AMD reveals Ryzen 9800X3D CPU priced at $479 – runs at a speedy 5.2GHz boost, can be overclocked, and promises much smoother gameplay

A PC gamer sat at a desktop monitor
These are the best free games on Steam. (Image credit: Shutterstock)

AMD has officially announced its Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor, one of the worst-kept ‘secrets’ in the tech world this year (alongside Apple’s just-revealed M4 Macs).

The Ryzen 9800X3D is pretty much just as the avalanche of rumors suggested, with AMD confirming that as seen with previous spilled specs, it has 8 cores (16 threads) and a 4.7GHz base clock speed with a 5.2GHz max boost frequency. A rumor broke earlier today that the price would be $479 in the US, and this is now confirmed, too – a $30 hike on the MSRP of the 7800X3D.

Again, as leaked, this is an unlocked chip, so it can be overclocked. AMD explains that the Ryzen 9800X3D is ‘2nd-gen’ 3D V-Cache (as was rumored before), with the cache underneath the CCD (the die containing the cores) this time.

What this means is that the cores are now closer to the cooling solution, and therefore will be kept cooler – allowing for faster clock speeds compared to last-gen X3D.

The upshot is that AMD claims the Ryzen 9800X3D is 8% faster than the 7800X3D for gaming frame rates, as an average from testing across a large suite of some 40+ popular PC games (with a 7900 XTX GPU).

There are going to be some bigger boosts witnessed, and some games will witness double-digit gains (Star Wars Outlaws is singled out as one). AMD also claims the Ryzen 9800X3D is ‘up to an average’ of 20% faster than a system powered by Intel’s new flagship, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K.

The Ryzen 9800X3D has a TDP of 120W and a total of 104MB cache, of which 64MB is the 3D V-Cache.


An AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU in retail packaging

(Image credit: AMD)

Analysis: Don’t forget about the higher lows

Everything is pretty much as expected, then, including that 8% generational gain for PC gaming frame rates that was previously leaked – and disappointed some folks. Perhaps that’s why AMD has qualified this press release quite considerably around the topic of gen-on-gen improvements – the figure is just an average, and some titles (in certain scenarios) will doubtless do quite a bit better than this. Although we don’t get a hint as to what some of the bigger uplifts might be.

What we do get is a clear comparison to the Arrow Lake flagship, albeit with some odd wording – what is ‘up to an average’ of 20%? Does it just mean the average is 20%? But if so, why stick ‘up to’ in there – it’s either ‘up to’ a top-end figure, or it’s an average, full-stop, surely? Or does it mean that it’s 20% if you pick a selection of certain games, but not all of them (AMD tested a bunch in that comparison)?

We don’t know, but given Arrow Lake has stumbled when it comes to gaming, we’d expect a favorable comparison for the new Ryzen 9800X3D anyway.

Notably, as part of building a case for the strength of the Ryzen 9800X3D, AMD highlights the chip’s generational improvement in terms of minimum frame rates. An example given is The Last Of Us: Part 1, where Team Red says the 9800X3D has a “similar average frame rate to the competition” (the Intel Core i9-14900K) but it is 31% higher when it comes to 1% low frame rates. What that means is that the Ryzen CPU delivers a more consistent smoothness, with fewer drops (or judders) to very low frame rates – and that’s definitely a good thing.

As ever, though, we need some independent testing to be sure that these claims pan out just as AMD has asserted in this press release. The Ryzen 9800X3D is set to go on sale come November 7, in a week’s time, at $479 as noted – and there will be some disappointment at the increase in MSRP gen-on-gen.

Still, it’s not a huge hike by any means – but some may be grinding their teeth that they didn’t pick up the 7800X3D when it was available for not much more than $300 on sale a few months back. We’ll just have to see how the Ryzen 9800X3D fares when we put the chip through its paces ourselves – and how much better the CPU might be than its predecessor in our benchmarks. Stay tuned.

You might also like

TOPICS

Darren is a freelancer writing news and features for TechRadar (and occasionally T3) across a broad range of computing topics including CPUs, GPUs, various other hardware, VPNs, antivirus and more. He has written about tech for the best part of three decades, and writes books in his spare time (his debut novel - 'I Know What You Did Last Supper' - was published by Hachette UK in 2013).

Read more
AMD Ryzen 9000 3D chips
AMD officially announces price and release date for Ryzen 9 9900X3D and 9950X3D processors
AMD Ryzen 9950X
AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and 9900X3D announced at CES 2025
Render of AMD Ryzen chip
AMD’s powerful Ryzen 9 9950X3D and 9900X3D CPUs rumored to arrive on March 12 – but gamers will still be better off with the 9800X3D
An AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D on a desk on top of its retail packaging
AMD declares battle of Ryzen 9950X3D vs 9800X3D for gaming will be a dead heat – so gamers may as well buy the cheaper CPU
AMD Ryzen 5 2500X
AMD’s Ryzen 9 9950X3D CPU could be on sale soon – but I’m still worried about the price
A PC Gamer looking happy sat in front of their desktop monitor
Think Ryzen 9000 CPUs are still a bit pricey? AMD just revealed a cheaper Zen 5 chip that could be perfect for your budget PC build
Latest in CPU
AMD Ryzen 9000 3D chips
AMD officially announces price and release date for Ryzen 9 9900X3D and 9950X3D processors
A chip wafer manufactured at Intel Foundry
Can 18A save Intel from being devoured by its rivals – and Wall Street?
A stock photo of a man saying 'no thank you' to a gift box bearing the AMD Ryzen logo.
I'm tired of waiting for AMD's entry-level Ryzen 9000 series chips
Water cooling acrylic tube system with Barrow cpu block
What is a normal temperature for a CPU?
Render of AMD Ryzen chip
AMD’s powerful Ryzen 9 9950X3D and 9900X3D CPUs rumored to arrive on March 12 – but gamers will still be better off with the 9800X3D
AMD
One Redditor spotted an AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D for $99 in the wildest price drop I've ever seen
Latest in News
Q Acoustics Q SUB80, QSUB100 and QSUB120 subwoofers
Allow Q Acoustics to bring the bass to your post-Oscars movie catch-up
Hospital
Major Oracle outage hits US Federal health record systems
Sam Porter cradles a baby
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach trailer confirms June release date and an even more harrowing post-apocalyptic world
The Ray-Ban Meta Coperni smart glasses
The new Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses design is an expensive disappointment
AOC Agon Pro AG276FK gaming monitor tilted slightly to the side, showing the Windows desktop screen
Windows 11 users get ready for more ‘recommendations’ from Microsoft – but I’m relieved to say these suggestions might actually be useful
The black Xbox Series S 1TB on a colorful desk mat alongside a matching controller.
The next Xbox could simply be a PC in a 'TV-friendly shell' per latest rumor