9800X3D versus 9950X3D for MSFS 2024

User Support Hub Hardware & Peripherals
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Hi everyone,

Currently debating on which CPU to upgrade to now that AMD released the 9950X3D. I am between the 9800X3D and 9950X3D. About a $250 USD difference in price here in the US, availability in my area is not an issue (shoutout Micro Center).

My main question is I know MSFS 2020 loved using the 3D V-Cache of the X3D chips, but with the infrastructure change of 2024, would it be better to go up to 16 cores of the 9950X3D or stick with the 8 cores of the 9800X3D? I don’t do normal heavy CPU loads outside of MSFS 2024 (photoshop, code compliation, etc), but I’m mainly looking to improve my 1% FPS lows to improve fluidity of the sim overall. My 7800X3D struggles with stuttering on approach with ini A350 + ini 2024 EGLL for example and I’d like for that to improve, it’s just an immersion killer.

Maybe I’m asking this question too early and should wait for more benchmarks to come out but those benchmarks usually aren’t the most helpful since they don’t run the same add ons to test the sim with all the 3rd party applications running (FSLTL, discord, Beyond ATC, Navigraph charts, etc.)

Current PC is running 1440P with the following:
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7800X3D
GPU: Nvidia 4070 Ti Super 16 GB
RAM: 64GB 6400 Mhz DDR5
PSU: 850 Watts

Let me know your thoughts, have a great day everyone! :slight_smile:

EDIT/UPDATE: Ended up going with the 9800X3D…thanks for the info everybody! Been loving it so far. Can’t recommend it enough for folks looking to upgrade. I notice a difference even going from 7800X3D to 9800X3D

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I don’t think the improvement from the 7800X3D will be noticeable; the problem with FS24 isn’t our CPUs and GPUs. I would wait at least for SU2 to see if Asobo manages to optimize the software, then decide.

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at 1440p you are like GPU limited on 4070ti at ultra. You should load up the rig and see where you bottleneck. I would spend that money on a GPU and better monitor. keep 7800X3D.

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According to users 9800X3D is enough for gaming. On the other hand the benchmarks show that series 9000 in general produce very good results in most scenarios.

However don´t get confused by “productivity”. Extracting a big zip file or reading/writing big amount of files also benefits from having more cores and this is something you will sooner or later need to do. FS2024 for instance needs to read several GBs during loading.

Even if 9950x3D has the extra cache on one CCD it still has x3 times Intel´s standard cache, which is only 30 MB, and it has 16 fast cores, so for both gaming and general usage it´s a beast. If you wait some time cost will start to drop, making it more attractive.

I have a 12900ks which has slower efficient cores and I got tired of Intel´s approach. The E-Cores work, even with FS2024, but at the end they are not really practical. I will try to update my setup soon and 9950x3D will be my choice.

Couple of days ago I found this video. It´s self-explanatory (TLOD 400 and still above 100fps on final with a 4080 and frame gen, so still in the 50-60 fps raw). Fluidity and latency are really good. He came from a 7900x3D before updating.

Don´t forget to pair it with a correct MoBo and PSU to get the best out of it. If you also plan to change card as well in the future better stay above 1000 W to be safe. For instance my Nvidia 4090 alone eats 400W and you can expect almost 200W more just for the new CPU. Not all new Nvidia 5000 cards are that demanding but the 5090 can hit almost 600W alone!

Cheers

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I have Ryzen 7 9800X3D and I’m not even considering switching to the 9950X3D. The 9800X3D is so good that I’m waiting for its true successor, which the 9950X3D definitely isn’t.

Back in November, I upgraded from the Ryzen 7 7800X3D to the 9800X3D and I’ve been more than happy with the change.

https://forums.flightsimulator.com/t/9800x3d-21-faster-than-the-7800x3d-1080p-highest-turbo/663355/199?u=tenpatrol

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What about FS2020 VR users? Which CPU would you recommend?

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Are you refering to the rumored Zen6 Medusa Lineup? 12-cores on one CCD with 3D-Cache… and with AMDs release cadence available early next year, maybe i wait for that one. My 7800x3d will do meanwhile.

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In all games there’s virtually no difference between them. (Other than one which I forget b/c it didn’t matter to me being much faster on the 9800). I’m already decided on the 9800 myself. My hold back is I don’t want to spend a weekend reinstalling everything lol

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I’ve been researching for over a week, all day and almost all night, because I can’t spray the hay farm due to high winds all week (that’s my excuse). Anyway, here’s a good article on both of those and why you should stick to the 9800X3D over the 9950X3D if you’re using it for gaming. The Best CPU for Gaming in 2025 | Tom's Hardware

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Maybe I can provide a comparison people are looking for. I just switched from a 9800x3d to the 9950x3d on my MSFS 2024 and 2020 rig that has many addons, peripherals, and background apps running while simming. I also use process lasso.

System:
4090 FE (no OC, rebar on, game mode, HAGS)
64gb DDR5 6000 ram at EXPO1
Strix x870-e
FSP 1000 watt titanium PSU
Lian-li gallahad 280mm AIO
Crucial gen5 NVME SSD
4k Asus QD-LED monitor

Test scenario software:
Fenix A320
Flightbeam SFO scenery
ASFS
FSrealistic
Say Intentions
GSX
Moza AB9 software
2x Streamdecks
Tobii eye tracker
Razer app engine
MSI afterburner

In this test I use process lasso to give MSFS2024 high priority on the 9800x3d and for the 9950x3d additionally assign the sim to CCD0 and all the other software to CCD1.

Test settings:
4k TAA
FG turned off (normally I keep it on, but wanted clean FPS numbers)
TLOD 200
OLOD 200
Ultra texture resolution
Mostly Ultra and max settings except a few high

Scenario is sitting on Runway 10R at SFO in the Fenix cockpit configured for t/o with heavy weather in the evening.

Results: (Avg fps, 1%low, 0.1%low)
9800x3d 42, 32, 24
9950x3d 52, 38, 29

So that’s a 23% improvement in avg fps and a decent improvement in lows in this particular scenario with the 9950x3d. Benchmarks by the major publications on MSFS don’t give much useful insight into real world usage for people like me who run a lot of addons and background software.

I mainly use MSFS2020 with even more addons and plan to use PL for this use. I did recently get some instability with freezes and crashes in both sims with a lot of stuttering in 2024. I think that confining 2024 to CCD0 with PL may not be the best choice as turning that off and letting windows schedule the sim with the latest chipset drivers from AMD and balanced power mode has led to fewer crashes. I also think my recently added Streamdeck setup may have caused some instability in both sims, not a 100% sure yet. I’ve disconnected for now and will attempt to re-install all the software.

Hopefully this is helpful to some of you. Anybody else have experience with Process Lasso for MSFS with this latest CPU? Any tips?

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Can you explain why not one benchmark I’ve read showed the 9950 faster in any games to any significant degree and slower in some?

This is important because I just ordered a 9800 but since it’s Amazon I could easily exchange it. The most reputable reviewers say the 9950 is largely a waste of money unless you’re doing professional work and gaming both.

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In typical benchmarking you close all background apps and software so that you maximize performance of the game or test you are running. That is not useful when as a simmer I’m running 5-10 additional background software which uses CPU resources.

In the MSFS benchmarks they typically use stock aircraft and scenery where the entire scenario is GPU bound. Also not useful for someone who runs addons and is mostly CPU bound. So that’s why they don’t see any difference in MSFS. I ran a pretty clean comparison of the two in my typical use case, and have a clear winner.

But in the majority of games, yes the two CPUs are similar or the 9800 wins by a small margin.

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Also in the TH review the 9950x3d is 5-6% faster than the 9800x3d in MSFS 2024. This also makes sense because the single core boost clock is 200ish mhxz faster in their test

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Yes, I think I saw that one. It’s just where near worth $200. At least to me. Thanks for the former explanation though. That makes sense. I don’t run other stuff (Idle browser tabs and the Audible app about covers it) so I’ll stick with the 9800.

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I have a 9800x3D and don’t recognise those numbers at all. I’ve never seen less than my capped 60fps and even if I did, it wouldn’t be because of CPU bottlenecking.

The 9800x3D is more than enough to run FS2024 at, and well beyond, it’s design limits.

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If running just the sim with no other programs running in the background, the 9800x3d is fine. Once you start running other programs along with the sim, there is a difference. I experienced this with the last gen processors. I also run alot of other programs along with the sim (navigraph, gsx, sayintentions, etc) and the extra cores do help.

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I took the plunge today and upgraded from the 9800x3d to the 9950x3d. Was really nice to be able just swap the processor and not anything else.

While FS2024 definitely seems smoother, I notice a much bigger difference in Windows itself. Applications open noticeable faster and Microsoft Edge just seems zippier. For whatever reason I/O seems faster—maybe the additional cores.

An expensive upgrade but happy with it so far. Will do more testing tomorrow.

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Ok, well, I have AIG traffic set at 80%, BeyondATC, SimLink, the TDS GTNXI, the Fenix, GSX, Steam, iCue, Gigabyte Control Centre, Discord, AutoFPS. I mean, at what point do you want to call the tipping point?

Every setting is set at it’s highest possible level and where possible (like with autofps) I’m pushing it considerably past. At 1000ft my TLOD is 600, at 1500ft 800. I’ve never seen less than my capped 60FPS in 2024 full stop. In fact, I’ve never once seen the sim bottlenecked by the CPU.

GamersNexus’ take on it;

To quote one of the the relevant bits;

If you have the funds and are looking to build a purely gaming computer, we think you should scale it down and go for a 9800X3D. It’s just not that big of a difference as the 9800X3D often trades places with the 9950X3D and you save some money.

If money is no object then sure, get the 9950x3D but you don’t need it, not for gaming anyway. It sure as heck isn’t bottlenecking games resulting in a 23% difference in fps!

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Hi, what is your configuration (graphic card, memory etc) ?

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Windows 11 with 64GB & RTX 4090. Standard clocking & running @ 4k.