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AMD has revealed the release date of the highly anticipated Ryzen 7000X3D series of gaming processors, and they are starts a little later than expected.
Three new processors (opens in new tab) are expected in the coming months. Both of the more expensive models, the Ryzen 9 7900X3D and the 7950X3D, will launch on February 28, contrary to previous reports that stated a Valentine’s Day release. The former will cost you $599, while the latter carries a $699 price tag.
The third processor, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D, is slightly cheaper at $449, but won’t launch until April 6. It’s unknown why AMD is releasing the 7800X3D much later, though it could be because the company wants to prioritize the Ryzen 9 CPUs instead.
While these price tags are undoubtedly high, you get your money’s worth.
Top model
The new Ryzen 7000X3D family starts with the Ryzen 9 7950X3D, a 16-core 32-thread CPU with a base clock speed of 4.2 GHz. That clock speed can be increased to a maximum of 5.7 GHz. In addition, it comes with a 144 MB cache and a TDP (thermal design power) of 120 W, so the processor can get a little hot. Make sure you have one good cooling system if you decide to pick it up.
All things considered, the Ryzen 9 7950X3D sounds like it’s ready to compete with the Intel Core i9-13900K, which came out in October 2022.
Perhaps what sets the 7950X3D apart from Intel’s latest offering is support for AMD’s 3D V cache (opens in new tab) technology. The purpose of this technology is to significantly improve game performance by adding additional memory “on top of a processor’s computing cores.” Without running benchmark tests, we don’t know exactly how much boost V-Cache will add to the Ryzen 9 7950X3D, especially when compared to other AMD processors. Considering how impressed we were with the Ryzen 9 5950X3DAMD’s first CPU with 3D V-Cache, we have high hopes for this one.
To give you an idea, a report from Tom’s Hardware (opens in new tab) shows Horizon zero dawn runs 24 percent faster on the 7950X3D compared to Intel’s i9 13900K at 1920×1080 resolution. However, this information comes from AMD’s own benchmark tests, so take it with a grain of salt.
Still powerful
The other two CPUs (opens in new tab) share the same 120W TDP and support for AMD’s 3D V cache as the 7950X3D. However, everything else is slightly different.
The Ryzen 9 7900X3D comes with a 12-core 24-thread CPU with a base clock speed of 4.4 GHz, which means it’s a little bit faster. The increased speed reaches a top speed of 5.6 GHz and has a cache of 140 MB. As for the Ryzen 7 7800X3D, you’re looking at an eight-core, 16-thread CPU clocked at 4.2 GHz (5.0 GHz boosted) and 104 MB cache.
The war between AMD and Intel continues to flare as both companies push the boundaries of gaming PCs. It will be interesting to see what the Ryzen 7 7800X3D is capable of. Given that it’s the cheapest of the trio, chances are PC gamers will gravitate towards that model rather than 7950X3D when building a new computer.
If you don’t know how to build your own rig or don’t feel like it, check out TechRadar’s recently updated list of the best pre-built gaming PCs of 2023.