AMD's Ryzen 9000 series desktop processors disappointed many since the chips did not usher in the kind of high-performance uplift people have come to expect from Zen with every generation. However, thanks to optimizations released via Windows update as well as firmware updates, the Zen 5 CPUs started to put up better numbers on both Windows and Linux.
The company, however, has little to worry about in the CPU space as rival Intel is struggling, as its Arrow Lake-S desktop CPUs have not exactly been able to impress the community with what it is offering. It is especially disappointing after a rather promising single-thread performance benchmark of the Ultra 9 285K in the PassMark synthetic test had leaked. Still, real-world apps and games have shown that it is struggling to perform even though Intel claimed earlier that Windows is optimized for this new non-hyperthreaded approach.
Today, AMD has announced its new Ryzen 9800X3D processor. AMD's X3D chips incorporate a special sauce called the 3D V-cache (vertical cache) that stacks a ton of cache vertically on top of each other to drastically increase the amount of last-level cache (LLC) or L3 in a rather small footprint as workloads like games absolutely love it. On the new 9800X3D, there is 96 MB of this new 2nd Gen 3D V-cache for a total cache capacity of 104 MB.
Thus, for a couple of generations now, starting from the Ryzen 5800X3D, AMD chips have generally topped the gaming performance charts compared to corresponding Intel chips, and this time, as well, the company says it's no different.
Aside from a new 3D V-cache, AMD has also modified the way the cache is laid out, which the company claims is helpful in improving the cooling performance of the part. Thus, it is also the first X3D CPU to be unlocked for overclocking.
The company has also explained the performance uplift users can expect from previous generations of AMD parts like the Ryzen 7800X3D and Intel competition. For example, the new 9800X3D is, on average, 20% faster than Intel's 285K and 8% faster than the 7800X3D. AMD also says that some games will exhibit even better performance. The chip has also been measured against Intel's 14900K.
Another area of improvement is gaming smoothness, as the company expects much better minimum frames for the 9800X3D. AMD says:
The 64MB cache memory has been relocated below the processor, which puts the core complex die (CCD) closer to the cooling solution to help keep the “Zen 5” cores cooler, delivering high clock rates and providing up to an average 8% gaming performance improvement compared to our last-gen generation and up to an average 20% faster than the competition.
Combined with the advanced “Zen 5” processor architecture, the AMD 3D V-Cache technology works to attain the highest processor gaming performance on the market. While the generational uplift in average FPS is about 8%, many games such as Star Wars Outlaws will experience double-digit percentage improvements generationally.
What’s more, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor can demonstrate substantial generational improvements in minimum frame rates even when average frame rates are similar, providing the user with an experience that feels smoother, with less stutter – for instance, in The Last Of Us: Part 1, where the Ryzen 7 9800X3D has a similar average frame rate compared to the competition, but a 31% higher 1% low frame rate
AMD has disclosed that the new Ryzen 9 9800X3D was tested against the other CPUs on Windows 11 Pro with an Nvidia RTX 4090 as the discrete GPU. Speaking of Windows 11, VBS or virtualization-based security was enabled, which is known to lower performance even on version 24H2.
In terms of specs, the new 9800X3D, like the 7800X3D and 5800X3D, is also an 8-core 16-thread processor. The chip comes with a higher 120W TDP compared to the predecessors, with a fairly high base clock of 4.7 GHz and a rated boost of 5.2 GHz.
AMD, however, has not announced the pricing of the CPU today. We will likely know more about it closer to November 7th, when the chip will launch.
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