The 9900X3D should release at the same time as the 9950X3D
Updated: Jan 13, 2025 4:01 pm
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AMD recently announced new X3D CPUs to add to the Ryzen 9000 series lineup at CES 2025. This included the 9950X3D and 9900X3D, and although we got a lot of information and performance snippets of the 9950X, AMD remained pretty quiet about the 9900X3D. Of course, first-party benchmarks should always be taken with a pinch of salt, but if the performance is anything like AMD boasts, we could be in another ground-breaking CPU launch.
We all know that the primary gaming CPU is (and will likely always be) the 9800X3D, but that’s not to say AMD can’t introduce a CPU that will give you the best of both worlds. Historically, the core count has hindered the performance of the X3D CPUs. But could it all be different this time around?
This is a big opportunity for AMD to captivate some of Intel’s market once more, and it’ll probably make a good go of it, given how vocal Frank Azor, the company’s chief architect of gaming solutions, was about his opinion on the new Intel CPUs. But when can we expect the 9900X3D to hit shelves?
Release date: When can you purchase the Ryzen 9 9900X3D?
AMD officially unveiled the Ryzen 9 9900X3D during its keynote presentation at CES 2025. passing a wave of excitement through the entire tech community. AMD revealed in the keynote itself a March 2025 release date. This is likely for both the 9950X3D and the 9900X3D.
This suggests that AMD will release both CPUs in the first half of March, as AMD usually prefers a release date in the first half of the month. So we don;t have too long to wait since we’re already about halfway through January (as of the time of writing). AMD usually releases its CPUs pretty soon after an announcement, so we can expect widespread availability of the 9900X3D between March 1st – March 15th.
Ryzen 9 9900X3D specifications
AMD’s new Ryzen 9 9900X3D isn’t exactly going to be the new flagship, but if we were forced to guess exactly where it would fit in the 9000 series lineup, we’d say somewhere between the 9900X and 9950X or 9950X and 9950X3D. Here’s the list of specifications on AMD’s website.
| Specification | 9900X3D |
|---|---|
| Architecture | Zen 5 |
| Cores/Threads | 12 cores / 24 threads |
| Base Clock | 4.4 GHz |
| Boost Clock | Up to 5.5 GHz |
| L3 Cache | 128 MB |
| TDP | 120W |
| Process Node | TSMC 4nm |
| Socket | AM5 |
You can always check AMD’s website for a more extensive list of specifications. However, these are the specifications that we feel you probably want to know the most. AMD seems to be sticking to the 9000 series’ manufacturing process (TSMC 4nm FinFET), so we can likely expect similar on-average performance to the base models (if you average the gains in gaming performance and the losses in productivity performance).
The 9800X3D introduced the Turbo Game Mode, which turned off SMT and allowed for slightly better gaming performance. However, the CPU still suffered somewhat in the gaming performance arena thanks to the X3D cache. That said, it’s still far better than the first cache generation.
The 9800X3D introduced software changes and debuted the second-generation cache die, now under the CCD. The die has also been resized to match the CCD, eliminating the need for thermally insulating supporting silicon. We expect the same die to appear in the 9900X3D.
Price speculation: How much will you pay?
Again, in true AMD fashion, there has been no concrete price announcement for the Ryzen 9 9900X3D. However, we can use some historical price information to guess what the 9900X3D could retail for. Thankfully, the 9000 series is a little more affordable than the 7000 series, bar the 7800X3D, which was £30 cheaper. It almost seems like AMD knew what CPU the masses would choose. Here’s a breakdown of past and present AMD CPU launch prices:
Ryzen 9
- AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D: $(Unknown)
- AMD Ryzen 9 9950X: $599
- AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D: $699
- AMD Ryzen 9 7950X: $699
- AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D: $(Unknown)
- AMD Ryzen 9 9900X: $499
- AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D: $599
- AMD Ryzen 9 7900X: $549
Ryzen 7
- AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D: $479
- AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D: $449
As you can see, there’s a slight price variation generationally, but we mostly blame the 9000 series’ poor launch performance, which has since been addressed. However, this information lets us guess how much the 9900X3D may retail for on launch day.
We expect the 9900X3D to be released in the bracket of $599 to $499, given the price history of previous generations. We’d obviously like something a little less pricy, but given the increased price of the 9800X3D over the 7800X3D, it’s likely AMD knows what they have, and they will continue with this slightly inflated price trend. But, of course, this is all just speculation.
No mention of 9900X3D performance in AMD’s keynote
Unfortunately, we do not have any official performance metrics for the 9900X3D, as AMD didn’t mention performance regarding the 9900X3D. AMD was pretty vocal about the prowess of the 9950X against its predecessor and Intel’s Core Ultra 285K, but we didn’t see anything on the 9900X3D.
Given that the 9950X3D has a 13% increase in productivity workloads over the 7950X3D and an 8% increase in gaming performance, we can estimate a 10% performance increase across the board for the 9900X3D over the 7900X3D. But that’s about as far as we can go, an estimate.
Why would you choose the Ryzen 9 9900X3D over the 9950X?
Well, given that we don’t know how well the CPU performs against its predecessor, you wouldn’t yet. But hypothetically, if this price aligned with the previous generation, then the 9900X3D would be a good choice for those who don’t need the full power of the 9950X3D but need more productivity performance than the 9800X3D. It’s a bit of a niche area, so let me explain.
The 9800X3D is hit pretty hard in the productivity department thanks to the inclusion of 3D V-cache. However, it takes gaming performance like a champ. The 9800X3D, as we mentioned in our review, is hands down the best gaming CPU you can get right now. But what if you want all the power of the 9800X3D in gaming but need to take on some productivity workloads, too? Well, that’s where the 9900X comes in (we hope).
There’s obviously going to be some trade-off between gaming performance and productivity performance when the 3D v-cache is involved, but we hope the 9900X3D and the 9950X3D, to an extent, will bridge the gap a little bit. Creating a middle ground between the 9800X3D (for gaming performance) and the 9950X (for productivity performance). Only time will tell as we await benchmark results.
Final word
We don’t know much about the upcoming Ryzen 9 9900X3D, but we do know that we won’t have to wait too long to find out. AMD announced that the 9900X3D and the 9950X3D would be released in March 2025, and we hypothesise that it will be within the first half. We’re unsure how much it’ll cost or when you can get one, but we made our best guess. We’re the place to be if you need to stay current on the latest from AMD, including the new 9070 GPUs.
