AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX3D Zen4 analysis - The fastest mobile gaming processor thanks to 3D V-Cache

AMD also claims that the 3D V-Cache has a positive effect on low TDP values according to internal tests and has compared 70 and 40 watts with and without 3D V-Cache. However, we cannot verify this with our test systems. The Ryzen 9 7945HX3D is currently only available in the new Asus ROG Strix SCAR 17 X3D.

Its single-core performance is practically identical to the regular Ryzen 9 7945HX and in turn, is considerably faster than the old Zen3 models such as the Ryzen 9 6900HX. Intel's Core i9-13900HX is also comparable - only the Core i9-13980HX benefits in total through its single-core turbo.

When taking a look at the results, you can't forget that the AMD Zen4 core consumes around 27 watts under single-core load, while the new Raptor Lake HX CPUs' performance core consumes 34 - 36 watts. This means AMD's pure CPU efficiency is better than Intel's. The fact that the dedicated Nvidia GPU was active for our power consumption measurements using an external monitor, of course, distorted our results - it is important to keep this in mind. For the sake of completeness, however, we have still included these values. You might actually see this as a positive, as even with its activated dGPU, our test device with the new Ryzen 9 7945HX3D was on the same level as the Intel Raptor Lake HX chips, which had an inactive iGPU during its measurements.

During the multi-core test, we became aware of its slightly weak cooling - here, the new Ryzen 9 7945HX3D narrowly avoided being able to compete with the models featuring the regular Ryzen 9 7945HX. In total, the new Zen4 processor with 3D V-Cache still came ahead of its Intel competitors which, in addition, consume more power. However, if you require the maximum CPU performance, then you should go for a device with the regular Ryzen 9 7945HX which uses liquid metal.

When taking a look at its efficiency, you again have to remember that the dedicated GPU was active. Due to its higher total consumption, the influence is smaller here compared to during the single-core tests. The new Ryzen 9 7945HX3D came ahead of both of the regular 7945HX CPUs in turbo mode, which is the sole result of the lower power limits. If they both had identical power limits (e.g. 100 watts), then both models' efficiencies would be comparable. Here, you can also see AMD's advantage over Intel, whose CPUs simply require more energy in order to offer similar performance levels. Apple, with its M2 Max processor, came ever so slightly ahead - but in total, it offers notably lower maximum performance.

We were able to set new fixed power limits for the processor via the manual mode found in the test device's Armoury Crate software - unfortunately, we were more limited on the 7945HX3D. Due to its weaker cooling, the processor couldn't even complete the short Cinebench R23 run with a fixed limit of 115 watts - plus, this time, the app only allowed a minimum value of 65 watts. Both results at 100 watts and 80 watts were about on the same level as the regular Ryzen 9 7945HX. Here, you can also say that the Ryzen 9 7945HX3D offers better performance at 80 watts than the Intel Core i9-13980HX can at 150 watts.

Now coming to the gaming benchmarks, where we have first taken a look at Full HD resolution. Here, the new Ryzen 9 7945HX3D was really able to show its advantages in quite a few games - we even noted it leading by two-figure percentage points at times. In Far Cry 5, we noted a whopping 36 % improvement compared to the regular Ryzen 9 7945HX as well as Intel's HX CPUs. In some games, we didn't measure any improvement, such as in The Witcher 3 and Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2.

In QHD resolution, the new processor also showed some advantages, although these were not as big as in 1080p. In general, the Ryzen 9 7945HX3D still offers better performance than its competitors - again by up to two-figure percentages at times. 

In 4K resolution, the new Ryzen 9 7945HX3D doesn't offer any advantage compared to the regular Ryzen 9 7945HX or Intel's mobile HX processors, although all of the models performed on a very similar level.