Ryzen 7 3700X vs Ryzen 7 3800X at the same price

[azrael-]

Hey fellow Hexites

I've got a question for you, which has been asked several times elsewhere on the net, but, to my knowledge, never quite like this: When comparing the 3700X with the 3800X the consensus is usually not to bother with the 3800X, as it's not worth the extra money. HOWEVER, what if both were equal in price. Is the 3700X still the better choice? Or would that be the 3800X instead?

The background for my question is that I recently bought a 3700X (and a X470 board and some memory). However, it's still sealed in the box and I can return it until 31 January. Luck will have it, that right now another dealer has the 3800X for the exact same price as the 3700X, so of course I'm contemplating my options.

Looking forward to some input, which of course will be quite opinionated, but that's just as it should be.

[Hoonigan]

I'd get the 3800X at the same price, but make no mistake, the 3700X is still an excellent processor.

You can use AMD Ryzen Master to clock the CPU down to the 65W TDP of the 3700X if you wish.

[azrael-]

I'd get the 3800X at the same price, but make no mistake, the 3700X is still an excellent processor.

You can use AMD Ryzen Master to clock the CPU down to the 65W TDP of the 3700X if you wish.

I've been thinking along the same lines, so I guess this means that there are now 200% for and 0% against.

Just checked the dealer and while the 3800X is currently sold out the price offer is good until 5 January. I guess I can take a few more days to ponder and there's also more time for others to chime in.

[Phage]

At the same price - no brainer surely ?

[mattykhz]

So what do you get on a 3800X clocked down to 65 TDP over the 3700X already?

Sorry new to this as and as I am looking at a new ITX build the lower TDP seems to be the way forward for lower temps in a more confined space.....

[DanceswithUnix]

For me it wouldn't be worth the aggro of returning the 3700X, but the 3800X is clearly the better CPU choice. Reviews only said the 3800X wasn't worth the price difference, not that there was anything wrong with it.

Edit: Basically the 3700X is a really nice bit of kit. I could get excited by an upgrade to a 3900X, but another 100MHz boost clock doesn't excite me. The "base clock" figures seem to be nonsense anyway, I never see the cores clock as low as 3.6GHz even with stock settings and the box cooler. This is nearly a minute into a compile run, so the fan has been cranked up hard for some time:

$ cat /proc/cpuinfo | grep MHz
cpu MHz         : 3944.370
cpu MHz         : 3944.371
cpu MHz         : 3944.469
cpu MHz         : 3944.359
cpu MHz         : 3946.608
cpu MHz         : 3946.494
cpu MHz         : 3946.591
cpu MHz         : 3946.477
cpu MHz         : 3944.336
cpu MHz         : 3944.330
cpu MHz         : 3944.434
cpu MHz         : 3944.325
cpu MHz         : 3946.547
cpu MHz         : 3946.435
cpu MHz         : 3946.529
cpu MHz         : 3946.423

So I have to wonder just how much extra I would get from an official 3.9GHz base clock when Precision Boost seems to already be getting me most of the way to my single core boost speed. At the start of the compile run the cores are at 3.97GHz, I really should get around to installing my after market cooler so I don't get so much heat soak.

[Xlucine]

For me it wouldn't be worth the aggro of returning the 3700X, but the 3800X is clearly the better CPU choice. Reviews only said the 3800X wasn't worth the price difference, not that there was anything wrong with it.

Edit: Basically the 3700X is a really nice bit of kit. I could get excited by an upgrade to a 3900X, but another 100MHz boost clock doesn't excite me. The "base clock" figures seem to be nonsense anyway, I never see the cores clock as low as 3.6GHz even with stock settings and the box cooler. This is nearly a minute into a compile run, so the fan has been cranked up hard for some time:

$ cat /proc/cpuinfo | grep MHz
cpu MHz         : 3944.370
cpu MHz         : 3944.371
cpu MHz         : 3944.469
cpu MHz         : 3944.359
cpu MHz         : 3946.608
cpu MHz         : 3946.494
cpu MHz         : 3946.591
cpu MHz         : 3946.477
cpu MHz         : 3944.336
cpu MHz         : 3944.330
cpu MHz         : 3944.434
cpu MHz         : 3944.325
cpu MHz         : 3946.547
cpu MHz         : 3946.435
cpu MHz         : 3946.529
cpu MHz         : 3946.423

So I have to wonder just how much extra I would get from an official 3.9GHz base clock when Precision Boost seems to already be getting me most of the way to my single core boost speed. At the start of the compile run the cores are at 3.97GHz, I really should get around to installing my after market cooler so I don't get so much heat soak.

Reviews show the 3800X outperforming the 3700X, so it will boost a bit higher. My 3700X is happy at 4.18 GHz with a cheap air cooler (silverstone AR01, this dropped to 4.12 GHz when I took the fan off) under prime 95 all core, so I suspect the 3800X difference is less than you get with an aftermarket cooler

[Poultergoose]

I would honestly just stick with the 3700x, as far as returning it goes I guess you'd need to pay for shipping and then maybe need to pay for shipping on the way back too? Not sure where you purchased it from though.

[half_empty_soul]

managed to grab 3800x for £242 from Amazon.de I just hope Zen 3 is not going to be super faster

[kalniel]

managed to grab 3800x for £242 from Amazon.de I just hope Zen 3 is not going to be super faster

Why not? It's not like your 3800X is suddenly going to start running sooner

[Marcvs]

If you havent ordered then 3800X (should be slightly higher silicon quality), if you already have a 3700 I probably wouldnt bother returning it.

[golden751]

3700x is great. But if they're the same price just get the 3800x, you'll get slightly higher performance

[Hasnain]

No brainer to get the better binned 3800X imo

[bowepa]

higher number = better processor , there is no doubt it will be better.

[YouKnowWho]

I've read this thread but don't understand why someone would go for the 3700X for the same price. What am I missing?