PassMark CPU Mark evaluates processor speed through complex mathematical computations. It provides a reliable metric to compare multi-core performance, where higher scores indicate faster processing for multitasking, gaming, and heavy workloads.

Head-to-Head Verdict, Benchmarks, Value & Long-Term Outlook

This comparison brings together gaming FPS, productivity performance, platform differences, power efficiency, pricing context, and upgrade path so you can see which CPU actually makes more sense.

Core i9-9900KS

2019

Why buy it

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 7 7800X3D across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower PassMark (19,397 vs 34,293).
❌Lower PassMark per dollar, at 37.8 vs 76.4 PassMark/$ ($513 MSRP vs $449 MSRP).
❌Older platform position on LGA1151 with DDR4, while Ryzen 7 7800X3D moves to AM5 and DDR5.
❌No integrated graphics, while Ryzen 7 7800X3D can still boot and troubleshoot without a discrete GPU.

Ryzen 7 7800X3D

2023

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +67.8% higher average FPS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Costs $64 less on MSRP ($449 MSRP vs $513 MSRP).
✅Delivers 102.0% more PassMark for each dollar spent, at 76.4 vs 37.8 PassMark/$ ($449 MSRP vs $513 MSRP).
✅Draws 120W instead of 127W, a 7W reduction.
✅Newer platform on AM5 with DDR5 support instead of LGA1151 and DDR4.

Trade-offs

❌Fewer obvious downsides in this matchup outside of normal market pricing swings.

Core i9-9900KS

2019

Ryzen 7 7800X3D

2023

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +67.8% higher average FPS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Costs $64 less on MSRP ($449 MSRP vs $513 MSRP).
✅Delivers 102.0% more PassMark for each dollar spent, at 76.4 vs 37.8 PassMark/$ ($449 MSRP vs $513 MSRP).
✅Draws 120W instead of 127W, a 7W reduction.
✅Newer platform on AM5 with DDR5 support instead of LGA1151 and DDR4.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 7 7800X3D across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower PassMark (19,397 vs 34,293).
❌Lower PassMark per dollar, at 37.8 vs 76.4 PassMark/$ ($513 MSRP vs $449 MSRP).
❌Older platform position on LGA1151 with DDR4, while Ryzen 7 7800X3D moves to AM5 and DDR5.
❌No integrated graphics, while Ryzen 7 7800X3D can still boot and troubleshoot without a discrete GPU.

Trade-offs

❌Fewer obvious downsides in this matchup outside of normal market pricing swings.

Quick Answers

So, is Ryzen 7 7800X3D better than Core i9-9900KS?

Yes. Ryzen 7 7800X3D is the better overall CPU here. You are getting a 67.8% average FPS lead across 4 shared CPU game tests in our data, 76.8% better PassMark, and the stronger long-term platform, which makes it the stronger all-around choice.

Which one is better for gaming?

If gaming is the priority, Ryzen 7 7800X3D is the better pick here. According to our tests, it delivers 67.8% more average FPS across 4 shared CPU game tests. It also has a big cache advantage at 96 MB vs 16 MB.

Which one is better for streaming, content creation, and heavy multitasking?

For streaming, content creation, and heavier multitasking, Ryzen 7 7800X3D is the better fit. You are getting 76.8% better PassMark, backed by 8 cores and 16 threads. It also carries the larger cache pool with 500% larger total L3 cache (96 MB vs 16 MB).

Which one is the smarter buy today, not just the cheaper CPU?

Ryzen 7 7800X3D is the smarter buy today. Ryzen 7 7800X3D is $64 cheaper on MSRP at $449 MSRP versus $513 MSRP, and it gives you a 67.8% average FPS lead across 4 shared CPU game tests in our data. It is also 102.0% better value on MSRP (76.4 vs 37.8 PassMark/$), so the better CPU is not just faster, it is also the cleaner value play on paper.

Which one is more future-proof for 2026 and beyond?

Ryzen 7 7800X3D is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2023 vs 2019), a healthier platform with AM5 and DDR5 instead of LGA1151, 3D V-Cache and a much larger 96 MB L3 cache instead of 16 MB, and more multi-core headroom with 8 cores / 16 threads instead of 8/16. That should give you a better long-term upgrade path for motherboard, RAM, and future CPU swaps.

Games Benchmarks

Paired with RTX 4090

To accurately isolate CPU performance, all benchmarks below use an NVIDIA RTX 4090 as the reference GPU. This eliminates GPU-side bottlenecks and highlights pure processing throughput differences between the CPUs.

Note: Real-world results may vary based on your actual GPU. CPU performance impact is more visible in processing-intensive titles and high-refresh-rate gaming scenarios.

Core i9-9900KS Benchmark Check

Ryzen 7 7800X3D Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Core i9-9900KS	Ryzen 7 7800X3D
1080p
low	301 FPS	266 FPS
medium	273 FPS	247 FPS
high	228 FPS	211 FPS
ultra	180 FPS	186 FPS
1440p
low	266 FPS	258 FPS
medium	218 FPS	215 FPS
high	177 FPS	171 FPS
ultra	142 FPS	154 FPS
4K
low	168 FPS	179 FPS
medium	139 FPS	149 FPS
high	107 FPS	112 FPS
ultra	93 FPS	100 FPS

Open Core i9-9900KS Open Ryzen 7 7800X3D

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Core i9-9900KS	Ryzen 7 7800X3D
1080p
low	449 FPS	857 FPS
medium	369 FPS	735 FPS
high	322 FPS	579 FPS
ultra	286 FPS	491 FPS
1440p
low	397 FPS	715 FPS
medium	344 FPS	607 FPS
high	298 FPS	497 FPS
ultra	255 FPS	396 FPS
4K
low	267 FPS	393 FPS
medium	238 FPS	337 FPS
high	226 FPS	314 FPS
ultra	192 FPS	271 FPS

Open Core i9-9900KS Open Ryzen 7 7800X3D

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Core i9-9900KS	Ryzen 7 7800X3D
1080p
low	485 FPS	857 FPS
medium	485 FPS	857 FPS
high	485 FPS	857 FPS
ultra	429 FPS	857 FPS
1440p
low	485 FPS	857 FPS
medium	485 FPS	851 FPS
high	454 FPS	786 FPS
ultra	373 FPS	656 FPS
4K
low	462 FPS	558 FPS
medium	401 FPS	479 FPS
high	351 FPS	427 FPS
ultra	283 FPS	362 FPS

Open Core i9-9900KS Open Ryzen 7 7800X3D

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Core i9-9900KS	Ryzen 7 7800X3D
1080p
low	485 FPS	857 FPS
medium	485 FPS	857 FPS
high	485 FPS	857 FPS
ultra	485 FPS	782 FPS
1440p
low	485 FPS	857 FPS
medium	485 FPS	760 FPS
high	485 FPS	669 FPS
ultra	485 FPS	576 FPS
4K
low	485 FPS	618 FPS
medium	485 FPS	556 FPS
high	440 FPS	495 FPS
ultra	380 FPS	428 FPS

Open Core i9-9900KS Open Ryzen 7 7800X3D

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Core i9-9900KS and Ryzen 7 7800X3D

Core i9-9900KS

The Core i9-9900KS is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 28 October 2019 (6 years ago). It is based on the Coffee Lake-R (2018−2019) architecture. It features 8 cores and 16 threads. Base frequency is 4 GHz, with boost up to 5 GHz. L3 cache: 16 MB (total). L2 cache: 256 kB (per core). Built on 14 nm process technology. Socket: LGA1151. Thermal design power (TDP): 127 Watt. Memory support: DDR4. Passmark benchmark score: 19,397 points. Launch price was $513.

Ryzen 7 7800X3D

The Ryzen 7 7800X3D is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 4 January 2023 (2 years ago). It is based on the Raphael (Zen4) (2022−2023) architecture. It features 8 cores and 16 threads. Base frequency is 4.4 GHz, with boost up to 5 GHz. L3 cache: 96 MB (total). L2 cache: 1 MB (per core). Built on 5 nm process technology. Socket: AM5. Thermal design power (TDP): 120 Watt. Memory support: DDR5-5200. Passmark benchmark score: 34,293 points. Launch price was $449.

⚡

Processing Power

Both the Core i9-9900KS and Ryzen 7 7800X3D share an identical 8-core/16-thread configuration. Boost clocks reach 5 GHz on the Core i9-9900KS versus 5 GHz on the Ryzen 7 7800X3D — identical boost frequencies (base: 4 GHz vs 4.4 GHz). The Core i9-9900KS uses the Coffee Lake-R (2018−2019) architecture (14 nm), while the Ryzen 7 7800X3D uses Raphael (Zen4) (2022−2023) (5 nm). In PassMark, the Core i9-9900KS scores 19,397 against the Ryzen 7 7800X3D's 34,293 — a 55.5% lead for the Ryzen 7 7800X3D. L3 cache: 16 MB (total) on the Core i9-9900KS vs 96 MB (total) on the Ryzen 7 7800X3D.

Feature	Core i9-9900KS	Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Cores / Threads	8 / 16	8 / 16
Boost Clock	5 GHz	5 GHz
Base Clock	4 GHz	4.4 GHz+10%
L3 Cache	16 MB (total)	96 MB (total)+500%
L2 Cache	256 kB (per core)	1 MB (per core)+300%
Process	14 nm	5 nm-64%
Architecture	Coffee Lake-R (2018−2019)	Raphael (Zen4) (2022−2023)
PassMark	19,397	34,293+77%
Cinebench R23 Multi	—	18,500
Geekbench 6 Single	—	2,700
Geekbench 6 Multi	—	15,000

🧠

Memory & Platform

The Core i9-9900KS uses the LGA1151 socket (PCIe 4.0), while the Ryzen 7 7800X3D uses AM5 (PCIe 5.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard.

Feature	Core i9-9900KS	Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Socket	LGA1151	AM5
PCIe Generation	PCIe 4.0	PCIe 5.0+25%
Max RAM Speed	—	DDR5-5200
Max RAM Capacity	—	128 GB
RAM Channels	—	2
ECC Support	—	Yes
PCIe Lanes	—	28

🔧

Advanced Features

Virtualization: not specified (Core i9-9900KS) / AMD-V (Ryzen 7 7800X3D). The Ryzen 7 7800X3D includes integrated graphics (AMD Radeon Graphics (2-core)), while the Core i9-9900KS requires a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Ryzen 7 7800X3D targets Gaming. Direct competitor: Ryzen 7 7800X3D rivals Intel Core i7-14700K.

Feature	Core i9-9900KS	Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Integrated GPU	—	Yes
IGPU Model	—	AMD Radeon Graphics (2-core)
Unlocked	—	Yes
AVX-512	—	Yes
Virtualization	—	AMD-V
Target Use	—	Gaming

💰

Value Analysis

The Core i9-9900KS launched at $513 MSRP, while the Ryzen 7 7800X3D debuted at $449. On MSRP ($513 vs $449), the Ryzen 7 7800X3D is $64 cheaper. In terms of value on MSRP (PassMark points per dollar), the Core i9-9900KS delivers 37.8 pts/$ vs 76.4 pts/$ for the Ryzen 7 7800X3D — making the Ryzen 7 7800X3D the 67.5% better value option.