AMD Announces the Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU at $479

AMD has officially announced the first Zen 5 CPU with V-Cache, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D. As expected, this is an eight-core, 16-thread CPU with 64MB of L3 V-Cache, and it will take the place of the Ryzen 7 7800X3D in its lineup of processors focused exclusively on gaming performance. AMD says the CPU features its second-gen V-Cache design, with the extra L3 being relocated under the CPU cores, and it’s also unlocked for overclocking for the first time. The CPU is priced at $479 and will be available Nov. 7.

AMD announced the new CPU on its website, and the specs align perfectly with previous leaks, so there are few surprises here. The leaks stated it had relocated the 64MB V-Cache slab from above the core complex die (CCD) on Zen 3 and Zen 4 underneath it, which AMD confirms. It says this allows for better cooling as the cores are closer to the cooling solution for improved thermals, allowing for even better performance and an unlocked multiplier. AMD says on average, for gaming the 9800X3D is 8% faster than the 7800X3D and 20% faster than an Intel Core Ultra 9 285K.

This is a 120W TDP CPU, so that is unchanged from Zen 4. However, clocks have been boosted quite a bit. It has a 5.2GHz boost clock, up from 5GHz on the 7800X3D, and the base clock has also risen 500MHz, going from 4.2GHz on the previous chip to 4.7GHz. AMD doesn’t say what the ceiling is for the 9800X3D in overclocking, only saying it allows it to be “extreme,” so we wonder if 5.7GHz or so is attainable. One of these chips previously appeared with a 5.3GHz boost clock. Hopefully, it can go higher than that via multiplier overclocking, and we’re sure to see those test results on Nov. 6 when we expect reviews to appear.

What’s notable about the language of this CPU launch is AMD is not saying it’s the world’s fastest gaming CPU. Instead, it says, “The AMD 3D V-Cache technology works to attain the highest processor gaming performance on the market.” That sounds kind of vague, but AMD has vetted this letter through legal and such, so it’s an interesting parsing of words.

It could be related to the fact that it also says that in some games, performance will be the same between the 9800X3D and the 7800X3D, but AMD says 1% lows will improve, so gaming will feel smoother. It might also match the 14900K in some games, too, as the announcement says that is the case in The Last of Us Part 1—though AMD says its 1% lows are 31% better.

AMD previously stated this CPU would arrive on Nov. 7. Since Intel’s new Core Ultra 200 series are generally slower than 14th Gen CPUs in gaming, the main competition for this CPU will be the 7800X3D. What’s crazy is that Zen 4 CPU is now hard to find and has had its price increase after the Zen 5 launch failed to impress, so it now costs about the same as the incoming 9800X3D at $476 on Amazon.