AMD has finally completed its high-end desktop CPU range, revealing the Ryzen 9 9950X3D and Ryzen 9 9900X3D at CES 2025. Despite earlier expectations, there is no increase in L3 cache. The performance improvements from generation to generation are not particularly remarkable, which was somewhat anticipated.
Ryzen 9 9950X3D Specs
The Ryzen 9 9950X3D features a 16-core design with a total cache of 144 MB and a boost clock reaching 5.7 GHz, while its TDP stands at 170 Watts. Although its boost clock is the same as the previous model (Ryzen 9 7950X3D), the additional 50 Watts of TDP might allow for better performance.
Ryzen 9 9900X3D Overview
On the other hand, the Ryzen 9 9900X3D comes with 12 cores, 140 MB of cache, a boost clock of 5.5 GHz, and a TDP of 120 Watts. Even though it shares the same TDP as its Zen 4 counterpart, it's slightly slower by 0.1 GHz for reasons that aren't entirely clear. Overclocking might compensate for this, but there's currently no information confirming if these two models allow for it.
Performance Claims
AMD asserts that the Ryzen 9 9950X3D delivers an 8% performance boost in gaming and a 13% improvement in content creation compared to the Ryzen 9 7950X3D. Unsurprisingly, it outperforms Intel's Arrow Lake-based Core Ultra 9 285K, achieving a 20% advantage in gaming and a 10% lead in content creation.
Looking closely at AMD's testing setup, it's noted that they utilize Nvidia GPUs for their internal evaluations. The CPUs were assessed on their respective Z/X motherboards, with 32 GB of DDR5-6000 RAM and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090. These tests took place in November 2024 on a Windows 11 Pro system.
Of course, these are claims made by AMD itself, and independent tests will ultimately reveal the true performance of the Ryzen 9 9900X3D and Ryzen 9 9950X3D. Even considering AMD's own figures, they do not appear to be strong upgrades for those already using Zen 4 X3D CPUs.
