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

(Image credit: AMD)

Ryzen 9 9950X3D and 9900X3D are purportedly arriving on March 12
Reviews are apparently going to be published the day before
We’re still waiting for a key detail here, and that’s the asking prices of these high-end X3D chips

AMD’s Ryzen 9 9950X3D and 9900X3D processors are rumored to be hitting the shelves on March 12.

VideoCardz claims that its sources indicate that this is the on-sale date for the next 3D V-Cache processors for this current Zen 5 generation.

On top of that, a regular leaker on Weibo, Golden Pig Upgrade, reckons that the review embargoes on these two Ryzen 9 X3D chips will be lifted on March 11. That fits with the scenario outlined, as typically reviews will be aired the day before the hardware goes on sale (but not always, mind).

Analysis: Will the Ryzen 9950X3D be worth it?

An AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D in a masculine hand — (Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

The Ryzen 9950X3D is the 16-core flagship for AMD’s 3D V-Cache chips, which are configured with a special kind of cache that’s particularly beneficial when it comes to PC gaming. The 9900X3D is its lesser 12-core sibling, and don’t expect these processors to come cheap – they most certainly won’t.

Pricing was bumped up slightly for the 9800X3D, compared to the MSRP of the 7800X3D before it, and rumor has it that the 9950X3D might tip the scales at $699 in the US (around £550 / AU$1100), with the 9900X3D possibly launching at $599.

Also, if you’re thinking that the Ryzen 9950X3D will be some kind of total gaming champ, well don’t be led astray by that notion. As AMD has already told us, we can expect this flagship to be roughly equivalent to the Ryzen 9800X3D in gaming, with a bit of give and take – the 9950X3D may be slightly faster for certain games, and the 9800X3D could win out narrowly in others. Expect roughly the same experience with PC gaming, essentially.

Why pay a good deal more for the 9950X3D, then? Because it’s going to be a lot peppier for other tasks away from gaming, so if you use your PC for more serious workloads – and still want a great gaming chip – then this is the CPU to spring for.

If it’s mainly gaming that you’re into, stick with the Ryzen 9800X3D, although this is a popular processor that still remains tricky to buy at its MSRP. Indeed, the price some third-party resellers are currently asking for the 9800X3D is not far off the rumored asking price of the 9900X3D. (And it’s all Intel’s fault, according to AMD).

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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).