AMD unveils their next 3D V-Cache based processor gracing the Ryzen 9 lineup. Enter the Ryzen 9 9950X3D CPU.
Product on Review: Ryzen 9 9950X3D Processor
Manufacturer: AMD
MSRP: US: $699
Fresh from shaking up the GPU landscape with RDNA4, AMD are returning with a second set of significant desktop hardware releases in as many weeks. Today they’re once again setting their sights on the CPU through a fresh flagship and the continuation of perhaps their most impactful technology in recent years for gaming: 3D V-Cache. Yes, it’s time to take a look at the Ryzen 9 9950X3D.
Sharing many features with the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, the 9950X3D builds on it significantly through the activation of a second CCD which adds eight more physical cores to the package. This 16-core, 32-thread behemoth therefore caters to the hardcore gamer who does more than game, be it video editing, other forms of content creation, or simply workhorse applications which can take advantage of all those extra cores over the 9800X3D.
The processor is a slot-in upgrade for the AM5 platform, i.e. the whole gamut of 800-series and (after a suitable BIOS update) 600-series motherboards. The vast majority should be able to cater to its power requirements, thereby marrying relatively affordable components with a processor that will add a new dimension to a system’s capabilities.
In this release the Ryzen 9 9950X3D is joined by the Ryzen 9 9900X3D, a 12-core/24-thread variant with 3D V-Cache embedded under one of its 6-core CCDs. Both processors are pegged relatively closely to their 9950X and 9900X in terms of headline operating frequency, reflecting the improved package design in this generation’s X3D models. Priced at $699 and $599 respectively, they’re a small $50 MSRP premium over their non-3D V-Cache counterparts.
These new processors supersede but don’t replace the 9800X3D in AMD’s product stack. The previously top of the line CPU will remain in place as an 8-core gaming thoroughbred with, one hopes, slightly less price volatility long-term. At an MSRP of $479, it should still be the processor of choice for pure gamers while the new chips occupy a niche in simultaneous content creation niche.
We’ve already seen the performance on offer from the 9800X3D, so does the 9950X3D build on the incredible results we encountered only a matter of months ago? Let’s find out!
Technical Specifications & Features
Name:- AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D
Series:- Ryzen 9000 Series
Form Factor:- Desktops , Boxed Processor
Former Codename:- Granite Ridge
CPU Socket:- AM5
Architecture:- Zen 5
Processor Technology for CPU Cores:- TSMC 4nm FinFET
Processor Technology for I/O Die:- TSMC 6nm FinFET
Package Die Count:- 3
No. of CPU Cores:- 16
No. of Threads:- 32
Max. Boost Clock:- Up to 5.7 GHz
Base Clock :- 4.3 GHz
L1 Cache:- 1280 KB
L2 Cache:- 16 MB
L3 Cache:- 128 MB
Memory Support:- DDR5
Max Memory: 192GB, Dual-Channel
PCI-Express:- PCIe 5.0
PCIe Lanes:- 28 (24 Usable, 4 allocated to Chipset)
iGPU:- AMD Radeon Graphics (RNDA2)
CU Count:- 2
Freq:- 2000Mhz
Default TDP:- 170W
CCD Size: 2 x 70.6mm^2
CCD Transistor Count: 8.6bn (17.2bn Total)
IOD Size: 122mm^2
Unlocked for Overclocking:- Yes
AMD EXPO™ Memory Overclocking Technology:- Yes
Precision Boost Overdrive:- Yes
Curve Optimizer Voltage Offsets:- Yes
CPU Boost Technology:- Precision Boost 2
AMD Ryzen™ Master Support:- Yes
Supporting Chipsets:- A620 , X670E , X670 , B650E , B650 , X870E , X870 , B840 , B850
Instruction Set:- x86-64
Supported Extensions:- AES , AVX512 , AVX2 , AVX , FMA3 , MMX-plus , SSE2 , SSE4.2, SSE4A , SSE4.1 , SSE3 , SSSE3 , SSE , x86-64
Thermal Solution (PIB):- Not Included
Max. Operating Temperature (Tjmax):- 95°C
OS Support:- Windows 11 – 64-Bit Edition , Windows 10 – 64-Bit Edition , RHEL x86 64-Bit , Ubuntu x86 64-Bit
Series:- Ryzen 9000 Series
Form Factor:- Desktops , Boxed Processor
Former Codename:- Granite Ridge
CPU Socket:- AM5
Architecture:- Zen 5
Processor Technology for CPU Cores:- TSMC 4nm FinFET
Processor Technology for I/O Die:- TSMC 6nm FinFET
Package Die Count:- 3
No. of CPU Cores:- 16
No. of Threads:- 32
Max. Boost Clock:- Up to 5.7 GHz
Base Clock :- 4.3 GHz
L1 Cache:- 1280 KB
L2 Cache:- 16 MB
L3 Cache:- 128 MB
Memory Support:- DDR5
Max Memory: 192GB, Dual-Channel
PCI-Express:- PCIe 5.0
PCIe Lanes:- 28 (24 Usable, 4 allocated to Chipset)
iGPU:- AMD Radeon Graphics (RNDA2)
CU Count:- 2
Freq:- 2000Mhz
Default TDP:- 170W
CCD Size: 2 x 70.6mm^2
CCD Transistor Count: 8.6bn (17.2bn Total)
IOD Size: 122mm^2
Unlocked for Overclocking:- Yes
AMD EXPO™ Memory Overclocking Technology:- Yes
Precision Boost Overdrive:- Yes
Curve Optimizer Voltage Offsets:- Yes
CPU Boost Technology:- Precision Boost 2
AMD Ryzen™ Master Support:- Yes
Supporting Chipsets:- A620 , X670E , X670 , B650E , B650 , X870E , X870 , B840 , B850
Instruction Set:- x86-64
Supported Extensions:- AES , AVX512 , AVX2 , AVX , FMA3 , MMX-plus , SSE2 , SSE4.2, SSE4A , SSE4.1 , SSE3 , SSSE3 , SSE , x86-64
Thermal Solution (PIB):- Not Included
Max. Operating Temperature (Tjmax):- 95°C
OS Support:- Windows 11 – 64-Bit Edition , Windows 10 – 64-Bit Edition , RHEL x86 64-Bit , Ubuntu x86 64-Bit
Comparative Specifications
Processor Overview
In common with the rest of the Ryzen 9000-series, the 9950X3D is a Zen 5 design built for the AM5 platform. AMD has continued to opt for TSMC’s 4NM lithography for the frequency-sensitive CCD and 6NM for the IOD, a component that is less sensitive to the benefits of the smaller process node.
The Ryzen 9000-series also continues to be built with the chiplet design principles they’ve leveraged since the 3000-series, but with considerable improvements to the underlying core architecture and manufacturing process that make it a significant improvement over the older series.
The 9950X3D consists of two CCDs and a single IOD packaged on a single substrate. Each CCD has all eight cores unlocked with support for two threads per core for a total of 16 per die (and 32 overall). Cores have 80KB private L1 Cache and 1MB private L2 Cache, while a 32MB L3 Cache pool is shared across all cores on the CCD.
3D V-Cache
AMD’s 3D V-Cache is an additional large pooled cache present on CPUs with the X3D suffix. Ryzen 9000X3D-series CPUs boast 64MB of 3D V-Cache that acts as an ancillary store of cached data prior to requesting from system memory.
3D V-Cache is faster and can be accessed with much lower latency than system memory, considerably accelerating workloads which can exploit it effectively. Time-sensitive applications such as gaming have benefited significantly from its introduction as this fast data store reduces how often slow data requests need to be made, slow requests that can cripple frame rates on even high-end graphics hardware.
AMD’s 9000X3D-series packages the 3D V-Cache slightly differently to the 7000X3D- and 5000X3D-series. Rather than being stacked on top of the CCD, acting as an temperature insulating layer for those cores, it places the cache under the CCD. This subtle change significantly improved stability at higher voltages and operating temperatures, allowing the X3D-chip to all-but match the operating frequencies of their non-X3D counterparts.
Challenges
One vulnerability of this approach is that the performance characteristics of a CCD with 3D V-Cache differs quite a bit from one without the cache. For single CCD parts like the 9800X3D and 7800X3D that’s not a big deal, but it can be crippling to performance for CPUs with a mix of CCD types like the 7950X3D and 7900X3D if the Operating System doesn’t account for it. Workloads that can take best advantage of the cache need to
1. Be aware the cache exists, and
2. Be allocated to and remain on the CCD associated with the cache
2. Be allocated to and remain on the CCD associated with the cache
Process thread management at the OS level is therefore deeply important. Core affinity, where the OS is aware that a process can benefit from the capabilities of a particular core(s) and will seek to keep the process located there, is extremely useful. Core parking, which disables certain cores when the system has no use for them and therefore reduces the chances a process will get nudged to them by other management logic, is another tool in the OS toolbox. Finally, the thread management system needs to be aware of processes which benefit most from the 64MB of additional cache, i.e. typically, but not limited to, videogames.
Since the introduction of mismatched core types on Intel’s desktop processor line, and wider use of 7950X3D/7900X3D processors on AM5, efficient detection and allocation of increasingly diverse CPU resources has become a greater priority for Windows. Common symptoms of it failing to do so are poorer 1% and 0.1% lows in videogame benchmarking and gameplay experience which can be extremely frustrating to diagnose and troubleshoot for non-experts.
—
In most other respects the Ryzen 9 9950X3D is identical to the Ryzen 9 9950X we reviewed last year. Underlying aspects of the processor, particularly operating voltages and temperatures, will mean that dynamic frequency boosting characteristics will be subtly different however, and we would generally expect maximum boost clocks to be lower long-term for the X3D part. The innate variability of silicon quality between chips will tend to mask empirical observation of these differences.
Test Setup & Testing
For the purpose of testing the 9950X3D we used the X870E AORUS MASTER since it is placed as a high-end motherboard, this should give us the capabilities of showing the true potential of this chip.
CPU being tested
AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3DTEST SETUP
Cooling CORSAIR H150i ELITE LCDMotherboard X870E AORUS MASTER
Memory 64GB CORSAIR Dominator Platinum RGB 5200MHz DDR5
Graphics ZOTAC RTX 3070 Ti HOLO Extreme
Storage CORSAIR Force LX 512GB SSD
PSU Corsair RM 1000 80 Plus Gold Certified PSU
Monitor AOC U2879VF
BENCHMARKS
Cinebench R23 – Single/Multi-core CPU Renderingx264 HD 4.0 – 1st and 2nd pass encoding
SiSoftware SANDRA – CPU & Memory benchmarks
POV-RAY – CPU Ray Tracing
TrueCrypt – CPU Encryption Read/Write
AIDA64 – CPU benchmarks & Memory
PCMARK 10 – CPU Productivity
Davinci Resolve – Puget Benchmark
Blender – Classroom Benchmark
Games – Assassin’s Creed Odyssey & Total War: WARHAMMER II
OTHER SOFTWARE
Temperature Analysis: CoreTempStress Testing Software: AIDA64 Stability Test
CPU Specification Monitoring: CPU-Z
Temperatures
Below are the temperatures for each of the CPUs – without any overclock applied. We’ve also compared to previously released AMD and Intel counterparts (which we’ve also benchmarked against on the subsequent pages too):
Power Consumption
It’s interesting to note the power consumption across all processors. Although they are using a combination of different motherboard chipsets, energy results can fluctuate between manufacturers due to the features and specifications that are integrated. First of all, for the idle tests the system is cold booted into Windows and no additional applications are executed – the watts are noted on the external energy monitor we use and then the system is loaded with 3DMark FireStrike – watts are again monitored for the duration of the test and the highest rated wattage result is then noted down. Below are the results of this energy test.
Ray Tracing Performance – POV-Ray 3.7
Persistence of Vision Raytracer’s PovRay is a free and open source 3D animator application with versions for computers with different operating systems.
This product allows users to build their custom 3D worlds with excellent quality despite their computer’s hardware. It has adjustable options for levels of radiance, refraction, and reflection. Calculation time may vary depending on the computer model, but PovRay can adapt to many computer builds, and is supported by the open source community.
This product allows users to build their custom 3D worlds with excellent quality despite their computer’s hardware. It has adjustable options for levels of radiance, refraction, and reflection. Calculation time may vary depending on the computer model, but PovRay can adapt to many computer builds, and is supported by the open source community.
AES Encryption Performance – TrueCrypt 7.1a
TrueCrypt is a discontinued source-available freeware utility used for on-the-fly encryption (OTFE). It can create a virtual encrypted disk within a file or encrypt a partition or (under Microsoft Windows except Windows 8 with GPT) the entire storage device (pre-boot authentication).
Encoding Performance – X264 HD
Simply put, this test measures how fast your machine can encode a short, DVD quality MPEG-2 video clip into a high-quality x264 video clip. What’s x264, you ask? It’s more or less the next-generation Xvid/DivX codec. I think it’s ideal for a benchmark because the application (x264.exe) reports fairly accurate compression results (in frames per second) for each pass of the video encoding process, and it uses multi-core processors very efficiently.
x264 HD gives results for 2 passes when compressing an MPEG-2 clip into x264. It presents 4 separate results for each pass giving a total of 8 – all results are given in FPS. For each pass I have averaged out the results.
Processing Features Performance – AIDA64
AIDA64 Product Page
This simple integer benchmark focuses on the branch prediction capabilities and the misprediction penalties of the CPU. It finds the solutions for the classic “Queens problem” on a 10 by 10 sized chessboard. At the same clock speed theoretically the processor with the shorter pipeline and smaller misprediction penalties will attain higher benchmark scores. For example — with HyperThreading disabled — the Intel Northwood core processors get higher scores than the Intel Prescott core based ones due to the 20-step vs 31-step long pipeline. CPU Queen test uses integer MMX, SSE2 and SSSE3 optimizations.
Memory Transfer Performance – AIDA64
AIDA64 Product PageThis simple integer benchmark focuses on the branch prediction capabilities and the misprediction penalties of the CPU. It finds the solutions for the classic “Queens problem” on a 10 by 10 sized chessboard. At the same clock speed theoretically the processor with the shorter pipeline and smaller misprediction penalties will attain higher benchmark scores. For example — with HyperThreading disabled — the Intel Northwood core processors get higher scores than the Intel Prescott core based ones due to the 20-step vs 31-step long pipeline. CPU Queen test uses integer MMX, SSE2 and SSSE3 optimizations.
Processing Power Performance – Cinebench R23
CINEBENCH can measure systems with up to 64 processor threads. This test scene contains approximately 2,000 objects which in turn contain more than 300,000 polygons in total, and uses sharp and blurred reflections, area lights, shadows, procedural shaders, antialiasing, and much more. The result is displayed in points (pts). The higher the number, the faster your processor.
Bandwidth Performance – SiSoftware SANDRA
SiSoftware Product PageSANDRA isn’t always a benchmark that is included in hardware reviews but I believe it shouldn’t be ignored. SANDRA provides a vigorous package that tests your system in a rather large array of benchmarks. There are many aspects of benchmark that can be executed. We will be considering – CPU and memory tests.
Overall System Performance – PCMark 10
PCMark 10 Product Page
Developed in partnership with Benchmark Development Program members Acer, AMD, Condusiv Technologies, Dell, HGST, HP, Intel, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Samsung, SanDisk, Seagate and Western Digital, PCMark 10 is the latest version in FutureMark’s popular series of PC benchmarking tools. Improving on previous releases, PCMark 10 includes new tests using popular applications from Adobe and Microsoft.
4K Editing Performance – DaVinci Resolve PugetBench
DaVinci Resolve is not only an industry-standard coloring tool, but also includes features for video editing, VFX, and more. While we also have benchmarks for Premiere Pro, After Effects, and other creative applications, every application will utilize the hardware in a computer in very different and unique ways which can make it extremely difficult to determine exactly what hardware will give the end user the best possible performance.
Rendering Performance – Blender
Blender is a free and open-source 3D computer graphics software toolset used for creating animated films, visual effects, art, 3D printed models, motion graphics, interactive 3D applications, virtual reality, and computer games. Blender’s features include 3D modeling, UV unwrapping, texturing, raster graphics editing, rigging and skinning, fluid and smoke simulation, particle simulation, soft body simulation, sculpting, animating, match moving, rendering, motion graphics, video editing, and compositing.
Please note: Blender has recently been updated and the metric for results has changed with the new update, rendering our historical benchmarks void – hence why we have less results for this benchmark, taking on the new samples per minute metric.
Gaming Performance – AC: Odyssey & Total War: WARHAMMER II
It’s important for us to perform a number of game benchmarks as well as the synthetic tests because gamers will want to know if there are any significant benefits. So here we have two recent gaming titles benchmarked with the RTX 3070 Ti. Both gaming titles are CPU-intensive – AC Odyssey is the last AC title in the series to be CPU-bound. Valhalla uses DX12 API.
Conclusion
The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D not only delivers top-tier gaming performance but also reinforces AMD’s dominance in the ongoing battle with Intel. With 3D V-Cache now available in a flagship 16-core, 32-thread processor, AMD has given gamers and professionals a powerful tool that delivers exceptional performance in latency-sensitive applications. While Intel continues to push high clock speeds and aggressive hybrid core architectures, AMD’s efficiency and cache technology provide a compelling advantage in real-world gaming scenarios, often giving it the edge over the competition.
Beyond gaming, the 9950X3D builds upon the strengths of the standard 9950X, offering an excellent balance of single-threaded and multi-threaded performance. Whether for gaming, content creation, or professional workloads, it provides a well-rounded experience that competes favourably with Intel’s best. More importantly, AMD has managed to do this while maintaining strong power efficiency, which is an area where Intel has struggled in recent generations. The improved thermal performance of the 9950X3D further cements its position as a more efficient and manageable choice for high-performance computing.
In the broader picture, AMD continues to stand out as the better choice for most users due to its superior value, broader feature set, and long-term upgrade potential. Unlike Intel, which frequently requires new motherboard chipsets for each CPU generation, AMD has a track record of supporting existing platforms for multiple years, making upgrades more convenient and cost-effective. Additionally, AMD processors offer strong multi-core performance, extensive PCIe lane support, and high-speed memory compatibility at competitive pricing, making them a more versatile option for both gamers and professionals.
Overall, the Ryzen 9 9950X3D is another major win for AMD in its battle against Intel. By refining its technology, improving efficiency, and continuing to offer the best combination of features and value, AMD maintains its lead in the high-performance CPU market. Whether you’re a gamer, a content creator, or a power user looking for the best possible experience, AMD’s latest flagship processor remains the standout choice.
Pros
+ Top-tier gaming performance
+ Builds on the greatness of the 9950X
+ Excellent single & multi-thread performance
+ Exceptional power efficiency
+ Improved thermal performance compared to prev. gen
+ 3D V-Cache now available for flagship 16C/32T offering
Cons
-None
+ Top-tier gaming performance
+ Builds on the greatness of the 9950X
+ Excellent single & multi-thread performance
+ Exceptional power efficiency
+ Improved thermal performance compared to prev. gen
+ 3D V-Cache now available for flagship 16C/32T offering
Cons
-None
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