AMD has been laying in wait, slowly building up hype, but the wait is finally over, and the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X CPU is here. Part of the new AMD Ryzen 7000 range of CPUs, the Ryzen 7 7700X, on paper, is an impressive offering, delivering impressive numbers, and all at a price that makes it very attractive to new PC builders. Seeing CPU’s that break through the 5GHz barrier is exciting, and even more so when you consider how it stacks up to the competition.
For this review, unlike our review of the Ryzen 9 7950X, we wanted to look at the Ryzen 7 7700X from the perspective of the mainstream gamer. Not everyone can afford the best CPU on the market and trick their setup out with the best cooler money can buy. With a $399 USD price, and impressive numbers, it felt like the ideal choice for builders looking to step up their game without breaking the bank. With that in mind, let’s have a look at how the CPU stacks up.
There is a lot to talk about in regard to what the Zen 4 CPU lineup brings to the table, and even with a CPU that is targeting a more mainstream market, the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X CPU has a lot going on to make it such an exciting launch. From the new AM5 socket, DDR5 and the new 6nm process, but to read more about what this means check out the CGMagazine review of the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X CPU where we go into detail about everything that is important. Suffice it to say, this is a major launch for AMD and is one that will make the CPU landscape very interesting.
Costs and Specs
Even with its more mainstream price, the new AM5 platform means you will need to invest in DDR5 memory and a new motherboard to take full advantage of the CPU. Unlike the Ryzen 9 7950X that comes with a premium price, the Ryzen 7 7700X will only set you back $399 based on MSRP.
| Price | Cores / Threads (P+E) | Base / Boost Clock (GHz) | Cache (L2+L3) | TDP / Max | Memory | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryzen 9 7950X | $699 | 16 / 32 | 4.5 / 5.7 | 80MB | 170W / 230W | DDR5-5200 |
| Ryzen 9 7900X | $549 | 12 / 24 | 4.7 / 5.6 | 76MB | 170W / 230W | DDR5-5200 |
| Ryzen 7 7700X | $399 | 8 / 16 | 4.5 / 5.4 | 40MB | 105W | DDR5-5200 |
| Ryzen 5 7600X | $299 | 6 / 12 | 4.7 / 5.3 | 38MB | 105W | DDR5-5200 |
For that money, you will find a CPU that boasts 8 cores and 16 threads, offers up a core clock of 4.5GHz and a boost clock of an impressive 5.4GHz. It has an 8x1MB L2 cache, 32 MB L3 cache, a TDP of 105W and a max socket power of 142W. AMD outlines that this CPU can be used with a mid-frame tower cooler, although through our tests we would still recommend a good AIO cooler just to get the best performance possible.
Our Test System
With a new generation of CPUs, we thought it was time we mixed up our testing build to give everything the best chance possible to show what they could do. We built each of our systems in a Cooler Master HH500p case, using a 1000 Watt be quiet! power supply, Razer Hanbo 240 mm AIO cooler, and an ASUS ROG Strix RX 6700 XT GPU.
For the AMD Systems, we used an ASRock X670E Taichi main board, and 32 GB G.SKILL EXPO DDR5 6000 RAM. For our Intel test build, we used an ASUS ROG MAXIMUS Z690 HERO, with 32 GB Kingston Fury Beast DDR5-5200. Both builds were running off a Gigabyte NVMe m.2 SSD to keep all load times and performance consistent across both builds.
At CGMagazine, we wanted to show off a system’s range while still pushing even modern CPUs. So, we decided to mix up the games we used for testing. We used the benchmarks from Ashes of Singularity, Fortnite, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and Hitman 3, and believe these games give a good picture of what you can expect from the CPU, along with how it will compare to the competition.
For testing, we looked at the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X CPU, and compared it against the Intel 12900KS, the Intel 12900K, and the Ryzen 9 7950X to get a good idea of how it compares and what you can expect should you decide to invest in the new AMD range, along with what the extra cost will get you in game performance and real world experience.
Gaming Benchmarks
Since we here at CGMagazine are all about gaming, we wanted to see how the new high-end gamer focused 7700X would stack up against the top end Ryzen 9 7950X or our current champion, the i9-12900KS, and its little brother, the i9-12900K. We ran a series of benchmarks on a variety of popular games to see which CPU came out on top.
For all tests, since we were focusing on the CPU, we kept everything at 1080P; we also ran with the highest default settings to push things as much as possible without becoming reliant on the GPU. We are, after all, looking to see how the new chips fair and not looking to push past that and rely only on our GPU for results.
“Across the board, the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X CPU managed to hold its own against the top-range flagship CPUs from both Intel and AMD.”
I go into far more detail over in our review of the Ryzen 9 7950X, where I break down each game, why it is significant, and what that means overall for someone looking to dive into the new Ryzen 7000 series of CPUs. Going over the results, the Ryzen 7 7700X is a very interesting offering, especially when you consider the price and who it is made for.
Across the board, the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X CPU managed to hold its own against the top-range flagship CPUs from both Intel and AMD. While it has half the cores the Ryzen 9 7950X has, it was only ever a few FPS lower and at times on par with what the Intel i9-12900K brought to the table. In Fortnite, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and Hitman 3, we saw solid numbers that should make most gamers very happy.
For games where they are GPU dependant, the Ryzen 7 7700X should be more than capable of delivering amazing results, and only a select few, like Shadow of the Tomb Raider, saw a major difference worthy of the extra investment.
Synthetic and Real World Benchmarks
While gaming was a solid indicator of the power the Ryzen 7000 series brings to the table, it was not until we dive into creativity and productivity apps where the extra cores the Ryzen 9 7950X brings make a major difference and how the extra cost could be worth it when upgrading. In our synthetic tests, the Ryzen 7 7700X did very well across the board, but the lower core count did have it falling a bit behind the pack, especially compared to its bigger brother. Cinebench R23 was the most notable example, where the multicore scores almost doubled what the Ryzen 7 7700X delivered.
This makes sense, and while the spec sheet of the Ryzen 7 7700X is notable on many fronts, the limit of 8 cores/16 threads does mean workloads like video editing, rendering, and gaming, while streaming could be limited on the CPU. This is a CPU that is tailor-made to play the latest games alongside a capable GPU. The clocks will ensure you will not see any major CPU bottlenecks holding you back, and the features of the Zen 4 and AM5 platforms mean you have access to the latest and greatest to make the most of your gaming experience.
“For creators, the 7950X is an amazing choice, for the hard-core gamer, the $399 AMD Ryzen 7 7700X CPU being a fantastic choice, delivering the performance you need at a price that is hard to beat. “
For productivity, however, there is something to be said for the increase in power the Ryzen 9 allows. As we did mention in our review of the 7950X, this is a CPU that is made for the top-end of buyers, with most people simply not needing the power and capabilities it allows, but for creators, this is one area we feel the 7950X makes sense over the 7700X.
Software like Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, BlackMagic’s Davinci Resolve and Handbrake, along with various other software for streaming, video/audio editing, rendering, and creative can take advantage of the extra power under the hood to deliver better overall results. With it a question of what you need your PC to do being the major reason to spend the extra or not.
Our Thoughts
AMD has delivered a well-rounded release with the Ryzen 7000 lineup. With a range of prices and features, there is something for everyone, and that is the way it should be with a new CPU lineup. We are impressed with what we have seen and tested, with both the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X and the Ryzen 7 7700X CPUs being worthy contenders for a new PC build. For creators, the 7950X is an amazing choice, for the hard-core gamer, the $399 AMD Ryzen 7 7700X CPU being a fantastic choice, delivering the performance you need at a price that is hard to beat.
