The biggest upgrade to the Ryzen 9 9950X3D, aside from the performance of AMD’s new Zen 5 cores, is the location of the 3D V cache layer. Previously, this was on Zen 3 and Zen 4 cores, which slightly affected cooling and overall performance. The 3D V-Cache layer now sits beneath the 9950X3D’s Zen 5 cores, giving the hottest elements direct access to the CPU fan’s heatsink. The 9950X3D has the same 170-watt TDP (thermal design profile) as its 2D variant, so cooling shouldn’t be much of an issue, and unlike most other 3D V-cache chips, it’s also fully overclockable.
In use: absolute power
I expected the Ryzen 9 9950X3D to outperform every other PC processor I’d tested, but I didn’t expect the jump to be so dramatic. In Geekbench 6’s single-threaded CPU benchmark test, it was 20 percent faster than the Ryzen 9 7900X I used before. The 9950X3D was also 33% faster in the same multi-threaded benchmark. (I didn’t have a 7950X3D for a direct comparison, but based on an average of 3DMark user scores, it scored 14,290. The 9950X3D scored 17,025, or 19% faster, in my tests.)
I’ve only seen better results with Apple hardware. The M4 chip is slightly faster for single-threaded tasks, while Mac Studio’s M4 Max and M2 Ultra chips outperform AMD’s multi-threaded Geekbench 6 results. However, you can build a solid Ryzen 9 system for much less than the $2,000 starting price of the Mac Studio M4 Max, even when you factor in the $700 price of the 9950X3D.
Apple is not always at the forefront. In the multi-threaded Cinebench 2024 benchmark, the 9950X3D performed slightly better than the M4 Max chip. This result is also a sign that AMD’s flagship chip will be a boon for Windows-based content creators. Both the 9950X3D and the M4 Max took 14 seconds to transcode a 4K clip to 1080p, the fastest result we’ve ever seen.
The 9950X3D’s biggest advantage is that it can handle years of demanding games without hindering high-end GPUs like NVIDIA’s RTX 5080 and 5090. On my system, which uses an RTX 5090 and 64GB of RAM, the 9950X3D achieved 195 fps. Cyberpunk 2077 when playing in 1080p with high graphics settings. The Ryzen 9 7900X, on the other hand, achieves 166 fps with the same GPU and RAM. At higher resolutions, where your graphics card is working harder, you’ll see less of an immediate increase. cyberpunk It managed 64fps in 4K without DLSS upscaling on the 9950X3D, while it struggled to reach 56fps on the 7900X with the same settings.
Especially for 4K, the 9950X3D can be useful for scaling up monitor performance with faster refresh rates. On the 7900X Dragon Age: Guardian of the Veil It ran at a consistent 250 fps in 4K with enhanced graphics and visual settings, but with the newer chip it was 270 fps. If you’re using a 240Hz 4K display with a less powerful GPU, you’ll likely be able to get better top speeds closer to 240fps thanks to 3D V-Cache.
Considering all its performance, I was surprised to see the 9950X3D running at a relatively low temperature of 81.5 degrees Celsius at 100% load. In addition, the resting temperature is between 30 and 35°C, depending on what you are doing. These results are quite impressive for a CPU that can develop up to 170 watts.
Should you buy the Ryzen 9 9950X3D?
Like NVIDIA’s $2000 RTX 5090, I can’t easily recommend the $700 Ryzen 9 9950X3D for most people. Most gamers would probably be better off with the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, which retails for $479 less. Sure it has half the cores, but most titles don’t use that many. There’s also the $600 12-core 9900X3D, which might be more useful for people who really need lots of CPU cores.
Of course, you can also consider current AMD chips without 3D V cache, such as the Ryzen 7 9700X, which has an MSRP of $359, but currently . But if you’re already looking for an expensive graphics card, it’s probably worth paying a bit more for more L3 cache. When AMD first introduced the 5800X3D, the company claimed that 3D V-Cache alone increased 1080p performance by 15%. As games become more complex and demanding, having more cache available can be even more useful. (And it’s also easier to pay more for a better chip now than to buy a new one in a few years.)
According to der8auer and Ben’s Hardware, Intel plans to bring its version of the technology, called Local Cache, only to the next generation of Xeon server chips (via). blank material). Intel’s current high-end desktop chip, the 24-core i9-14900K, isn’t a fan of gaming, and only has 36MB of L3 cache.
Summary
In any case, the Ryzen 9 9950X3D is another sign that AMD is at a high level. After releasing two excellent mid-range GPUs that showed the company can really compete with NVIDIA, this processor and its 3D V-Cache technology is a reminder that AMD is miles ahead of Intel in many ways. And let’s not forget that it was also the first x86 chip maker to integrate NPUs into laptop and desktop processors. While certainly not the best deal, the 9950X3D is the best desktop processor you can buy today if you can afford it.
