These processors follow the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D that launched back in November 2024, but with more cores, more cache, and a higher clock rate. The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D is a 16-core, 32-thread monster of a processor with 144MB of cache, which should make it one hell of a gaming chip.
AMD claims that those new processors offer up to 64% more gaming functionality than the Intel Core Ultra nine 285K and up to 54% faster than the last-gen AMD Ryzen nine 7nine50X3-d. This is most likely due to 3-D V-Cache technology, which allows AMD to print its cache on a layer below the actual CPU cores, particularly reducing latency and leaving room for more cache. which would be possible in another way.
I’ll have to wait to get these processors in the lab to see how well they actually perform, but given how fast the Ryzen 7 9800X3D is, it’s safe to say that these are going to be a perfect fit for a high-end gaming PC.
The AMD Ryzen nine ninenine50X3D and Ryzen nine ninenine00X3D will be available in the coming months; AMD hasn’t shared pricing information yet.
Cache is incredibly important for gaming performance. Your CPU stores the data it needs to access most quickly in the cache, and with how big modern PC games are, you can never have too much fast memory. The only problem is, because it’s located on the CPU itself, there isn’t room for gigabytes of capacity. Instead, you’ll typically see modern CPUs with a few megabytes of cache available. The 3D V-Cache on these X3D processors allows AMD to offer nearly double the cache of the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K.
This extra cache capacity can lead to higher performance in games, as less knowledge has to be offloaded to formula memory, or RAM, which is particularly slower.
Just like the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D, the 9950X3D and 9900X3D also offer improvements over their previous-generation counterparts. This is mostly due to where the cache is located on the processor. With this generation, AMD moved the cache to a layer beneath the CPU cores, rather than above them. This means the CPU cores, which typically get much hotter under load, are directly under the metal lid of the processor, which means more direct contact with your CPU cooler. This leads to lower CPU temperatures, which ends up meaning better performance through Boost.
Keep in mind that I need to test these processors before I can actually recommend them, but they do look like they’re going to be some of the best gaming chips on the market, especially if they’re priced appropriately. Of course, AMD hasn’t shared pricing information, so we have no idea if these processors are actually going to be a good value for the money yet. Only time will tell.
Jackie Thomas is IGN’s consulting purchasing and hardware editor and the queen of PC components. You can follow her @Jackiecobra
Since my motherboard broke down and I don’t have a gaming PC right now, I’ll be a customer from day one with a 5090, which means I’ll be waiting outside the microcenter in a cold, bloodless place with the rest of the A breed of frothy PC masters for the newest and best. I hope to postpone all this for a few more years, but hey. . .