3D V-Cache Is Back! AMD Drops Ryzen 9 9950X3D Flagship CPU for Gamers

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AMD’s ready to push the performance envelope forward with its 3D V-Cache processors, thanks to two new Ryzen 9 X3D CPUs that have debuted at CES 2025. The star of the show is AMD’s Ryzen 9 9950X3D, which AMD calls the world’s best processor for gamers and creators.

Alongside this comes the Ryzen 9 9900X3D, a similar CPU with fewer cores. Together, these fiery desktop CPUs round out AMD’s high-end Ryzen 9000-series lineup with its 3D V-Cache technology.

AMD's Most Powerful 3D V-Cache CPU Yet

At launch, I have little doubt that the new Ryzen 9 9950X3D will be one of if not the fastest processors on the market. The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X (no 3D) launched last fall has already proven to be arguably the fastest consumer processor on the market today, and unsurprisingly, the similarly named Ryzen 9 9950X3D isn’t all that different. The two processors are nearly identical, with 16 CPU cores set with a max clock speed of 5.7GHz.

What makes the Ryzen 9 9950X3D stand out is an additional chip that AMD refers to as a 3D V-Cache chip containing 64MB of SRAM. This functions as essentially an L4 or LLC cache for the processor. However, AMD refers to it as additional L3 cache as the performance is reportedly similar to that of the actual L3 built into the processor's core complex die (CCD) that holds the CPU cores.

AMD reports the processor has 144MB of total cache, which isn’t entirely accurate as it includes the 64MB of L3 cache, the 64MB from the 3D V-Cache, and 16MB of L2 cache. This already adds up to 144MB, which does not include the processor's L1 cache or other cache systems.

Like the Ryzen 9 9950X, the Ryzen 9 9950X3D has two CCDs, each containing eight CPU cores, and the 3D V-Cache chip is located directly beneath one of the two CCDs. This tight packaging is essential as it reduces latency and helps to support faster operations and more bandwidth, but it has also caused some issues in the past.

Previous generations of 3D V-Cache placed the cache chip on top of the CCD instead, which caused some thermal issues for the CPU cores and hurt performance. AMD switched to putting the cache chip underneath the CCD, starting with the AMD Ryzen 9 9800X3D released last fall, and this arrangement has shown to be less problematic so far. You still get some additional heat on the CPU cores from the cache chip, but the CPU cores are better cooled in this arrangement, which results in a smaller performance hit.

To further avoid the negative consequences of the 3D V-Cache, AMD places a cache chip under only one of the CCDs. That way, the other CCD doesn’t have to deal with the additional heat from the cache chip and can run at higher clock speeds. At the same time, the extra cache can help performance in specific workloads that are particularly bandwidth-hungry. This has shown to be beneficial in games under certain conditions, like gaming at 1080p with sky-high frame rates or heavy archive work.

According to AMD, the Ryzen 9 9950X3D should perform similarly to the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D in games, thanks to the 3D V-Cache. The firm reports that it observed about a 1% performance difference on average, which is statistically insignificant. At the same time, thanks to the additional eight cores, the Ryzen 9 9950X3D should have more potent overall performance in other applications that don’t benefit from the extra cache.

This configuration also enabled AMD to keep the thermal design power (TDP) rating relatively high for the Ryzen 9950X3D. On earlier processors, like the last-gen AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D that also had a 3D V-Cache chip on one CCD and one CCD without it, the TDP was set down to 120 watts to avoid damaging the components from excess heat. With the 9950X3D, the TDP is set at 170W, just like the standard Ryzen 9 9950X, which was also key to keeping the clock speed at 5.7GHz, as a lower TDP likely would have forced slower clock speeds.

Meet the Second Most Powerful 3D V-Cache CPU

As noted up top, AMD also announced the Ryzen 9 9900X3D, which requires less explanation, having been through the 9950X3D in detail. This processor is only slightly behind the 9950X3D in overall specs, with a dozen CPU cores and a max clock speed of 5.5GHz.

This model's combined L2, L3, and 3D V-Cache add up to 140MB, and it has a 120W TDP. In most applications, the additional cores should give the 9900X3D a noticeable leg up over the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, while gaming performance should be relatively similar.

Ryzen 9 9000X3D CPUs Coming Q1

AMD is set to release both the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and the Ryzen 9 9900X3D sometime in Q1 2025, but an exact release date hasn’t been disclosed for either chip. We also don’t have pricing information now, but we can get a rough idea from the existing Ryzen 9 9950X and the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X, which retail for $649 and $499, respectively.

The 3D V-Cache versions will undoubtedly cost more than this, with my rough estimate being that the Ryzen 9 9950X3D will cost around $799, and the Ryzen 9 9900X3D will cost about $599. However, this is only an estimate based on existing products and previous generations, so don’t be surprised to see the prices differ when they launch.

I'll have to wait until we get samples on hand before I can also determine how these will perform against the competition. I have little doubt that these new chips will perform better than Intel's Arrow Lake processors at gaming, which have proven mediocre gaming silicon. Arrow Lake has potent general processing performance, however. Though AMD said these new CPUs would perform well against the competition in other applications, we will have to wait until I can independently test these processors to know how they compare.