Ryzen 7 9800X3D Vs Ultra 9 285K: We Tested 8 Games

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Uzair Qureshi

At Tech4Gamers, I proudly wear the title of Comparisons Specialist. Focused on CPUs and GPUs, I bring forth a wealth of hands-on experience and a keen eye for detail to provide our audience with the latest insights and analyses.

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Pros And Cons

Comparison Table

Architectural Differences

1. Core Count: The Core Ultra 9 285K has 24 cores and 24 threads (8 performance and 16 efficiency), which is higher than the 9800X3D’s 8 cores and 16 threads.
2. Clock Speed: The Core Ultra 9 285K base frequency is 3.7GHz, and it goes up to a 5.5GHz boost, which is higher than the 5.2GHz boost of the 9800X3D. The base clock of AMD’s chip is 4.7GHz.
3. Cache: The L3 cache of the Core Ultra 9 285K is 36 megabytes, whereas the Ryzen 7 9800X3D has a headlining 96 megabytes of L3 cache.
4. Process Node: Intel’s chip has a 3nm manufacturing node, whereas the Ryzen 7 9800X3D uses a 4nm processing node.
5. TDP: Both processors have a similar power intake, with the 285K having a TDP of 125 watts, whereas the Ryzen 7 9800X3D has a TDP of 120 watts.

With all of the mediocre tech releases these days, AMD’s X3D chips are a breath of fresh air with their constant innovations. Let us compare the Ryzen 7 9800X3D Vs Core Ultra 9 285K to see if Intel’s shiny new processor can compete against AMD’s latest and greatest.

Gaming Benchmarks – 1080p

Now that we’ve gone through the specifications of these chips, let’s take a look at the gaming benchmarks for these processors. Both of them were tested at 1080p with the test bench that is mentioned below:

Test Bench

• OS – Windows 11 
• CPU Cooler – Enermax LiqMaxFlo 360mm
• Graphics Card – GIGABYTE RTX 4090 Gaming OC 24G
• SSD – XPG Gammix S50 Lite
• Power Supply – be quiet! Dark Power Pro 13 1300W
• Mobo (AMD) – ASRock X870E Taichi Lite
• Mobo (Intel) – MSI MPG Z890 Edge Ti WiFi Review

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

• Kicking these tests off, we see a huge difference between these chips in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. The 9800X3D has an average of 234 FPS, whereas the 285K was 51% behind with an average of 155 FPS.
• The 1% lows of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D hit 206 FPS, whereas the Core Ultra 9 was once again 52% with a framerate of 135 FPS, which gave a significantly downgraded experience against the competition.

The Last Of Us Part 1

• The difference got down to only 6% in this game, with an average of 208 FPS with the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, whereas the Intel chip went a bit further down to 196 FPS.
• The difference in the lows was around 7%, with the Ryzen 7 9800X3D hanging out around 155 FPS, while Core Ultra was a few steps down with a framerate of 145 FPS.

Cyberpunk 2077

• Testing Cyberpunk 2077 revealed a huge difference in the performance of these processors. The Ryzen was 66% ahead with a framerate of 219 FPS, while the Core Ultra had a framerate of 132 FPS.
• The Ryzen 7 9800X3D had a minimum framerate of 148 FPS in our testing, which was an impressive 48% ahead of the 100 FPS of the Core Ultra 9.

Assetto Corsa Competizione

• In this test, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D had an average framerate of 269 FPS, an order of magnitude above the 154 FPS of the 285K. The difference in this test was around 75%.
• The 1% lows showed a difference of around 65%, with the Ryzen 7 9800X3D having a framerate of 223 FPS, while the Core Ultra 9 285K hung around 135 FPS.

Remnant 2

• Remnant 2 saw a 31% improvement in our testing of Remnant 2, with the Ryzen 7 getting a framerate of 158 FPS, whereas the Core Ultra 9 had a framerate of 120 FPS on average.
• The difference dropped to 14% when we examined the 1% lows, with the Ryzen 7 9800X3D hovering around 122 FPS, whereas the 285K plateaued around 107 FPS.

Homeworld 3

• Homeworld 3 has the most noticeable jump in all our testing, going from the 285K to the 9800X3D. The AMD chip had an average of 135 FPS, while the 9800X3D had a 60% lower framerate at 86 FPS.
• The 1% lows only 29 FPS on the Intel chip, whereas the 9800X3D was twice as fast, delivering a minimum of 63 FPS in this regard.

Starfield

• The difference became more modest when we tested Starfield, with the Ryzen 7 9800X3D getting an average of 140 FPS, which was around 10% higher than the 127 FPS of the Core Ultra 9.
• The 1% lows differed by around 12.7%, with the Ryzen 7 9800X3D going down to around 115 FPS, while the Core Ultra hung around 102 FPS.

Watch Dogs: Legion

• Finally, the last game of our testing gave another huge difference between the two chips, with the 9800X3D hovering around 217 FPS on average, while the Core Ultra 9 was 35% lower with a framerate of 160 FPS.
• The lows saw a 38% difference in performance, with the 9800X3D hovering around 160 FPS while the Core Ultra stuck closer to 116 FPS.

Productivity Benchmarks

Many people use their computers primarily for work, so at Tech4Gamers, we’ve also included productivity benchmarks for all our products, using the same test bench as for gaming benchmarks.

7-Zip

• The 7-Zip compression test showed that the limitation of the X3D chips is their productivity performance. The Ryzen was 47% slower, scoring 138 points, while the Core Ultra had 203 points.
• The same trend was followed with the decompression scores, with the Core Ultra 9 hovering around 212 points, 46% higher than the Ryzen processor’s 145 points.

Cinebench R24

• Cinebench showed more of the same, with the Ryzen 7 9800X3D hovering around a 1348-point multi-core score, demolished by Intel’s 82% higher 2523-point scoring.
• The difference between the single-core scores was much more modest, with an 11% difference. The Core Ultra got 150 points, while the Ryzen was closer to 135 points.

Adobe Photoshop

• Surprisingly, the Pudget systems Photoshop test ran better on the Ryzen, indicating that some productivity tasks perform better because of the X3D’s chips boosting graphics performance.
• The Ryzen had a score of 12549 points, which was around 21% greater than the 10329 points of the Intel processor.

Overall Performance

Average Framerate

The X3D chip crushed it when it came to the average framerates. We recorded an advantage of around 40% when switching to the Ryzen from the Intel processor, which is a huge difference considering that mostly everything else stayed the same in the setup.

1% Lows

The excellent performance of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D continued to the 1% lows, with an average difference of around 37%. This made the dips in performance much less noticeable, which is yet another blow to the Core Ultra’s performance.

Productivity

In our productivity tests, the Intel processor’s benchmark performance was much higher than that of the Ryzen. However, in something like Photoshop, which relies heavily on graphics, the X3D chip performed better than Intel.

Power 

Even with Intel trying to bring down the power consumption of their chips, AMD still stands supreme. It had a power consumption around 53% lower than the Core Ultra 9 285K, and AMD’s X3D chips still are untouched when it comes to performance-per-watt.

Temp 

We saw barely any difference between the Ryzen 7 9800X3D and the Core Ultra 285K. This year, AMD made some changes to the chip assembly by keeping the CCD at the bottom of the die, which allowed for great cooling performance.

Price And Availability

After all the advantages we have discussed with the Ryzen 7 9800X3D thus far, the final cherry on top is its price. It is in no way cheap, but it beats Intel by a significant margin, making the buying decision much easier for the consumer.

What We Recommend

AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D: If you want to buy a high-end processor for gaming, you will not find a better option than the Ryzen 7 9800X3D. It is excellent in all regards, though, according to the synthetic benchmarks, it is somewhat lacking in raw compute performance.

Core Ultra 9 285K: Though we commend Intel for the steps it’s taken to improve its product, it still lacks performance, power consumption, and affordability. If your concern is only gaming, then getting the Core Ultra 9 285K does not make much sense.

After thoroughly exploring each processor, we think it is obvious that we recommend the Ryzen 7 9800X3D for everyone except those who require a lot of multi-core performance.

Uzair Qureshi

[Comparisons Specialist]

I’m a passionate computer hardware expert specializing in CPUs and GPUs. With a lifelong curiosity for hardware and extensive hands-on experience, I provide valuable insights, practical advice, and in-depth analysis on these components. Engaging with the hardware community, I exchange knowledge and stay at the forefront of technological advancements.

Get In Touch: uzair@old.tech4gamers.com