expired Posted by tDames | Staff • Nov 7, 2024
Nov 7, 2024 8:07 PM
Item 1 of 1
expired Posted by tDames | Staff • Nov 7, 2024
Nov 7, 2024 8:07 PM
Select Micro Center: Ryzen 7 9800X3D + ASUS B650-E TUF MB + 32GB G.Skill RAM
+ Free Store Pickup Only$680
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but its within ~3% difference on that ram. you wont even miss it with that blazing fast cpu. especially since they are sold out often of the cpu.
if this is your only opportunity to get it, definitely get it for the cpu alone, and eat the 3%.
Also you can manually oc the ram to cl30 but it will take 30mins-1hour to figure out the sub timings and voltage.
Btw if you get this processor, it can be way more than 3% better in gaming than every single other processor on the market today. Some benchmarks go up to almost 30% under certain resolutions, with certain settings, in certain games.
LTTs review compared CP2077 for example on this and found even at 1080p when you max settings you're only seeing maybe a 2% improvement going 7800X3D to 9800X3D, less than 1% by 1440p/max (even the 5800X3D is less than 1% slower here than the 9800X3D), and by 4k scores are basically identical. And they tested several other games this way and saw even less difference at the ultra settings across resolutions.... and I don't imagine there's a LOT of folks who buy a top-tier gaming CPU then run 1080p low?
The 9800X3D does beat the 7800X3D in productivity testing by a decent bit-- but if that's your primary use case the 9700X beats both in most testing (let alone the higher core/speed 9xxx chips).... Still, if you're primarily a gamer but ALSO do a decent amount of cpu-heavy productivity stuff, the upgrade is probably worth it.... purely for gaming though, not so much.... It's possible the gaming benefits will be more apparent in gaming with say a future 5090 or something, but no way to quantify that now.
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You said "usage will be for some light gaming" and then, effectively, for productivity usage, you don't need to shoot for the top-tier gaming CPU (which, incidentally, is not the top-tier productivity CPU). Especially with the 3080 GPU and if you're staying under 4k for gaming (1080p or 1440p). You don't need a 9800X3D for that. Sure, it's a 'fine choice' as the top gaming CPU on the market, but you said 'light gaming'. You don't need a Ferrari as a daily driver and occasional 85 mph on the highway.
Check out some of their other offerings. Again, if not pushing for extremely high frame rates and/or 4k, and valuing the productivity performance as much as that light gaming, you could shop outside the X3D family.
For example, you could do really well at 1080p/1440p with an AMD 7700X/9700X on the Microcenter bundles right now. If you truly favored somewhat better gaming (at 1440p) and but give up more on the productivity side you could do a 7600X3D. The gaming advantage there would mostly be on 1080p, diminishing at higher rez 1440p and 4k. However, the 7700X/9700X are far better at productivity at that price point and fine choices for 1080p/1440p gaming at high frame rates in their own right when paired with a 1440p capable GPU like your 3080.
AMD has indicated extended support for the AM5 platform so you still have a couple of years of future upside on the motherboard, RAM, etc. unlike the current Intel options at Microcenter, none of which squarely compete in the $400-$500 Mobo/CPU/RAM combos right now.
Food for thought, anyways.
What isn't great is how many people simply do not have access to a Micro Center, and they won't ship a 9800X3D either (nor the bundle), they are in-person only. It makes it pretty bad for a good chunk of the country.
What isn't great is how many people simply do not have access to a Micro Center, and they won't ship a 9800X3D either (nor the bundle), they are in-person only. It makes it pretty bad for a good chunk of the country.
Can't speak for the other stores, but the Cambridge one has millions of people inside of an hour drive or less. /shrug. Seems like they could be bigger if they modified their model to ship most items and only hold back some of their special deals/bundles for the foot traffic that drives additional in-store sales.
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