AMD Ryzen 7 9700X vs Ryzen 7 7700X: Which Is the Better CPU?

The Ryzen 7 9700X and 7700X are two budget CPUs from AMD. They have the same core count but different architectures. Which is the best CPU?

Picture of Ryzen 7 9700X vs Ryzen 7 7700X — Ryzen 7 9700X vs Ryzen 7 7700X (Image via AMD)

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and 7700X are two excellent options for budget-conscious users who are interested in content creation and gaming. They are both eight-core CPUs capable of delivering fantastic performance. However, one of them is older but costs less, and the other is newer and costs more. This begs the question: Which is the better CPU, and which will deliver the most value? That’s exactly what we plan to answer today.

In this article, we are doing a detailed comparison of Ryzen 7 9700X and 7700X to find out which one you should buy.

Note: Parts of this article are subjective and reflect the writer’s opinions.

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AMD Ryzen 7 9700X vs Ryzen 7 7700X: Detailed Comparison

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X was released in 2024 and is based on the newer Zen 5 architecture. On the other hand, the Ryzen 7 7700X is based on the older Zen 4 architecture launched in 2022. Since the former is newer and based on more advanced architecture, it has an obvious advantage over the latter.

Let’s begin comparing the two CPUs, starting with their specs.

Specs Comparison

Picture of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X — The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X (Image via AMD)

Here are the specs of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and 7700X:

Specifications	Ryzen 7 9700X	Ryzen 7 7700X
Architecture	Zen 5	Zen 4
Core/Thread count	8/16	8/16
Max clock speed	5.5 GHz	5.4 GHz
L3 cache	32 MB	32 MB
RAM support	DDR5-5600	DDR5-5200
PCIe Gen support	Gen 5	Gen 5
Platform Socket	AM5	AM4
Thermal design power (TDP)	65W Typical \| 88W Max Extended 105W Typical \| 142W Max	105W Typical \| 142W Max
Manufacturing nodes	4nm, 6nm	5nm, 6nm

As you can see, most of the specs of the two CPUs are the same. They have the same core count, cache size, PCIe Gen support, and more. The only differences are in slightly higher clock and RAM speeds. Will these two be enough to give the new processor a performance boost compared to the other? Let’s find out.

Synthetic Performance Comparison

Here’s how AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and 7700X perform in popular synthetic benchmarks:

Benchmarks	Ryzen 7 9700X	Ryzen 7 7700X
Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)	2206	2010
Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)	23127	20399
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)	3362	2898
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)	16135	15137
Cinebench 2024 (Single-Core)	134	119
Cinebench 2024 (Multi-Core)	1255	1087

The Ryzen 7 9700X performs noticeably better than the Ryzen 7 7700X in both single and multi-core benchmarks. For example, the former scores 13.4% higher in single-core benchmarks and about 10.6% in multi-core benchmarks than the latter. Therefore, the Ryzen 7 9700X has around 1- 13% more performance. Will we see similar performance gains on the gaming side as well? Let’s find out.

Game Performance Comparison

Here’s how the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and Ryzen 7 7700X handle some of the popular games on the market:

Games	Ryzen 7 9700X	Ryzen 7 7700X
Fortnite DX12 (Medium)	453 FPS	448 FPS
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey	155 FPS	154 FPS
Black Myth Wukong	174 FPS	176 FPS
Cyberpunk 2077	231 FPS	227 FPS
Cyberpunk 2077 RT (DLSS)	120 FPS	119 FPS
Naraka: Bladepoint	418 FPS	382 FPS
Forza Horizon 5	306 FPS	299 FPS
Witcher 3	294 FPS	289 FPS
Red Dead Redemption 2	213 FPS	210 FPS

Note: The two CPUs were tested at 1080p resolution with the RTX 4090 GPU to eliminate any GPU bottleneck. All FPS numbers were sourced from the Hardware Tested channel on YouTube.

On average, the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X delivers around 2.6% more FPS than the Ryzen 7 7700X. This is probably not the kind of performance improvement most people were hoping to see, so gamers might be disappointed. Even when Cyberpunk 2077 was tested with RT graphics, the increase in FPS was absolutely minimal.

Price Comparison

Picture of the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X — The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X (Image via AMD)

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X is currently selling for $299.99 on Amazon, while the Ryzen 7 7700X regularly sells for $242.99 on Amazon. Therefore, the former is 23.4% more expensive than the latter, which can be a lot for budget gamers.

Final Verdict on AMD Ryzen 7 9700X vs Ryzen 7 7700X

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X is indeed better than the Ryzen 7 7700X, but it is not the kind of upgrade most gamers might have hoped for. The new Ryzen CPU delivers up to 13.4% better performance in synthetic benchmarks, while providing only a tiny 2.6% improvement in gaming. That’s not the kind of performance that inspires people to choose for their new PC builds. It would still have been acceptable had AMD priced it appropriately, which isn’t the case.

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X $57 or 23.4% more than the Ryzen 7 7700X, which is simply worth the kind of performance it provides. Therefore, we recommend users buy the Ryzen 7 7700X instead and use the savings on different PC components, such as RAM or SSD.

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AMD Ryzen 7 9700X vs Ryzen 7 7700X: Which Is the Better CPU?