen 7 7700X sold for at launch. But currently, the 7700X is down to $294, so you are paying $65 more for what was a small 6-8% performance jump. The Ryzen 5 9600X on the other hand will be hitting stores tomorrow at $279. The 7600X launched at $299 but it is down to $200 putting the 9600X in a similar position. All of that said, that is only looking at the performance numbers, that doesn’t take into account the now lower TDP which translates to less power being used and a lot less heat being generated. I personally would rather have the lower temperatures, less strain on the CPU with the lower wattage (see Intel right now), and also that impressive single-core performance. But there is an argument to be had either way.
Live Pricing: HERE
Live Pricing: HERE
