AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D: What Real Users Actually Think

Same MSRP as 7950x3D with a higher manufacturing cost means AMD is cutting some margin here.

Glad I didn't wait and just got the 9800x3D instead.

Such a shame they didn't do two X3D CCDs. Not because games would actually benefit from more cores with cache, because windows can't assign processes to cores properly and the xbox game bar thing is awful.

That's the best you can get, even considering future proofing. If all you do is game, consider the 9800x3d and save yourself $200. It has identical gaming performance.

Core parking will be a thing regardless of whether one CCD has 3d cache or both — the issue is the CCD-to-CCD latency, hence why 9950x needs to park its second CCD in order to provide optimal gaming performance.

This is one of a few reviews that has updated testing to use the GeForce RTX 5090. The processor does matter even at 4K.

AMD already has a major lead on Intel. There isn't a single thing consumer grade Intel does better than ryzen at this point.

Those are the same prices that the 7900X3D and 7950X3D launched at two years ago. Adjusting for inflation, they would be $636 and $742 today. The 5900X and 5950X launched at $549 and $799 in 2020, which would be $676 and $984 today.

If price doesn't matter, 9950x3d is the best you can get right now.

The 9950X3D is a straight upgrade, there is no clock speed deficit versus the 9950X. Not all workloads benefit from the extra L3 cache however, it is mostly games that see big gains.

If you want the best performance possible for gaming at this time, then go with the 9800x3d. It's faster than the 9900x3d and about the same as the 9950x3d since it does not have the latency that multiple ccds come with. The 9950x3d only performs better if the core scheduler works in favour of the ccds. Otherwise the 9800x3d is faster.

9950X is if you do CPU heavy productivity only and very little gaming. 9950X3D is for a machine that has to do both (productivity and gaming) very well or for game devs. Both will perform almost the same in productivity, but the 9950X3D will perform way better in games than the 9950X.

For strictly gaming the 9800x3d is the best bang for your buck, but if you need the extra cores for your workload then I really don't think the extra €200 is worth it for the x3d.

In this case 9950X3D it is — when your use case is 55% gaming and 45% workstation.

They're not meant to be better than the 9800x3d for gaming. It's so you can have the gaming prowess of X3D in a productivity chip.

Go with the 9950x3d, if you have the money. It's both the best gaming CPU on the market (tied with the 9800x3d) and the best workstation CPU that AMD makes.

A 9950x3D is exactly what I wanted — 8 'regular' cores with superior compression, editing, etc. performance along with 8 x3D cores for superior gaming. It's the best of both worlds for people like me.

9800x3d is perfect for gaming and editing. 9950x3d is better for general productivity and marginally so for gaming.

Its a big deal bc its pretty much the fastest CPU period, for both gaming and productivity. But if that means anything useful to you really depends on your need and what you want to do with your PC. If you only need gaming performance then 9800x3d is the way to go. But if one wants a all powerful, zero-compromise computer for both tasks then the 9950x3d is the obvious choice.

L3 cache does make a huge difference. Instead of looking at synthetic benchmarks, look for gaming benchmarks. That should show the difference between the 9950x and 9950x3d. The 9950x3d and 9900x3d are on the same level of gaming performance as, or actually a tiny smidge above the 9800x3d.

I don't just game on my PC and also do rendering and animation for work. This seems great for me. I'm not sure why people who only game think this would be the CPU for them. Comments like 'I'm glad I didn't wait' are silly if you only game. Of course the 9800x3d is the best for that.

The 3D V-cache doesn't intrinsically make application performance worse. Previous X3D was only worse in applications due to the compromises that had to be made from a power/thermal standpoint to make 3D V-cache work. Since the 3D V-cache was on top of the CCD, that CCD was less effective at conducting heat into the IHS and had to be clocked lower as a result. With this gen they flipped cache and cores which solved that issue.

With the 3d cache AMD has, I would go with that all day. When AMD launched the 3d line it was a new world for my racing. Especially with lots of cars in the grid.

The 9950x3D is sort of the best of both the productivity and gaming worlds. If you want the productivity of the 9950X but also want to game like you have a 9800x3D, then this is the chip with no compromises. Is it worth it? Most people would be fine gaming on a 9950x or doing production on a 9800x3D. But for those who want both, with no sacrifice in either, this is it.

I had so many issues with the 7950x3d that I had to go with a non x3d cpu but now I just got a 9800x3d. Life is peaceful without constantly worrying about which ccd my games are running on and if windows will manage scheduling well all the time.

If all you're doing is gaming, save yourself money and get the 9800x3d. If you do productivity based stuff too, then the 9950x3d will be capable of both gaming and that.

for cpu only related task? yeah, its almost the same as 9950X. but for task that needs a lot of L3 cache such as gaming? boy you gonna see the difference to the moon. 40-50% performance boost from the normal 9950X is the hype (also it beats 9800X3D in most cases so theres that).

I'm doing a new build mostly for gaming. I ordered both a 9800x3D and a 9950x3D. I figured I would wait for some more real world tests and decide which one to keep. Right now, I am leaning towards the 9800x3D. Gaming performance between the two is very close, with a small edge to the 9950x3D. TechPowerUp shows Switch emulation is actually better on the 9800x3D. 9800x3D seems to draw less power and run cooler during gaming — important for SFF.

I like quite a few people use their PC in multiple roles, the 9950x3d is the best multi-role consumer chip on the market right now. It combines the high core count needed to run CPU-intensive work like running multiple VMs from a single PC while also being able to game on.

For pure gaming they'll be very similar in games that don't use over 8 cores (most games out there). For games that can, like cities skylines 2, the 9950x3D will be better. However the main benefit of the 9950x3D is for productivity, it should be the best all round gaming + productivity CPU, but is only really worth the premium for people who use it for both.

If you game at 4k with an ultra high end GPU, the 9950x3d tends to be better. If you game at 1080p or 1440p the 9800x3d tends to be better. Also something to think about, If you do any heavy workloads like graphic design, 3d Cad, or big data excel work, the 9950x3d is DRASTICALLY better. I tried them both and stuck with the 9950x3d. I game at 4k and I see no frame rate gap, and my graphic design work is seamless.

for gaming 9950X3D is a waste of money

Of the options go 9950x3d for future compatibility of the am5. I had initially done an intel 265k build because intel is better for single core performance of iracing however after doing a side by side of 9800x3d vs 265k the AMD was better all around for my needs. Also comparing the AMD performance vs Intel in games, AMD outperformed the intel by a significant margin.

The 9800x3D with a 4090 is insanely performative in VR. I knew I have been CPU bottlenecked for years and expected a decent improvement, but expectations were still blown out of the water. AMD made a believer out of me with the 3D cache. Can't speak to more recent Intel processors, but will stand behind a 9800x3D or 9950x3D recommendation all day long.

It won't have the same issue as the 7950X3D where in some cases it performed slightly worse in productivity compared to its non-X3D counterpart due to the lower frequency. So it might finally be the advertised 'best of both worlds' cpu rather than just a gaming-with-productivity-tax chip.

I also have the same build with the 9950X and the RTX 5070 ti 16GB and I use my PC for both gaming and doing productive work. I play both story and FPS games in 1440p and I can get around 160-180 FPS on Ultra settings with no AI frame gen.

9800x3d, best for gaming. 9950x, best for working. 9950x3d, best of both world.

Just bought a 9950x, and everything is buttery smooth. Apparently they've worked out the issues with the 16 core CPU and the 3D VCache, but I doubt anyone would really feel the difference between godlike and godlike+ performance.

I don't need to upgrade. I have a 7950x3d. But at those prices, I might just sell my CPU and buy a 9950x3D. I like playing games and also enjoy not having to wait so damn long while compiling anything either work related or game shader related. I don't care for 8 core CPUs anymore.

with the 9000x3d cpus, there's no drawback to using them outside of gaming like the 7000x3d cpus. with the 9000x3d cpus, there's benchmarks where they actually beat their non-x3d counterparts.

Alright, welp, with this info I'll keep my 9800x3D for gaming and my second rig 13900KS for productivity. Will just wait for the 5090 for the 9800x3d rig.

A top tier gaming, content creation, and development beast CPU, all in one. In Windows, it'll turn itself into a 8-core X3D for games, then run with asymmetric L3 for everything else.