UserBenchmark faces backlash over Ryzen 7 9800X3D review, suggests 13600K and 14600K instead

[midian182]

Facepalm: It's fair to say that the UserBenchmark website does not have the best reputation among PC hardware fans. It seems to have a particular dislike of AMD, as illustrated by the recent review of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D. The CPU has been so successful that it's sold out in most places, but UserBenchmark claims this is merely the result of AMD's aggressive marketing rather than real-world performance, and suggests that you buy an Intel i5-13600K instead.

While it might not be very popular among ardent tech users, UserBenchmark remains a widely used tool for the general consumer and its comparisons rank highly in Google search results.

But the site has faced plenty of criticism over the years, especially when it comes to apparent bias against AMD's processors in favor of Intel. Its Trustpilot entry, where it has a rating of 1.4, is filled with comments pointing this out.

The latest scandal hitting the site relates to its review of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D. We love AMD's latest processor, calling it the new gaming CPU king in our review. Other reviewers agree, which is why the chip is sold out in many locations and scalpers are charging up to $1,500 (not that it's nearly that good).

Don't pay this! Get a 13600K instead

UserBenchmark has a rather less positive view of the 9800X3D. It notes that the additional cache results in 6% lower boost clocks and 40% higher prices than the 7700X and 9700X.

It ignores the fact that the 64MB L3 cache is now positioned below the cores instead of on top of them, improving performance. This means the single-core performance of the 9800X3D and 9700X is virtually identical, while the new chip outperforms the 7700X.

One section of UserBenchmark's review causing a lot of controversy is its claim that AMD is looking to drive demand through aggressive marketing rather than the 9800X3D's real-world performance. The site places AMD's success in this area on Intel's sub-par marketing of its CPUs.

Also see: How We Test: CPU Benchmarks, Misconceptions Explained

Just in case the review hasn't annoyed enough people, it concludes that spending more than $200 on a gaming CPU is often pointless, as games are generally limited by the GPU in real-world scenarios. The site suggests gamers would be better off buying the Intel 13600K or 14600K instead of AMD's excellent chip.

Below are our 14-game average results for the 9800X3D compared to other processors.

UserBenchmark is no stranger to controversy. It adjusted its scoring algorithm in favor of single-threaded performance a few years ago, inflating scores in such a way that don't appear to be entirely representative of the processor in question. It currently places the Ryzen 7 9800X3D in 12th position based on performance in its CPU rankings chart.

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UserBenchmark faces backlash over Ryzen 7 9800X3D review, suggests 13600K and 14600K instead

 

[winjer]

And the worst part is that sites like Google, put this scam site on the top of their search results.

 

[Puiu]

Why are so many publications even making such articles? It's just free publicity for a scam site.

 

[Peter Farkas]

Seriously, who gives any credit to UB at all? It's been a joke for long years, only fuel for memes but not for buying decisions.

 

[winjer]

Why are so many publications even making such articles? It's just free publicity for a scam site.

Though it's true most PC users already know that userbenchmark is a scam site, there are always new people entering the hobby that might fall prey to it, simply because they don't know better.

 

[Achaios]

"User benchmark" hahahahahaha

 

[Diabolus]

User benchmark as much use a chocolate tea pot.

 

[Dimitriid]

I know it's basically all but impossible to prove conclusively by us but it seems very convenient for intel that they have at least one high profile site running interference for them, I'm sure they're not going to end up having some sort of inappropriate relationship by getting some sort of sponsorship/advertising deal with intel they'll swear up and down has not affected their unbiased opinion.

Don't think anybody would care to launch another exhaustive investigation into this but in the small chance they do, we might find out interesting things.

 

[Neatfeatguy]

And the worst part is that sites like Google, put this scam site on the top of their search results.

Google sucks.

Do a search on it for "are nvidia drivers safe" or "is nvidia.com safe".

The top return is my reply on a Steam topic some years back, mocking the person posting about if getting drivers from nvidia is safe. Here is the snippet you get on the google search:

"Jul 7, 2017 — No, not safe. Downloading and installing drivers for your GPU will cause you loss of time due to excessive gaming. It will cause you to ignore ..."

 

[winjer]

Google sucks.

Do a search on it for "are nvidia drivers safe" or "is nvidia.com safe".

The top return is my reply on a Steam topic some years back, mocking the person posting about if getting drivers from nvidia is safe. Here is the snippet you get on the google search:

"Jul 7, 2017 — No, not safe. Downloading and installing drivers for your GPU will cause you loss of time due to excessive gaming. It will cause you to ignore ..."

I agree, Google search is terrible. I no longer use it.
But new people to the hobby will use it. And Google will show userbenchmark on the top, or near it.
The more articles, such as this one, are made available for everyone to read, the more people get aware that userbenchmark is a scam site.

 

[yRaz]

Honestly, they're right. Can't wait to read the replies to this comment. High-end CPUs are pretty pointless for gaming. Nice to have but far from necessary.

You need a 4090 to see any performance difference and it's under specific circumstances that you do. If you have a 4090 then you aren't googlingbwhat CPU to buy. Buy the 13600k and put the $300 you save towards a better GPU.

 

[Kotters]

Honestly, they're right. Can't wait to read the replies to this comment. High-end CPUs are pretty pointless for gaming. Nice to have but far from necessary.

You need a 4090 to see any performance difference and it's under specific circumstances that you do. If you have a 4090 then you aren't googlingbwhat CPU to buy. Buy the 13600k and put the $300 you save towards a better GPU.

For that price you can get a 5800x3d instead.

Excuse me, I meant the 5700x3d. The 5800x3d basically doesn't exist anymore.

 

[yRaz]

For that price you can get a 5800x3d instead

No, you can't

 

[Haaky]

Who you gonna believe?
Every tech site that has benched the 9800x3d or these guys who have no clue what there talking about.

 

[kiniku]

Wow. Userbenchmark is right on the money and PC Magazine's CPU reviews concur. The X3D CPUS are a niche, compromise. Because the "fastest" gaming performance you will experience is by using an RTX 4090 at 1080P? Who the hell would spend $1500.00-$2400.00 to game at 1080P? Once your gaming is above 1080P you are GPU limited. And the latest 8 core 9800X3D will run about $500.00? If you are lucky?

Userbenchmark is also correct that the Intel 13600 and 14600 provide far more well rounded performance for all applications, not only gaming. Above 1080P, the frame rates for an X800X3D CPU are + or -3% from the rest of the competition.

Also, not all games benefit from vcache anyway. So don't just believe the repeated mantra AMD hopes you will, "X3D best for gaming". Spend your money wisely. Thank you, UserBenchMark for having the courage to tell the truth compared to all the "professional" review sites that use only 1080P with an RTX 4090 GPU for their benchmarks.

 

[Haaky]

You really don't understand bench marking do you?
They use the 4090 at 1080p to create a cpu bottle neck, to push the CPU to its fullest.

If you benchmark at 1440 or 4k then all you doing is benching the GPU. Try doing your research.

I'll trust the reviewers that actually know and understand bench marking. Not just some dude who is an Intel shill, or worse yet works for Intel.
The only people that don't like the 9800x3d are the ones that bought the new Intel chips and finding out they SUCK for gaming

 

[yRaz]

You really don't understand bench marking do you?
They use the 4090 at 1080p to create a cpu bottle neck, to push the CPU to its fullest.

If you benchmark at 1440 or 4k then all you doing is benching the GPU. Try doing your research.

I think people understand the benchmarks just fine. When gaming at 1440p or 4k the 9800X3D provides little to no value.

 

[LyntonB]

Probably a paid Intel shill on their team on a quiet Retainer. shame for their 'journalism'

 

[Burty117]

Lol, I was wondering when Intel would deploy the old tricks of paying off websites to promote themselves as the best in some way (in this case, the best value).

I’m sure we’ll be getting plenty of copium from all the Intel fan boys. Interestingly, it’s not that they’re “better”, it’s that “you don’t need AMD”, incredible.

In other news, here’s a nice video from Hardware Unboxed explaining why, even at 4K, the CPU you choose now actually makes a difference, even well into the future:

 

[LyntonB]

Wow. Userbenchmark is right on the money and PC Magazine's CPU reviews concur. The X3D CPUS are a niche, compromise. Because the "fastest" gaming performance you will experience is by using an RTX 4090 at 1080P? Who the hell would spend $1500.00-$2400.00 to game at 1080P? Once your gaming is above 1080P you are GPU limited. And the latest 8 core 9800X3D will run about $500.00? If you are lucky?

Userbenchmark is also correct that the Intel 13600 and 14600 provide far more well rounded performance for all applications, not only gaming. Above 1080P, the frame rates for an X800X3D CPU are + or -3% from the rest of the competition.

Also, not all games benefit from vcache anyway. So don't just believe the repeated mantra AMD hopes you will, "X3D best for gaming". Spend your money wisely. Thank you, UserBenchMark for having the courage to tell the truth compared to all the "professional" review sites that use only 1080P with an RTX 4090 GPU for their benchmarks.

I game at 1440p, many times my 4090 drops below 100% utilisation because of CPU bottleneck so it's absolutely pertinent. Also: gamers want SMOOTH gaming which isn't about absolute FPS but about 1% and 0.1% lows. AMD 3dcache chips are outstanding at negotiating this for the SMOOTHEST gameplay (FPS absolute aside)

 

[cfenton]

You really don't understand bench marking do you?
They use the 4090 at 1080p to create a cpu bottle neck, to push the CPU to its fullest.

If you benchmark at 1440 or 4k then all you doing is benching the GPU. Try doing your research.

I'll trust the reviewers that actually know and understand bench marking. Not just some dude who is an Intel shill, or worse yet works for Intel.
The only people that don't like the 9800x3d are the ones that bought the new Intel chips and finding out they SUCK for gaming

It can be true that the 9800X3D is the fastest gaming CPU and that most people would be better off with a 7600 or 13600. Most people are using a XX60 series GPU and aren't going to get any benefit from a faster CPU.

 

[pcnthuziast]

If you're a gamer, the gpu is most important amd the only real consideration for the cpu is will it allow the gpu to consistently hit 100% use. In other words, is the cpu a bottleneck. A person can reasonably assume what the most powerful gpu they are likely to own in the next 5 years and buy the cpu accordingly.

 

[Dave321]

For most people the 9800X3D will be a waste of money and they will be GPU bottlenecked. Just because Steve does all his benchmarks on a 4090 does not mean most people have them.

 

[dirtyferret]

So a bunch of ***** fan boys who "future proofed" from the 7800X3D to the 9800X3D are now all butt hurt because a web site isn't call their system "epic killer leet"....now that's funny

 

[EdmondRC]

It will be interesting to see how X3D parts scale over time compared to their non-X3D counter parts. It's one thing to say they are x% faster at gaming today, but what will a 9800X3D vs a 9700X look like in 5 years in the latest games. My guess is that x% actually grows allowing the X3D chips to stay relevant much longer than their non-X3D counterparts. But that's just a guess, though there are some cases where the 5800X3D pops up above the 7700X in performance like in Jedi Survivor. The 5800X was terrible in that game.