AMD's gaming-focus Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor will retail for US$479, comes fully unlocked

AMD has officially announced the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, it's gaming-focused processor that leverages the second generation 3D V-Cache technology and the follow-up to its predecessor, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D (read our review here).

Based on the latest Zen 5 architecture and a part of the Ryzen 9000 series processors, the 9800X3D comes with eight cores and 16 threads with a base clock of 4.7GHz that can go up to 5.2Ghz at maximum boost.

But first, let's talk about AMD's 3D V-Cache.

To put it very simply, 3D V-Cache is an AMD technology that enables it to vertically stack cache onto a CPU. This allows AMD to increase the processor’s memory, without having to increase the size of the die or shrink its logic circuits, and thus allowing it to triple the L3 cache of its processors. This has the benefit of improving the CPU’s performance despite retaining the same architecture, and number of cores and threads.

The first processor to be given this 3D V-Cache technology treatment is the Ryzen 7 5800X3D (read our review here). But why is L3 cache so important? Well, more L3 cache allows the processor to stream and store more instructions, decreasing the number of times it needs to pull instructions from RAM. Naturally, this doesn’t provide a performance benefit in all situations. However, in scenarios where the CPU is handling multiple instructions, such as gaming, an additional L3 cache can provide a big uplift (our benchmarks with the Ryzen 7 5800X3D and 7800X3D have shown some pretty uplifts in selected games).

While previous X3D processors are similar in design, AMD says the upcoming 9800X3D comes with a small but key redesign: the 64MB L3 cache is now placed beneath the core complex die (CCD). This effectively allows the CCD to be closer to the cooling solution, keeping the chip's cores cooler and improving efficiency. In terms of gaming, AMD claims it delivers an average 8% boost compared to the Ryzen 7 7800X3D, and offers a 20% performance increase against Intel's Core Ultra 9 285k.

Unlike its predecessors, AMD also says the 9800X3D should also see an uplift in content creation performance, which would be very impressive. For those into overclocking, AMD has made this the first X3D processor that is fully unlocked, making the US$479 Ryzen 7 9800X3D quite possibly the to-get processor of 2024. But we'll only know for sure come 6 November, when AMD lifts the review embargo – including ours, so stay tuned!

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