AMD’s Best Gaming CPU Might Be Getting An Upgrade
For a while now, one processor has dominated gaming benchmarks: the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D. Before it, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D held the crown, and now it looks like AMD is preparing a small but interesting evolution of its X3D lineup.
A new chip called the Ryzen 7 9850X3D has quietly appeared on AMD’s own driver support page. There was no press release, no marketing push, and no spec sheet from AMD, just a model name sitting in a support menu. That silence instantly grabbed the attention of hardware enthusiasts, because it usually means one thing: something new is coming, but it was not meant to be public yet.
So what is this mysterious 9850X3D, and should PC gamers care? Based on leaks and what we know of the current 9800X3D, it looks like a lightly tuned version of the best gaming CPU on the market.
What The Leaks Say About Ryzen 7 9850X3D
Since AMD has not officially detailed the chip yet, the only information we have comes from trusted leakers in the hardware community. One of them claims the Ryzen 7 9850X3D will keep the same basic formula as the 9800X3D but with a few performance tweaks.
Leaked specs suggest the following:
- Eight cores and sixteen threads, just like the 9800X3D
- 120 watt TDP
- 96 MB of L3 cache thanks to 3D V Cache technology
- Boost clock up to 5.6 GHz, which is roughly 400 MHz higher than the 9800X3D
If these numbers are accurate, then the 9850X3D is not a radical redesign. It is more like a “golden sample” version of the 9800X3D. In other words, it is likely made from the best performing silicon dies that can safely run at slightly higher clock speeds.
The main appeal of AMD’s X3D processors has never been raw clock speed. Their secret weapon is 3D V Cache. By stacking extra cache on top of the processor die, AMD gives the CPU a huge pool of very fast memory close to the cores. For gaming, that can dramatically cut down on memory latency and keep more game data on chip, which is why these CPUs often beat faster clocked rivals.
Because of that, an extra 400 MHz by itself would not usually be a game changer. But when you are starting from what is already the best gaming CPU, even a small bump can help push frame rates a little higher, especially in titles that are already heavily CPU bound.
The quiet listing on a French AMD support page raises another question: did AMD mean to reveal this yet, or did the site go live early by mistake? The lack of any other information hints that the latter might be true and that a proper announcement is still to come.
Pricing And Positioning For Gamers
One big unknown is price. Right now the Ryzen 7 9800X3D sells around 479 dollars at retail. It sometimes dips lower during big sales, dropping to about 449 dollars in rare discounts.
Since the 9800X3D is already in very high demand and widely recognized as the top choice for pure gaming builds, it is unlikely that AMD will undercut it with the 9850X3D. At the same time, there is not enough of an upgrade here to justify a huge price jump. A realistic guess is that it will land somewhere around the 500 dollar mark.
If that happens, the 9850X3D would become the premium option for players who want the absolute best frame rates and do not mind paying a little extra for a handful of extra percentage points of performance. The 9800X3D would still remain an excellent pick and could become more interesting if its price drops slightly to make space in the lineup.
Another thing to keep in mind is availability. If the 9850X3D really is just the top binned silicon from 9800X3D production, there might not be a huge number of them on shelves. AMD might treat it as a relatively low volume part instead of a blockbuster mainstream launch.
The Wild Card: A Massive Ryzen 9 With Dual 3D V Cache
Alongside the 9850X3D leaks, there is another chip getting attention: a rumored Ryzen 9 9950X3D2. This one is still deep in rumor territory, but it sounds like a monster designed for enthusiasts who want both gaming and heavy productivity performance.
The key part of the rumor is the “X3D2” label. It suggests that this CPU could use dual 3D V Cache stacks. One leak claims this might give the chip an incredible 192 MB of L3 cache compared to the 128 MB on the standard Ryzen 9 9950X3D. That would be paired with a boost clock around 5.6 GHz and a TDP of roughly 200 watts.
If real, that would be an extreme chip in both performance potential and power use. For pure gaming, it is overkill, especially when a much cheaper eight core X3D processor is already fast enough to feed high end GPUs. However, for streamers, content creators, and people who need many cores along with big cache, such a processor could be very attractive.
For now, though, the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 remains just a rumor. The only CPU we know exists is the Ryzen 7 9850X3D, thanks to that quiet appearance on AMD’s support site. Whether AMD plans a big X3D refresh or just a small clock bump on its best gaming chip, PC builders will soon have another interesting option to consider when planning a new high end rig.
Original article and image: https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/processors/amd-has-just-launched-the-ryzen-7-9850x3d-with-zero-fanfare-and-i-think-i-understand-why/
