AMD has announced that its most powerful gaming processors, the Ryzen 9 9950X3D and Ryzen 9 9900X3D, will go on sale on March 12. The manufacturer has priced the older chip at $699, while the younger model will cost $599.
Image source: AMD
Both processors were announced at CES 2025, but the company did not disclose the release date or price at that time. The $479 Ryzen 7 9800X3D, released earlier in November last year, was so popular among gamers that it quickly became in short supply. The release of the new Ryzen 9 9950X3D and Ryzen 9 9900X3D should expand the range and increase the availability of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D.
The Ryzen 9 9950X3D, priced at $699, will be the same price as its predecessor, the Ryzen 9 7950X3D. There’s a good chance the new chip will be one of the best gaming chips on the market. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D, which already beats Intel in gaming workloads, is showing great results, but the 16-core Ryzen 9 9950X3D could potentially offer even more performance, especially in productivity tasks.
AMD still hasn’t revealed the base frequencies of the new Ryzen 9 9950X3D and Ryzen 9 9900X3D, but it is known that the maximum frequency of the older model is 5.7 GHz, and the younger one is 5.5 GHz. The 16-core processor is equipped with 144 MB of cache memory, and the 12-core one is equipped with 140 MB. The declared power consumption of the new products is 170 W and 120 W, respectively.
According to AMD, the Ryzen 9 9950X3D is 20% faster than Intel’s flagship Core Ultra 9 285K in 1080p gaming tests and 8% faster than its predecessor, the Ryzen 9 7950X3D. AMD also claims a 10% advantage over the Core Ultra 9 285K in professional applications and performance tests. According to AMD’s lab tests, the difference in games can reach 64% (for example, Watch Dogs: Legion), and in professional software – 47% (for example, Adobe Photoshop).