EA’s much-awaited Battlefield 6 seems to heavily favour AMD’s 3D V-Cache CPUs, based on early testing. According to @bruhskey on X, the upcoming FPS title showed a substantial performance difference compared to an Intel-based system, hinting at the game’s preference for higher cache amounts.
The streamer has indicated that his AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D plus RTX 5080 system managed to snag 310fps at 1440p resolution. This is quite impressive considering we are talking about a good-looking AAA title, running on unoptimised Nvidia drivers. For comparison, a friend of his running an Intel Core i9-14900K plus RTX 5080 config at identical graphics settings sat 110fps below. In other words, the AMD CPU was able to push around 30% more frames, which is impressive to say the least. That said, comparing numbers to a ‘friend’s’ system is not the most scientifically rigorous method I’ve ever seen.
@bruhskey has also shared the separate CPU and GPU performance as indicated by the game engine, where the CPU delivered a lower 310 to 330fps than the GPU’s 330 to 370fps potential, meaning that more performance remains untapped even using the 9800X3D. And this, despite tuning the RAM to DDR5-6400 with tight latency.
Since the Core i9-14900K is still able to pull its weight against the Ryzen 7 9800X3D in games such as Forza Motorsport and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, this discrepancy seems mainly due to the Ryzen’s extra 3D V-Cache layer. As a reminder, the 14900K houses 36MB of shared L3 cache, against 96MB on the 9800X3D. Unfortunately, @bruhskey couldn’t share any screenshots, which could give us more information, due to the ongoing game NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement).
Though these results are coming from a single source, using an early-access version of the game, they show that Intel is continuing to trail. Despite Intel’s partnership with EA to optimise Battlefield 6 on Core Ultra- and Arc-powered PCs/handhelds, the gap is wide enough to doubt any update could patch it. The good news is that even with 110 fewer fps, the 14900K is still perfectly capable of high-refresh gaming, meaning that owners won’t need to change to have a good experience.
As usual, take the above with a grain of salt, as both tests were conducted in different places. Battlefield 6 is set to launch on October 6, 2025, so stay tuned for proper reviews and performance tests. We may even get new benchmarks during the upcoming beta test this weekend.
