AMD unveils Ryzen 9 9950X3D and 9900X3D

They had been eagerly awaited. Now AMD has officially introduced its two newest and most powerful processors with additional 3D V-Cache. One of the two should clearly outshine the competition from Intel.

New flagship CPU from AMD

Today AMD introduced its two new Zen 5 CPUs at CES 2025. The Ryzen 9 9950X3D is the new flagship of the series with its 16 cores and 32 threads. The processor has 144 MB of combined L2 and L3 cache and is aimed primarily at gamers.

According to their own statements, it should be the best that video game fans and creative people can currently get. They also took a small swipe at their stumbling competitor Intel and certified that the 9950X3D had an average performance of 20 percent better than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K. The AMD CPU requires 170 watts (TDP) for this.

This means that the consumption is a good 50 watts higher than that of the previous gaming leader, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, where the TDP is only 120 watts. According to AMD, the two processors are about the same when it comes to pure performance in games. However, compared to its direct predecessor, the Ryzen 9 7950X3D, the 9950X3D delivers an average of eight percent better performance.

No performance information for the 9900X3D

Second, AMD presented the Ryzen 7 9900X3D. It comes with twelve cores and 24 threads. With 140 MB of combined L2 and L3 cache, it is just behind its bigger brother. However, the TDP of the 9900X3D is significantly lower at 120 watts. AMD did not provide any benchmark results. This could be a bad sign or just the fact that they wanted to focus on the 9950X3D.

When it comes to the performance of the chips in scenarios other than gaming, AMD once again provided some comparison figures to Intel’s top CPU and its own from the previous generation. The Ryzen 9 9950X3D beats Intel’s flagship by an average of ten percent when working with creative applications. Compared to the 7950X3D, it is even 13 percent ahead.

Processor cores / threads clock
(Base/Boost) Cache
(L2 + L3) TDP

Start date still open

AMD did not give a specific release date during the presentation. It was only said that both processors will come onto the market in the first quarter of 2025. However, if customers’ enthusiasm is as great as with the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, which boasts gigantic sales figures, it will be difficult to get hold of a copy in a timely manner.

Joshua Bato