Technology & Positioning
With the 9800X3D AMD introduced their first Zen 5 X3D processor in November last year, and it has already reached legendary status as one of the best processors ever made. While its gaming performance is stellar, it does lag behind when it comes to highly demanding productivity workloads. At CES Las Vegas, in January, AMD confirmed that 3D V-Cache is coming to Ryzen 9, too. Today we have for you the review of the new flagship, the Ryzen 9 9950X3D, which is a mighty 16-core/32-thread processor using a Dual CCD design. One of the chiplets integrates an additional silicon die with 64 MB of 3D V-Cache, while the other chiplet is able to run higher frequencies, because it can run a more aggressive voltage-frequency curve. The increased cache capacity makes it possible to keep important data right inside the CPU. As a result, costly trips to the main memory can be avoided. This provides a significant performance boost, depending on the application of course.

Test Setup
With our 2025 CPU Test System we've updated all games and applications to the newest version and added two more productivity tests, which brings the total number of app tests to 50. We're also using Windows 11 24H2 and made big changes to the list of games, adding the newest titles into the test suite. Just like before we do run both with and without ray tracing enabled, as that affects performance scaling significantly, due to the higher GPU load, which pushes the bottleneck away from the CPU. One of the highlights is that we're now using an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090, which is also the reason why the number of comparison CPUs is so low, it simply takes a long time to build that much benchmark data, this review will be updated as new results become available. Last but not least, the memory speeds have been set to DDR5-6000 CL28 for all processors. I did ask our community whether it would be more fair to run AMD at 6000 CL28, for example, and Intel at higher frequency, but slower latency, like DDR5-7600 CL38, but a consensus was not found, so I opted for the less complicated option—DDR5-6000 CL28 for all.

Application Performance
Application performance of the 9950X3D is fantastic, it even beats the 9950X, which is somewhat unexpected. While it's no surprise that some applications will benefit from the extra cache, we're seeing higher performance across the board in virtually every single test. Taking a closer look at the typical clock frequencies of both processors reveals that on average, the 9950X3D does clock higher than the 9950X. Partly responsible for that is the fact that energy efficiency is a little bit better on the X3D version, or it could simply be that these cores are binned better. Still, this means you won't have to decide "do I focus on applications and prefer the 9950X, or focus on gaming, so I should pick the 9950X3D?"—No, the 9950X3D will give you the best performance, period—as long as you can afford it. Compared to the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, the performance uplift is around 7%, and against the 14900K the improvement is 13%. This confirms once again, that AMD is the leader in the processor space, not only for gaming, but for applications, too. While the 9800X3D is fantastic for gaming, it does fall back in application workloads, especially tasks that scale to a lot of cores run A LOT faster on the 9950X3D, but the processor is more expensive, too, of course. AMD also has support for the AVX512 instruction set, which is beneficial for a handful of specialized applications, but a total non-issue for the general consumer. Intel on the other hand has introduced an NPU for AI acceleration with Arrow Lake, which is missing on Zen 5 desktop processors. That's not a problem either, because at the moment most AI experiences are cloud-based or run on the CPU/GPU.

Gaming Performance
Gaming performance of the 9950X3D is impressive—it beats every single processor on the market, the only exception is the 9800X3D. At 1080p Full HD, which is of course an unrealistic resolution for the RTX 5090, AMD's newest release is almost 10% faster on average than the 9950X without 3D V-Cache. If you look at individual games, which benefit from the larger cache, the differences are even bigger. The 9950X3D is also around 10% faster than the 14900K and 22% faster than the 285K. Last generation's Ryzen 7 7800X3D is still a strong option that's just 3% slower than the 9950X3D. Once you are playing at 4K though, the bottleneck shifts from the CPU to the GPU, which means the differences between all processors get compressed a lot. Here we see only around 10% between the entries in our test group, which isn't that much. If you don't have to own the best, and want to smartly manage your budget, it might make sense to opt for a more affordable CPU and spend the savings on a faster graphics card, where you are getting more FPS for your money.

Integrated Graphics
While the RDNA 2 integrated graphics are not a main selling point of the Ryzen 9950X3D it is still nice to have this option, and it offers good performance for all non-gaming tasks. You'll be able to run all productivity, office, web browsing and media playback apps easily. From a technical perspective, this is the same iGPU as on Ryzen 7000 and 9000 processors, because AMD is using the same IO die, where the iGPU lives. In gaming, the iGPU performance is identical to that of the Ryzen 7000. The added 3D V-Cache doesn't make any difference for iGPU performance. AMD has always made it clear that the iGPU is not for serious gaming, so no complaints here.

Power Consumption
Just like the 9950X, the 9950X3D is designed with a TDP of 170 W, which makes a lot of sense, in this segment people don't want compromises due to TDP, and they are open to other cooling methods, like watercooling. Overall power consumption of the 9950X3D is quite reasonable, reaching 130 W on average in applications, with the top workloads hitting 200 W. In gaming, the power consumption is pretty high tough with 144 W on average, which roughly matches what we've been seeing on 9950X (142 W) and 14900K (140 W). Compared to the 9800X3D, which uses only 75 W, the power draw is almost twice as high. No doubt, the dual CCD design increases power, but I didn't expect to be that much. While energy efficiency is improved over the 14900K, no doubt, it's similar to other Ryzen 9 processors, not nearly as good as what we've seen on the Ryzen 7 models, which use a single CCD.

Cooling Requirements
When AMD designed Socket AM5, they wanted to ensure cooler compatibility with Socket AM4, which means a thicker IHS had to be used, which made cooling more difficult. AMD is also using a 95°C thermal limit, at which the processor will reduce frequency to avoid overheating. Intel raised their limit to 105°C with Arrow Lake, manual tuning allows 115°C, which simplifies cooling greatly, and it's all covered under warranty. I'm happy to report that cooling the 9950X3D is pretty easy. Even with air cooling you'll be able to stay under 95°C, even at full load. Even with a weaker heatsink or when focusing on a quiet system you'll be fine, and it might make sense to allow a little bit of thermal throttling in the most demanding applications at 95°C—Zen 5 is designed to operate at that temperature 24/7 for the lifetime of the processor, so don't worry.

Overclocking
Overclocking the previous X3D processors was locked, you could mess around with BCLK or PBO to gain a few percent, also memory clocks and timings, but your options were limited. The Ryzen 9 9950X3D on the other hand is fully unlocked—you get pretty much the same dials of the other Zen 5 processors. When using PBO to improve the processor's boosting behavior the gains weren't massive, 3% in apps, 1% in gaming, but it's still tempting enough for tweakers to play around with.

Platform
The Ryzen 9950X3D will run great on any AM5 motherboard, even the most affordable ones—there's no reason to pay the absurd prices of some X870E boards. The only thing you have to confirm is that the VRM can provide 170 W, which should be possible on a majority of options available. Like all other Zen 5 processors, the ideal memory configuration is 6000 1:1, or perhaps 6200 1:1. Spending extra on high-frequency DDR5 memory isn't worthwhile because the processor will require an additional divider for these speeds, which slightly diminishes performance, offsetting any advantages from the higher frequency. You should rather focus on low timings.

I'm happy to report that the boot times on AM5 have been improved significantly with the latest BIOS versions and are a total non-issue now. It only takes a few seconds, even after power has been disconnected for a while. Good job, AMD!

Software Requirements
Just like on previous dual-CCD processors, you have to jump through some software hoops for optimum performance. The processor itself isn't able to decide whether a workload should run on the CCDs with extra cache, or the one with higher frequency. Windows isn't of any help either, so AMD decided to hook into Microsoft's Game Bar for game detection. This means that you must install Game Bar, make sure it has the latest game library update, enable Game Mode and hope that everything works correctly. While there is a manual "remember, this is a game" override, I find all this much too complicated for the average Joe. I'm also surprised that AMD hasn't built a software component that's part of the chipset driver that notifies you when everything is set up properly and warns when there are issues. Ideally with "ignore," "remind me later," "I know what I'm doing" choices, so that it doesn't get in your way all the time.

Pricing & Alternatives
AMD wants $700 for the Ryzen 9 9950X3D, which is a hefty price tag—making it the most expensive desktop processor on the market. In return, you get the best application performance, the second-best gaming performance. I still find that investment hard to justify. If your main focus is gaming, then you should definitely opt for the 9800X3D, even the 7800X3D is "close enough." If your main focus is applications, then you might be able to find a good deal on a 14900K, which currently sells for $450. Intel's Arrow Lake 285K is too expensive for what it offers. If gaming is not a priority for you, then the 9950X could align well with your workloads, saving $150 in the process. Today, AMD has also launched the Ryzen 9 9900X3D, which sells for $600. I'll try to get a review sample, so we can find out whether its 12c/24t core-configuration offers a good compromise for gaming and productivity with a lower budget.

Upcoming Releases
Intel's Arrow Lake CPUs have been launched, both K and non-K. Maybe they'll release a KS model, but I doubt that it will bring any significant gains over their existing offerings. AMD's Zen 6 seems to be one more year away. Intel Panther Lake, aka Core Ultra 300 Series is expected to launch at the end of 2025, but that will probably be mobile only. There have been whispers about an Arrow Lake refresh, which could allow Intel to tackle the performance shortcomings observed in certain cases. Although Arrow Lake possesses impressive raw power, it hasn't been effectively converting that into optimal FPS figures for gaming and related workloads—or they canceled it and are focusing on their next-gen, which would be "Beast Lake," expected for 2026.

In conclusion, AMD has reinforced its dominance in the CPU market with the 9950X3D, and it appears that no competitor will soon be able to challenge that position in the near future.