AMD will launch a Ryzen 9000 processor with 3D V-Cache next month, which is expected to be the Ryzen 7 9800X3D. We already know a lot about the successor to the popular Ryzen 7 7800X3D, including the release date, but if you’re waiting for AMD’s next generation of X3D models, here’s everything you need to know before its launch.

Everything we know so far about the 7 9800X3D

The Ryzen 7 9800X3D will first launch on November 7

AMD announced the launch of the first Ryzen 9000X3D model on November 7but it is generally expected that for now it will only be the eight-core Ryzen 7 9800X3D, other models with more cores will follow later. The reason is unclear, but by moving the launch forward, AMD may have been concerned that Intel’s Core Ultra 200 Arrow Lake processors had gained an edge over its own Ryzen 9000 models.

Ultimately, both of these launches were disappointing for different reasons and while the AMD Ryzen 9000 Zen 5 processors have seen performance improvements since then thanks to Windows updates as well as BIOS updates, anyone had a Ryzen 9000X3D model on its shortlist to buy closer to Christmas 2024 will no doubt have decided to wait for AMD to launch them given the lackluster benefits offered by AMD and Intel’s previous launches.

The Ryzen 7 9800X3D features a significant change to the location of the additional cache

AMD has had two generations of desktop processors with 3D V-Cache so far, starting with the Ryzen 7 5800X3D and other Ryzen 5000 models, as well as Ryzen 7000 models including the Ryzen 7 7800X3D and Ryzen 9 7950X3D. All of these had the additional L3 cache, also known as 3D V-Cache, added on top of one of the CCDs which hosts eight cores on the processor.

This created a thermal bottleneck because the cores were no longer in direct contact with the heat sink, so even high-end cooling wouldn’t make a difference. The last leak points out that this additional cache is now placed under the CCD, so that once again the cores have direct access to the heatsink and the processor should also be able to handle higher frequencies and voltages. This is an important development because the Ryzen 9000 and the new Zen 5 architecture are not much faster than its predecessor, but the new 3D V-Cache models could be more interesting because they could mean higher frequencies and even overclocking possible.

Why higher frequencies are important

Until now, frequencies were lower for 3D V-Cache models, which meant they suffered from a performance deficit outside of gaming, sometimes making them inferior choices for those who needed to perform tasks other than games. This was especially true when compared to Intel processors which, while less power efficient, offered more consistent performance in gaming and content creation tasks.

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Below we can see the Cinebench scores of many 3D V-Cache processors compared to their standard counterparts and each time the 3D V-Cache models were noticeably slower. In other software, the gap was even greater. If AMD has indeed managed to increase frequencies more than usual, then its Ryzen 9000 3D V-Cache models could be much better all-rounders. Of course, higher frequencies will also improve gaming performance.

How fast is Ryzen

7 9800X3D in Cinebench?

In terms of raw performance, we don’t have much to go on outside of a few select benchmarks. Member of the Anandtech forum igor_kavinsky “(via VideoCardz) posted screenshots of a supposed 9800X3D with Precision Boost Overdrive and other settings enabled, but the stock processor otherwise showed a Cinebench R23 score of 25,258 points. A Ryzen 7 9700X shows 23,325 points with PBO enabled and the Ryzen 7 7800X3D can only manage 17,235 without PBO. Even without any modifications, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D would likely deliver a significantly higher score.

How much will the Ryzen 7 9800X3D cost?

The million-dollar question of course is: How much will the Ryzen 9800X3D and its siblings cost? The Ryzen 7 7800X3D has seen a significant price hike in recent weeks, partly due to a disappointing launch of the Ryzen 9000 series. This won’t have been helped by the equally average launch of the Core Ultra 200 series. ‘Intel, both of which have increased demand for AMD’s existing Ryzen 3D V-Cache models, including the Ryzen 7 7800X3D.

The concern is that AMD can essentially charge whatever it wants for the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, especially if it performs as well as expected. The Ryzen 7 7800X3D had an introductory price of $449, but it recently sold for over $500 before dropping back to around $470 following the announcement of AMD’s Ryzen 9000X3D. Hopefully, prices will be close to those of the Ryzen 7000X3D models.

What other models are there besides the Ryzen 7 9800X3D?

AMD has not yet announced any other Ryzen 9000X3D models, but we can probably expect a Ryzen 9 9900X3D with 12 cores and a Ryzen 9 9950X3D with 16 cores. These could launch any time after what is expected to be the Ryzen 7 9800X3D launch on November 7, with previous rumors pointing to January 2025 coinciding with the CES event in Los Angeles. The 3D V-Cache is rumored to be spread across multiple CCDs, alleviating issues with existing 12- and 16-core 3D V-Cache processors where gaming threads were placed on cores without direct access to the 3D V-Cache, which results in reduced performance.

What about Ryzen 7 9800X3D motherboard compatibility?

The Ryzen 7 9800X3D and other Ryzen 9000X3D models will be compatible with all Socket AM5 motherboards, including older B650 and X670 chipset motherboards, with no changes to cooler compatibility either. The only requirement will be an up-to-date BIOS, especially if you have an older card that hasn’t been updated in a while.

Who is the Ryzen 7 9800X3D for?

Previous processors with 3D V-Cache were primarily aimed at gamers since the presence of the additional cache does not benefit many other applications. We also saw consistently slower performance for 3D V-Cache models outside of gaming, so casual gamers needing content creation performance and maximum budget to stay in the desktop segment general public would probably have opted for no 3D V-Cache model.

This could change with the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, as the revised cache location could mean that the non-gaming performance gap between, say, a Ryzen 9 9950X and a Ryzen 9 9950X3D could be much smaller than the CPUs equivalents of the Ryzen 7000 series, which means a stronger argument for anyone considering a 3D V-Cache model.

Should you upgrade to Ryzen 7 9800X3D?

Ultimately it will depend on what the benchmarks say and even the launch price. With up to 8% better gaming performance and 15% better multithreaded performance than the Ryzen 7 7800X3D, it’s unlikely that anyone who owns this CPU will find this upgrade worthwhile given that even a 10% increase in gaming would see an average frame rate increase from 50fps to just 55fps. The multithreaded performance gains are significantly greater than this, but still a questionable upgrade.

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Anyone with an older Socket AM4 AMD system would see huge benefits in gaming performance, making the Ryzen 7 9800X3D a worthwhile upgrade, although the Ryzen 9 5950X will likely still beat it in multi-threaded applications. What’s worrying for Intel is that the Ryzen 9000X3D models could easily steal potential buyers away from its Core Ultra 200 series following its disappointing launch and inconsistent gaming performance.

I’ll review new processors, including the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, when they arrive, so follow me here on Forbes using the blue button below, Facebook Or YouTube to get the latest news and reviews.