AMD Ryzen 9 7900 review: This CPU just made the 7900X obsolete

As part of its new 65W Ryzen 7000 series launch, AMD rolled out the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, the most affordable Ryzen 9 7000 CPU with the same 12-core and 24-thread configuration. With slower clock speeds and lower TDP, how does this CPU compare against the other AMD chips, and is it worth considering?

In this review, we'll analyze the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 and see if it deserves a spot among our favorite CPUs.

AMD Ryzen 9 7900

Should you be wanting a capable processor without requiring the best CPU coolers out there, you'll want to consider the AMD Ryzen 9 7900. It's a 12-core CPU with a 65W TDP and the ability to boost up to 5.4GHz.

Brand: AMD
Cores: 12
Threads: 24
Architecture: Zen 4
Process: 5nm
Socket: AM5
Base Clock Speed: 3.7 GHz
Boost Clock Speed: 5.4 GHz
Cache: 76 MB
RAM: DDR5-5200
PCIe: 5.0
TDP: 65 W

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Pros	Cons
12 cores, 24 threads	Not that much cheaper
Great gaming performance	Stock cooler is only just enough
Match the 7900X with an overclock
Better value
Fantastic performance-per-watt

AMD Ryzen 9 7900: Pricing and availability

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900 launched on January 10 for $429. Compared to the previous generation of Zen 3 processors, the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X launched for $549, allowing considerable savings to be had on a 12-core AMD processor with support for PCIe 5.0 and DDR5 RAM. This CPU goes up against the Intel Core i7-13700K, which comes with 16 cores and 24 threads, as well as a price tag of $420.

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X launched for the same $549 as its Zen 3 predecessor, so this processor is a full $120 cheaper with slightly slower clock speeds. An issue here is the cost of the 7900X was too high. Up until recently, it was possible to buy the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X for just $440 at most retailers, but now the price has been bumped back up with the launch of the 7900.

Zen 4: Architecture & features

Source: XDA-Developers

AMD launched its new Zen 4 and AM5 in 2022 with the release of the Ryzen 9 7900X and Ryzen 9 7950X processors. Since then, we've had a few more X processor releases for Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 7, but now we're seeing three new chips enter the fold. These are the first 7000 series chips without an X suffix.

AMD's Zen 4 architecture introduced improvements to the number of instructions per cycle (IPC) the processors are able to carry out without increasing power draw. There's also support for DDR5 RAM and PCIe 5.0, but AMD has had to migrate from the older AM4 platform to AM5, meaning you'll need a new motherboard (and RAM) if moving from an older Ryzen CPU.

The table below shows all three 65W chips and how they compare against one another.

	AMD Ryzen 5 7600	AMD Ryzen 7 7700	AMD Ryzen 9 7900
Cores	6	8	12
Threads	12	16	24
Max boost clock	Up to 5.1 GHz	Up to 5.3 GHz	Up to 5.4 GHz
Base clock	3.8 GHz	3.8 GHz	3.7 GHz
L1 cache	384 KB	512 KB	768 KB
L2 Cache	6 MB	8 MB	12 MB
L3 Cache	32 MB	32 MB	64 MB
Default TDP	65 W	65 W	65 W
Processor technology for CPU cores	TSMC 5nm FinFET	TSMC 5nm FinFET	TSMC 5nm FinFET
Unlocked for overclocking	Yes	Yes	Yes
CPU socket	AM5	AM5	AM5
Thermal solution	AMD Wraith Stealth	AMD Wraith Prism	AMD Wraith Prism
Max. operating temperature (Tjmax)	95 degrees C	95 degrees C	95 degrees C
Memory channels	2	2	2
Max memory speed	DDR5-5200	DDR5-5200	DDR5-5200
Graphics	AMD Radeon, two cores	AMD Radeon, two cores	AMD Radeon, two cores
Graphics frequency	2,200 MHz	2,200 MHz	2,200 MHz
GPU base	400 MHz	400 MHz	400 MHz
Price	$229	$329	$429

We already covered the new architecture in detail elsewhere, but to utilize the new processors, you'll need the new X670, X670E, B650, and B650E chipsets on the best motherboards.

Performance

Source: XDA-Developers

In order to see just how good the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 truly is, we used the CPU in the same test bench PC as the AMD Ryzen 5 7600 and Ryzen 7 7700. This consisted of the following:

Gigabyte X670E Aorus Master motherboard
32GB XPG DDR5-6400 RAM
AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX
FSP Dagger Pro 850W PSU
Stock coolers and be quiet! Pure Loop 2 FX AIO

As well as using the same be quiet! Pure Loop 2 FX AIO liquid cooler with each processor, we also used AMD-supplied stock coolers that will ship with each 65W processor. We were then able to compare performance and thermal results between the AMD coolers and an AIO with a 360mm radiator and three fans.

Source: XDA-Developers

CPU-Z, Geekbench 5, and 7-Zip

Geekbench 5 is a CPU-focused benchmarking utility that allows us to compare different processors using hard figures. 3DMark and other tests are used to see how it fares for gaming. For productivity and general use, it's good to use Geekbench to quickly see how the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 holds up against the Intel Core i9 and other AMD processors.

Test	AMD Ryzen 9 7900	AMD Ryzen 9 7900X	Intel Core i9-13900K
CPU-Z (Higher is better)	767 / 10,923	792 / 12,049	868 / 16,886
Geekbench 5 (Higher is better)	2,066 / 17,594	2,204 / 18,833	2,154 /24,997
7-Zip (Higher is better)	118 MB/s / 2,108 MB/s	132 MB/s / 2,287 MB/s	MB/s / MB/s

Cinebench R23, HandBrake, and Corona 1.3

This is where super-fast cores come into play. Cinebench is one of the more stressful tests for a CPU to see how it performs under intense loads such as rendering. You'll likely never encounter such instances when using this CPU inside your PC.

Test	AMD Ryzen 9 7900	AMD Ryzen 9 7900X	Intel Core i9-13900K
Cinebench R23 (Higher is better)	1,961 / 25,668	2,005 / 28,893	2,114 / 38,610
Corona 1.3 (Lower is better)	53 s	48 s	37 s
HandBrake (Lower is better)	1,332 s	1,171 s	979 s

Performance was excellent for such a low-power chip and shows just how efficient AMD's Ryzen 7000 desktop processors are. It's possible to activate PBO to meet the performance of the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X as well, allowing room for growth if you have good enough cooling at hand.

Even when under load, we didn't see the CPU draw more than 87W of power. Temperatures were excellent with the stock cooler, hitting just 78C under stress testing. That's impressive for a 12-core processor. AMD is able to bundle a cooler with all of its 65W processors since they don't produce anywhere near as much heat as when running at 200W like their X siblings.

Install a 360mm AIO liquid cooler, and you'll be able to unlock additional performance without sacrificing too much on thermals.

Competition

The closest competition to the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 is the Ryzen 9 7900X, as well as the Intel Core i9-13900K. We'll also lump the Core i7-13700K into the mix since that's where AMD has priced the new Ryzen 9 7900. Within AMD's camp, there's almost no reason to buy the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X with this new 65W CPU available.

The Ryzen 9 7900 is essentially the 7900X without PBO enabled, but it would be a waste to spend more money on essentially the same chip to then underclock it for better thermal performance. It's a better value choice to pick up the Ryzen 9 7900 and then boost up to 7900X-level performance through a simple BIOS toggle. After this has been carried out, performance is pretty much identical.

	AMD Ryzen 9 7900	AMD Ryzen 9 7900X
Cores	12	12
Threads	24	24
Max boost clock	Up to 5.4 GHz	Up to 5.7 GHz
Base clock	3.7 GHz	4.7 GHz
L1 cache	768 KB	768 KB
L2 Cache	12 MB	12 MB
L3 Cache	64 MB	64 MB
Default TDP	65 W	105 W
Processor technology for CPU cores	TSMC 5nm FinFET	TSMC 5nm FinFET
Unlocked for overclocking	Yes	Yes
CPU socket	AM5	AM5
Thermal solution	AMD Wraith Prism	-
Max. operating temperature (Tjmax)	95 degrees C	95 degrees C
Memory channels	2	2
Max memory speed	DDR5-5200	DDR5-5200
Graphics	AMD Radeon, two cores	AMD Radeon, two cores
Graphics frequency	2,200 MHz	2,200 MHz
GPU base	400 MHz	400 MHz
Price	$429	$549

The Intel Core i9-13900K is a monster of a processor, but it requires some serious amounts of power to achieve the results it does. We were mightily impressed by it in our full review, noting how much performance is available for heavy computing tasks. It's overkill for almost all PC builds, unless you require such computing headroom on a daily basis.

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900 is the best value choice out of the four processors, offering the very best from AMD's Zen 4 platform.

Should you buy the AMD Ryzen 9 7900?

Source: XDA Developers

You should buy the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 if:

You're going to do much more than simply PC gaming.
You don't mind spending more than $400 on a CPU.
You don't need the very best AMD Ryzen 7000-series processor.

You shouldn't buy the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 if:

You're only going to play PC games.
You don't plan on using an AIO liquid cooler.
You want the best bang for your buck.

You should absolutely purchase the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 if you're planning a new AMD PC build. It has the same excellent performance across the board as its X siblings but at a lower price. Thermals are easier to control, too, thanks to the 65W TDP. You can overclock this thing with a push of a button to enable PBO, and you've essentially converted it to an AMD Ryzen 9 7900X.

There's really no reason to purchase the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X, and you should only go for the flagship Ryzen 7950 if you truly require all that extra performance. For most high-end systems, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 would be more than enough, even at stock settings. This is a killer CPU and one we wholeheartedly recommend.