Serious PC gamers agree: AMD’s Ryzen 7 9800X3D has been one of AMD’s most successful processors in recent years, thanks to its game-boosting 3D V-Cache technology that layers in high-speed cache to enable the fastest frame rates possible with your given GPU.
Now, AMD is aiming to build on that momentum with the new AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D, a higher-clocked variant of the 9800X3D that aims to deliver even better gaming performance, thanks to ticked-up clock speeds. AMD is declaring the Ryzen 7 9850X3D as the world’s new fastest gaming processor, as all signs point to it surpassing the Ryzen 7 9800X3D. A big question remains, though, whether it will be a better gaming CPU than AMD’s more robust Ryzen 9 9950X3D.
The 9850X3D Difference
AMD hasn’t detailed all of the specs of the new AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D, but so far, the only confirmed difference between it and the 9800X3D is a boost in the core clock speed. The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D tops out at 5.2GHz, while AMD pushes that to 5.6GHz with the Ryzen 7 9850X3D. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D and the 9850X3D both use the same chips at heart, so it’s possible you could overclock a particularly good sample of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D to match what you’ll get from a stock 9850X3D. But that’s just a theory.
Since they both stem from the same silicon, during manufacture, to determine which chips will become Ryzen 7 9850X3D processors and which will be 9800X3D processors, AMD employs a “binning” process that tests each chip’s capabilities and sorts them accordingly. The processors that go on to be 9850X3D chips prove to run stably at higher clock speeds than those chips destined to be 9800X3D chips. This is why the 9850X3D has a higher clock speed out of the box, but also why you might be able to push some samples of the 9800X3D to nearly those speeds.
Otherwise, both processors share similar specs, and both work on the AMD AM5 socket. Each is loaded with eight AMD “Zen 5”-based CPU cores, which can work on two processing threads each, for a total of 16 threads. The processors also have 32MB of L3 cache, supplemented by a 64MB last-level cache (LLC); these caches help boost performance in certain workloads, most notably while gaming.
(Credit: AMD)
The increase in clock speed alone could enable a performance increase of around 8% over the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, in best-case scenarios. This appears to be roughly in line with AMD’s internal testing, which showed both processors performing relatively similarly, in many cases, with the 9850X3D generally slightly ahead in the slides AMD shared. In a few instances, AMD noted a performance gain of more than 8%, which is likely due to the increase in clock speed alleviating a bottleneck elsewhere in the system.
(Credit: AMD)
AMD would also like you to believe that the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D will be a faster processor for productivity work than rival Intel’s flagship “Arrow Lake” desktop chip, the Core Ultra 9 285K. AMD’s shared testing data shows this in some cases, but the tests AMD focuses on are ones in which the company knew it would hold a significant advantage. (See, for example, the single-core runs of Cinebench–but notably no multi-threaded ones.) In many productivity tests, the Ultra 9 285K should prove faster for productivity work; we’re confident that this will be the case, given that the Intel chip tends to be faster than the higher-end 16-core/32-thread AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D in many productivity tests.
AMD Claims This Is the World’s Fastest Gaming Processor, But Will It Be?
There’s no doubt that at launch, the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D will be faster than the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D, which has led AMD to claim that the Ryzen 7 9850X3D is the world’s fastest gaming processor. This could be true, but there’s also some reason to doubt this claim: AMD has another possible candidate in its own X3D stable.
(Credit: AMD)
That would be the Ryzen 9 9950X3D mentioned earlier. The 9950X3D is a 16-core processor with a turbo clock of 5.7GHz and an even larger cache pool than the Ryzen 7 9850X3D. It features 64MB of L3 cache with a 64MB LLC, giving it 32MB more L3 cache in addition to a slightly higher clock speed and twice the number of CPU cores.
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Due to these advantages, the Ryzen 9 9950X3D could arguably be the true fastest gaming processor, not the 9850X3D. Based on benchmark results I gathered from the Ryzen 9 9950X3D and the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, I can already say unequivocally that the Ryzen 9 9950X3D is a faster gaming processor than the 9800X3D.
(Credit: AMD)
Things are a little less clear-cut when comparing the Ryzen 9 9950X3D and the Ryzen 7 9850X3D, though, and in truth, what is “faster” may depend entirely on the game. With double the number of CPU cores, 32MB more cache, and a slightly higher clock speed, the Ryzen 9 9950X3D should run circles around the Ryzen 7 9850X3D in any heavily threaded workload. Games that can take advantage of more than eight CPU cores will likely perform better on the Ryzen 9 9950X3D, while games that can’t utilize that many cores at once could potentially run a little better on the 9800X3D or the newer 9850X3D due to several architectural and firmware-based factors.
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To determine which is truly the fastest, some firsthand testing will be required. We’ll work that up as soon as we can get a sample of the 9850X3D in hand.
When Can You Buy the Ryzen 7 9850X3D, and for How Much?
AMD did not disclose the exact release date of the coming Ryzen 7 9850X3D, nor did it provide pricing information. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D launched at an MSRP of $479, and the Ryzen 9 9950X3D is priced at $699, which means the Ryzen 7 9850X3D should land somewhere between the two. A straight 8% price increase over the Ryzen 7 9800X3D—to match the increase in clock speed—would put it at around $517. I expect the actual price to be higher, as AMD typically places a premium on its X3D chips. (My guess is it’ll be closer to $549.) I’ll also bet we’ll see this processor launch closer to spring, as AMD has made a habit of releasing new 3D V-Cache processors every spring for the last several years.
At least on paper, the Ryzen 7 9850X3D may not offer good value at my guesstimated price, except in niche gaming scenarios, as I previously mentioned regarding the Ryzen 7 9800X3D. It’s important to note that the benefits of AMD’s 3D V-Cache don’t materialize everywhere. Many applications won’t show a measurable benefit. The performance impact of the additional cache is best observed in games, and it can be situational. Processors with 3D V-Cache show the greatest improvement while running games at 1080p resolution; this performance boost is also detectable, to a lesser extent, at 2K.
(Credit: AMD)
The amount of difference that’s dependent on the CPU also varies according to your graphics card. The less powerful the graphics card you have, the less benefit you will see from 3D V-Cache. Even with the world’s most powerful GPU, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090, you’ll often see little benefit from the 3D V-Cache while running games at 4K with maxed-out graphics settings. (The card itself will be the limiter on the frame rates you’ll see.) For many buyers, running games at 4K and maximum detail settings is the primary reason to want a graphics card like the RTX 5090 in the first place; therefore, the benefit of 3D V-Cache at lower resolutions may be of lesser importance to them. It will be esports enthusiasts (and others who need to maximize frame rates on a high-refresh-rate gaming monitor with a high-end GPU) who will care the most.
AMD’s best Ryzen 7 CPU without 3D V-Cache is the Ryzen 7 9700X, which retails for just $359 while maintaining similar performance to the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, except in games and when gaming at low resolutions. AMD also offers the aforementioned Ryzen 9 9950X3D at $699, which doesn’t levy nearly as big a premium for including the 3D V-Cache technology. It offers far more performance in non-gaming tasks while matching or exceeding the Ryzen 7 9800X3D in gaming workloads. If you are interested in the Ryzen 7 9850X3D, I suggest considering those options as well when the time comes. But it’ll all come down to the ultimate benchmark numbers.
About Our Expert
Michael Justin Allen Sexton
Senior Writer, Hardware
Experience
I have been interested in science and technology for as long as I can remember, spurred on by a fondness for video games. I learned to work in Windows and manipulate files to get buggy games to work, and I learned to build and upgrade PCs for better performance.
In my role at PCMag for the past four years, I’ve deeply enjoyed the opportunity to share my knowledge and expertise. Before PCMag, I wrote for Tom’s Hardware for three years, where I covered tech news, deals, and wrote some hands-on reviews. After working as a PCMag contributor for a time reviewing desktops, PC cases, budget processors, and motherboards, I now focus on testing and reviewing processors and graphics cards and sharing my insights on the industry.
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