AMD announces Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition: a CPU with a mighty 208 MB of L3 cache aimed at game devs
AMD has announced a new X3D processor, the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition, set to launch on April 22. This chip will have 3D V-Cache on both of its eight-core chiplets, something we've not seen before. Though don't expect this to mean twice the gaming performance—far from it.
"Together," AMD Computing and Graphics SVP & GM Jack Huynh says of the two chiplets with V-Cache, "they deliver an incredible 208 MB of total on-chip cache, the most we ever built into a Ryzen processor."
"208 MB of cache means more game data, more assets, and more working data sitting right next to the CPU cores, that dramatically reduces latency and unlocks new levels of responsiveness across demanding workloads."
That's not the only way the 9950X3D2 goes big, though. The Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 has the same 16 cores as the Ryzen 9 9950X3D but demands a 200 W TDP, 30 W higher than the more gaming-focused chip.
According to AMD, the new chip gets a 5–10% performance boost across the creative and productivity tasks compared to the 9950X3D. But no gaming figures in sight.
We already suspected such a chip might have been on the cards, especially given motherboard maker ASRock recently accidentally spilled the beans on it. Though it wasn't certain whether that was for a planned-and-cancelled release or a planned-and-still-going-ahead one.
We also already knew that such a duo-cached processor probably wouldn't be a massive benefit to gaming. That's because games still don't efficiently use a ton of CPU cores, and the higher number of threads that could benefit from the added L3 cache won't benefit hugely if they have to traverse across to another chiplet. The latency there will likely offset a lot of the benefit. Plus software will have to be programmed to call for such things effectively and efficiently, which isn't a small ask.
AMD agrees:
"You still get the incredible gaming performance you expect from a Ryzen 9 X3D processor, but where the 9950X3D2 really shines in workloads that thrive on ultra-fast data access: large software builds, game engine compiles, AI models, 3D rendering, and complex content creation pipelines."
The idea with this chip is instead to have a step up in professional or creative performance without sacrificing gaming performance. It might make an ideal processor for a solo game dev, for instance, who wants to use a computer for both developing and gaming.
"You'll no longer have to choose between a gaming or creator CPU. With a Ryzen 9 9950X3D2, you get both."
For context, the much more expensive AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9955WX has 16 cores and 64 MB of L3 cache, though those are of course very different cores that are tailored to professional workloads. The current Ryzen 9 9950X3D has 16 cores and 128 MB of L3 cache.
It's a little of an apples to oranges comparison, of course, but AMD seems to be positioning the new double-cached 9950X3D2 as kind of approaching Threadripper territory thanks to that extra cache that does help some professional or creative workloads. Except you are, of course, getting all the gaming chops of your usual X3D chips. Which is to say, a lot of gaming chops.
There's no word on price as of yet, but with the Ryzen 9 9950X3D costing $700, it's safe to say this won't be a cheap chip. It should be cheaper than a Threadripper, though, and that's probably what will matter the most for the niche market it's tailored to.