The latest AMD gaming CPU has arrived: the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D. PC enthusiasts will already be familiar with the X3D lineup – before the 9850X3D, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D sported the title of world’s fastest gaming CPU. There’s also the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D, which is a more robust option for those looking to do more than just gaming.
The new variant looks to bring increased gaming performance with a boost in clock speeds, which sees the 9850X3D with up to 5.6 GHz while the 9800X3D had up to 5.2 GHz.
Both are at the very top in the gaming CPU world right now, thanks in part to their 3D V-Cache technology. By stacking extra L3 cache memory directly on top of the processor, total cache capacity sees a huge increase, and latency is reduced significantly, since data is kept closer to the core and reliance on slower system RAM is reduced. In short, you get significant frame rate improvements – music to a gamer’s ears.
Let’s take a look at all the specs on offer…
- 8 cores and 16 threads
- Base clock: 4.7 GHz
- Boost clock: up to 5.6 GHz
- 96MB L3 cache (104MB total cache)
- Architecture: Zen 5
- AM5 socket with PCIe 5.0 and DDR5 support
- 120W TDP
- Integrated Radeon graphics
The new X3D processors are compatible with the AMD AM5 socket, which you will find on the latest B850 and X870 motherboards. The PB Tech product page for the 9850X3D has a full list of compatible chipsets in the specifications section. For optimal performance, we recommend pairing it with an AMD X870 motherboard. As always, you can shop top brands like Gigabyte, ASUS, MSI and ASRock at PB Tech.
Essentials!
The Ryzen 7 9850X3D does not include a CPU cooler in the box. The good news is that you’ve got plenty of options for 360mm AIO Water Cooling options that will work great with the 9850X3D.
If a dedicated graphics card isn’t quite part of the plan just yet, the 9850X3D does come with integrated Radeon graphics, which means you can get going straight away. This is a CPU that’s awesome for gaming though, so pairing it with a dedicated graphics card is a great idea.
In the RAM department, the AM5 socket motherboards only support DDR5 Desktop RAM Kits. Be sure to look for AMD EXPO Certified RAM kits (more on this in a second) for optimal compatibility. You can find suitable RAM options from top brands like G.SKILL, Kingston, ADATA, Crucial and Corsair at PB Tech.
If you are looking to upgrade your existing Ryzen 7000 / 9000 system, it's really good to check if your motherboard is running on the latest BIOS version before you install the new CPU. You can see if BIOS updates are available by visiting the brand website page for your specific motherboard and then clicking the 'support' tab. Next, look for the latest BIOS version that lists an AGESA update, as shown in the example for the MSI X870E-P WIFI ATX Motherboard below. In this case, we can see it says AGESA PI pre-1.3.0.0 updated. There are also instructions on how to install a BIOS if you've never done this sort of update before.
AMD EXPO
AMD EXPO stands for AMD Extended Profiles for Overclocking and allows you to utilise the higher clock speeds on offer with DDR5 RAM kits. Similar to Intel’s eXtreme Memory Profiles (XMP). You get lots of memory testing documents which makes hardware compatibility verification easier, gives you access to detailed settings, and offers a more stable RAM technology for when you’re pushing things to the max.
Check it out now!
The 9850X3D is now available in the AMD store at PB Tech! If you’re planning on upgrading more than just your CPU, be sure to follow the many links above for motherboard, cooling, and GPU options from top brands, all at PB Tech.
