AMD Ryzen 5 9600X3D leak shows 3D V-Cache coming to budget gaming CPUs

If you’ve been waiting for AMD’s 3D V-Cache magic to hit a more affordable CPU, your time might be coming soon. The Ryzen 5 9600X3D recently showed up unexpectedly in the support list for AMD’s new Radeon AI R9700 graphics card.

First spotted by MelodicWarrior on X, the leak suggests AMD is prepping a 6-core, 12-thread Zen 5 chip built on “Granite Ridge” that includes the company’s second-generation 3D V-Cache.

That’s 64 MB of vertical cache stacked on top of the usual 32 MB, for a total of 96 MB of L3. It’s the same performance-boosting tech seen in higher-end chips like the 7800X3D, just at a likely lower price point.

A mainstream gaming CPU with serious cache

Expected specs point to boosting clocks up to 5.4 GHz and a 65-watt TDP. That balance of speed and efficiency could make it a solid pick for budget builds, especially with DDR5-5600 support and compatibility with AM5 motherboards.

Let’s not forget that Intel’s Core Ultra 7 265KF just dropped to $229, and AMD’s rumored 9600X3D could directly challenge chips like the i5-14600K and Core Ultra 5 245K.

There’s still the question of how long a 6-core chip will hold up as more modern games lean toward 8-core recommendations. But AMD is betting that the extra cache will give it an edge in today’s gaming workloads even if the core count isn’t top-tier.

Speaking of launch, AMD’s Ryzen 5 9600X3D will likely see retail launch later this year. There’s no official word just yet.

Rishaj Upadhyay

News Editor

Rishaj is a tech writer who has been writing professionally for over four years, with a passion for Android, Windows, and all things tech. He initially joined Windows Report as a tech journalist and is now taking over as a news editor. He also writes for AndroidHeadlines. In the past, he has covered features, guides, and listicles for YTECHB and TechieTechTech. When he’s not breaking the keyboard, you can find him cooking, or listening to music/podcasts.