AMD has announced the Ryzen 9 9950X3D – it’s new 16-core Zen 5 processor with 3D V-Cache. AMD claims on average there’s an eight percent uplift in performance compared to the Ryzen 9 7950X3D. The new CPU will have a peak boost frequency of 5.7GHz and a total cache amount of 144MB.
How fast is AMD’s Ryzen 9 9950X3D?
AMD also claims it’s also 20% faster on average than Intel’s Core Ultra 9 285K. It offers even bigger performance increase in content creation compared to the Ryzen 9 7950X3D too – up to 13% faster.
AMD also announced the Ryzen 9 9900X3D – the 12-core 3D V-Cache processor, which has 24 threads, a peak boost frequency of 5.5GHz and total of 140MB cache. It will have a TDP of 120W while the Ryzen 9 9950X will have a TDP of 170W.
AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and 9900X3D specifications
Looking a little closer at the specifications, the Ryzen 9 9950X3D has an identical specification to the Ryzen 9 9950X3D in terms of peak boost frequency and and TDP. This suggests that, like the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, it will perform similarly to its non 3D V-Cache sibling, the Ryzen 9 9950X outside of games too.
As we expected, the 3D V-Cache is limited to one of the eight-core Core Complex Dies (CCDs), so a lot will depend on how well Windows and Ryzen processors work together in what’s called Core Parking – assigning game threads to cores with direct access to the 64MB of 3D V-Cache. This has been an issue with previous multi-CCD models such as the Ryzen 9 7950X3D, although is largely fixed when configured properly. Not assigning game threads to cores with 3D V-Cache sees performance that’s no better or even worse than normal Ryzen CPUs.
The Ryzen 7 9800X3D has already laid down the gauntlet to the competition, with stunning gaming performance, but also decent performance outside of games compared to previous 3D V-Cache CPUs will similar core counts. This was thanks to AMD flipping the cores and 3D V-Cache, with the latter now sitting underneath the cores rather than on top, allowing for lower thermals and higher frequencies, especially in multi-threaded workloads.
Previous 3D V-Cache models, especially the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, struggled outside of games because of this, making them only viable as gaming processors. The 9950X3D and 9900X3D should be fantastic allrounders thanks to higher frequencies, offering great content performance and the fastest gaming performance of any current processors.
There’s no word on pricing, though, but based on Ryzen 7 9800X3D pricing compared to the Ryzen 7 9700X, it was roughly 45% more expensive. This would mean the 12-core Ryzen 9 9900X3D would retail for around $700 and the 16-core Ryzen 9 9950X3D for around $800. The new CPUs will be available in March 2025.
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