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PayPalAMD just formally revealed the new Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition processor, the first ever to come with dual AMD 3D V-Cache technology. Sounds like a pretty exciting processor, and might finally get a few more people to upgrade from older systems.
It's a bit of a monster with 16 “Zen 5” cores and 208MB of total cache that they claim delivers 5–10% performance gains over the current Ryzen 9 9950X3D across creative workloads like DaVinci Resolve, Blender, and large-scale source code builds like Unreal Engine and Chromium.
It's set for launch on April 22nd, and you can see their announcement video below:
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Direct Link
Direct Link
The general specifications provided by AMD:
Former Codename - Granite Ridge AM5
Processor Architecture - Zen 5
# of CPU Cores - 16
Multithreading (SMT) - Yes
# of Threads - 32
Max. Boost Clock - Up to 5.6 GHz
Base Clock - 4.3 GHz
L1 Cache - 1280 KB
L2 Cache - 16 MB
L3 Cache - 192 MB
Default TDP - 200W
Processor Technology for CPU Cores - TSMC 4nm FinFET
Processor Technology for I/O Die - TSMC 6nm FinFET
Unlocked for Overclocking - Yes
CPU Socket - AM5
Supporting Chipsets - A620 , X670E , X670 , B650E , B650 , X870E , X870 , B840 , B850
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
Recommended Cooler - Liquid cooler recommended for optimal performance
Max. Operating Temperature (Tjmax) - 95°C
See more on the AMD specs sheet.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
About the author - Liam Dawe
I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly checked on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly.
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14 comments
I went for the Ryzen7 9800X3D at the tail end of last year and it was already more than I wanted to spend on a CPU! I didn't think any of the Ryzen9 chips were worth the money, tbh. God knows what this will cost when it lands!
I wish AMD would focus on GPUs. Now, more than ever, they could establish themselves competitively in the GPU market. With Nvidia prices being absolutely exorbitant, a half-way decently priced upgrade to the 9700XT would be well received by people like myself still rocking the 6800XT or even the 7900XTX.
It wouldn't even need 5090-like speeds! Who's gonna pay over 2 grand for one of those?? It just needs to be a decent upgrade on their current "flagship" model, which barely competes with the 5070.
Ah well. I can dream.
I wish AMD would focus on GPUs. Now, more than ever, they could establish themselves competitively in the GPU market. With Nvidia prices being absolutely exorbitant, a half-way decently priced upgrade to the 9700XT would be well received by people like myself still rocking the 6800XT or even the 7900XTX.
It wouldn't even need 5090-like speeds! Who's gonna pay over 2 grand for one of those?? It just needs to be a decent upgrade on their current "flagship" model, which barely competes with the 5070.
Ah well. I can dream.
4 Likes
Quoting: scaineIt wouldn't even need 5090-like speeds! Who's gonna pay over 2 grand for one of those?? It just needs to be a decent upgrade on their current "flagship" model, which barely competes with the 5070.Similar for me. I intended to do an upgrade last year, but when the current AMD gen skipped a high end model, I left it to wait for another generation. Knowing what I know now, that may not have been the best choice.
It didn't help that my current monitor is g-sync and that switching colours meant I'd have to go Freesync and get a new monitor as well. Just didn't feel like researching that.
This CPU though, a little above my TDP interests.
Last edited by Ehvis on 26 Mar 2026 at 4:15 pm UTC
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HendrinMckay 6 hours ago
Same, on a 9800X3D currently and not coming close to maxing it out currently. Sure this is a nice processor but I think will be overkill for most folks.
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Quoting: EhvisIt didn't help that my current monitor is g-sync and that switching colours meant I'd have to go Freesync and get a new monitor as well. Just didn't feel like researching that.What monitor do you have? I do know of any monitor that supports G-Sync but not Freesync (or adaptative sync).
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Apart from the handful of G-Sync module displays (G-Sync Ultimate) all G-Sync compatible displays are wrappers around VESA's adaptive sync just like Freesync.
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Quoting: sonic2kkLiquid cooler recommended? No thanks.May I ask why you don't like liquid coolers? My last two CPUs have both had liquid coolers, and they are straightforward to set up and work well.
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May I ask why you don't like liquid coolers? My last two CPUs have both had liquid coolers, and they are straightforward to set up and work well.Watercooling takes less space in the buiild, but is overall more prone to failures (not just leaking, but pump failures and air bubbles leading to increased noise). It's a reason I've stuck to aircooling until now, even on a 13900K and now a 9950X3D.
I suppose the 9950X3D2 will work fine on a high-end aircooler (I use a Noctua NH-D15 personally), but you'll want to undervolt it like any high-end CPU to keep the power consumption to reasonable levels. I have my 9950X3D on -30 curve optimizer and it barely throttles at full all-core loads (much less than the 13900K at -90 mV did).
Last edited by Calinou on 26 Mar 2026 at 8:58 pm UTC
1 Likes
Quoting: MayeulCQuoting: EhvisIt didn't help that my current monitor is g-sync and that switching colours meant I'd have to go Freesync and get a new monitor as well. Just didn't feel like researching that.What monitor do you have? I do know of any monitor that supports G-Sync but not Freesync (or adaptative sync).
Quoting: MayeulCAsus ROG PG348. One with an actual nvidia board. If it supports Freesync/Vesa adaptive sync, it isn't mentioned.Quoting: EhvisIt didn't help that my current monitor is g-sync and that switching colours meant I'd have to go Freesync and get a new monitor as well. Just didn't feel like researching that.What monitor do you have? I do know of any monitor that supports G-Sync but not Freesync (or adaptative sync).
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Nvidia didn't start supporting Adaptive Sync until 2019, so it's unlikely but you could try it easily enough by disabling G-Sync (assuming your monitor's OSD gives you the option).
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This is cool, but likely overkill for most people. For pure gaming, 8 threads is more than enough. I recently upgraded to a 9800x3D and man, what a beast! I've yet to max it out even with my most demanding and largest zoo builds. Even the 7700x or 7800x3D would probably been fine for most people, unless you're doing heavy productivity work. AMD themselves said that the double cache is unlikely to improve gaming performance.
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Quoting: GoEsrNvidia didn't start supporting Adaptive Sync until 2019, so it's unlikely but you could try it easily enough by disabling G-Sync (assuming your monitor's OSD gives you the option).It does not.
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Currently rocking the 7800x3d cpu. Pretty happy with it. It's one of those rare unicorn CPUs because it combined the best value and nearly the best performance, while defeating Intel easily in almost everything. I haven't regretted my purchase at all. I just wish all CPU purchases were this way.
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