AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D, 9900X3D Processor Performance Unboxing Review

AMD announced at CES 2025 the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D with second-generation AMD 3D V-Cache, but with a core count specification of 16-core, 32-thread AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and 12-core, 24-thread AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D, which will be available at ASRock X870E Taichi Lite The motherboard is equipped with a LIAN LI GA II LITE 360 RGB all-in-one water cooling system and RTX 4070 Ti SUPER for real-world performance testing, and a pioneer AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D for comparison.

3D V-Cache for more cores! AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and 9900X3D processors unboxed!

The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D processors in this unboxing use the same Granite Ridge Zen 5 architecture and 2nd Gen AMD V-Cache design as the 9800X3D, but with higher core and threads specifications than the 9800X3D. The Granite Ridge Zen 5 architecture is the same design as the 2nd Gen AMD V-Cache, but with higher cores and threads, which means that you can have both gaming and professional performance at the same time.

The highest specification Ryzen 9 9950X3D is a 16-core, 32-threaded model with 128(96+32) MB L3 cache, 16 MB L2 cache, TSMC 4nm FinFET process, TSMC 6nm FinFET process for the I/O Die, and a maximum operating temperature (Tjmax) of 95°C. The maximum frequency is 5.7 GHz.

The sub-flagship Ryzen 9 9900X3D is a 12-core, 24-threaded device with a 128(96+32) MB L3 cache, a little less 12 MB L2 cache, and also uses TSMC's 4nm FinFET process; the I/O Die is made by TSMC's 6nm FinFET process, and has a Tjmax of 95°C. The maximum frequency is 5.5 GHz. The maximum frequency is 5.5 GHz.

The ∆ Ryzen 9000 X3D Series is the highest-end specification available.

∆ Two R9 X3D specifications.

∆ AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D processors.

∆ LGA 1718 AM5 pin.

 

LIAN LI GA II LITE 360 RGB All-in-One Water Cooling Unboxing

The LIAN LI GA II LITE 360 RGB (GA2L36RB) all-in-one watercooler is said to be replacing the previous GA II TRINITY PERFORMANCE (which I didn't get to play with), and is available in two sizes, 360 mm and 240 mm; the cooler size is 27 mm, and the cooler head has a PUMP of 3800 RPM and comes with an ARGB quad-adjustable infinite mirror badge. The cold plate size is 27 mm and the cold head PUMP can reach up to 3800 RPM and it comes with an ARGB infinity mirror badge that can be adjusted in all four directions.

The 28mm thick fan with pre-installed cables and crossties is capable of spinning at up to 2500 RPM. The RGB version of the fan boasts a maximum airflow of 73.14 CFM and a maximum air pressure of 5 mmH₂O. It is compatible with platforms such as LGA1700/ LGA1851/ AM4/ AM5 and comes with a six-year warranty.

∆ LIAN LI GA II LITE 360 RGB (GA2L36RB) All-in-one water cooling, this time only black color is out, white army protested.

∆ Specifications.

The ∆ fans are pre-mounted on the water-cooled body and only one 5V 3-Pin ARGB and one PWM 4-Pin are required to power the three fans.

∆ Remember to remove the protective film from the contact surface of the cold head.

 

In addition to the usual buckle organization, additional accessories include thermal paste, applicator, and thermal paste applicator patches.

∆ Accessories at a glance.

∆ Frontal view of the cold head effect.

∆ Water-cooled overall lighting effect.

 

AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D, Ryzen 9 9900X3D Introduction of test platform and related settings

In addition to the two AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D processors that we are going to test this time, we have also prepared a side-by-side comparison with the R7 9800X3D, which is the one that most people want to test nowadays, and what about Intel? As for Intel, I don't think anyone would want to see the performance difference between the three X3Ds, no one would want to buy or see how much difference Intel has, and I won't get paid for the extra testing, so don't waste my time.

The motherboard is ASRock X870E Taichi Lite The BIOS has been updated to version 3.20 [Beta], and the memory has been updated to version 3.20 [Beta]. Kingston FURY Renegade DDR5 RGB 7200 MT/s 16GBx2 I have XMP 1 Profile on, and my graphics card is a NVIDA RTX 4070 Ti SUPER 16GB, why don't I just use a 5090 / 5080 to test it? It's simple, NVIDIA didn't sponsor my graphics card, so I couldn't afford it.

Testing Platform

Processor: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D / AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D / AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
Cooler: LIAN LI GA II LITE 360 RGB (Full Speed)
Thermal paste: Cooler Master MASTERGEL MAKER 40g (thermal conductivity 11W/mK)
Motherboard:ASRock X870E Taichi Lite (BIOS version: 3.20 [Beta] )
Memory:Kingston FURY Renegade DDR5 RGB 7200 MT/s 16GBx2
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER 16GB
Operating System: Windows 11 Professional 24H2
Power supply:MONTECH TITAN PLA 1000W
Case: STREACOM BC1 Benchtable V2
Graphics driver: GeForce Game Ready 565.90

 

In the platform BIOS setting, only XMP Profile 1 is manually turned on, all other settings are kept in Auto by default, and the cooler is manually set to run at full speed with the PUMP and fan.

To avoid 3D V-Cache scheduling issues, when using AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D processors with Dual CCD and 3D V-Cache, you must update to the latest version of the motherboard's BIOS, download the latest version of the AMD chipset driver from the motherboard's official website, and extract the AMD chipset driver to install the relevant drivers. chipset driver and extract the AMD chipset driver to install the relevant driver.

∆ BIOS overclocking related settings only enable XMP.

∆ Download the latest version of AMD chipset driver from the motherboard website.

Unzip the ∆ AMD chipset driver and download the associated driver.

∆ Turn on Game Mode in Win 11 system.

 

AMD R9 9950X3D, R9 9900X3D Computing, Rendering Performance, Score Software Tests

firstly CPU-Z To view the hardware information of this test platform, AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D processor has 16 cores and 32 threads, AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D processor has 12 cores and 24 threads, and AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor has 8 cores and 16 threads, and the series code name is Granite Ridge. TSMC 4nm FinFET process, motherboards use ASRock X870E Taichi Lite Supports PCI-E 5.0 lanes, BIOS version 3.20 [Beta], memory use Kingston FURY Renegade DDR5 RGB 7200 MT/s 16GBx2 Dual-channel capacity totals 32 GB and operates at DDR5-7200 CL38-44-44-105 1.45V with XMP Profile 1.

Also ran CPU-Z internal tests Version 19.01.64(beta)The results are provided for your reference.

∆ AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D_CPU-Z information at a glance and Version 19.01.64(beta) built-in test score results.

∆ AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D_CPU-Z information at a glance and Version 19.01.64(beta) built-in test score results.

∆ AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D_CPU-Z information at a glance and Version 19.01.64(beta) built-in test score results.

 

AIDA64 Cache & Memory Benchmark It is mainly used to test the performance of processor caches and RAM. The read/write/copy bandwidth performance score represents the rate of transfer between CPU and memory, which means the efficiency of data throughput (the higher the score, the better), and the time delay score of accessing data indicates the responsiveness of the memory system.

∆ AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D_AIDA64 Cache and Memory Test.

∆ AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D_AIDA64 Cache and Memory Test.

∆ AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D_AIDA64 Cache and Memory Test.

 

new version Cinebench 2024 MAXON ONE is Maxon's benchmark software for MAXON ONE software. MAXON ONE includes Cinema 4D, Red Giant Complete, Redshift, ZBrush, Universe, and Forger, and is a powerful tool for creating animation effects, motion design, motion graphics, film-grade portraits, and game art scenes. Each of these software programs fits together to provide a complete visual solution for creators.

Cinebench 2024 uses Cinema 4D's default Redshift rendering engine to test GPU and CPU performance. If multiple graphics cards are used to run Cinebench 2024 tests, the software utilizes multiple cards for the rendering tests at the same time, and Cinebench 2024 performs multiple rendering tests with six times the amount of computation when compared to Cinebench R23. Compared to Cinebench R23, the Cinebench 2024 multi-threaded rendering tests show a six-fold increase in the amount of computation for scenes. This reflects improvements in CPU performance and the higher hardware requirements that multimedia workers must now meet.

 

PCMark 10 It also simulates test scenarios to determine the overall performance of the computer. The common basic functions include application launching, web browsing, and video conferencing tests, while productivity simulates document and spreadsheet writing, and the last item, video content creation, includes professional tests such as photo editing, video editing, and rendering.

∆ AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D_PCMark 10 test.

∆ AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D_PCMark 10 test.

∆ AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D_PCMark 10 test.

 

3DMark score test

Next up, the 3DMark series, one of the most benchmarks for gaming scores, was used to compare the theoretical results of the same graphics platform with different processors through a series of tests with different picture quality and different GPU APIs.

3DMark CPU Profile This test will measure the performance of MAX, 16, 8, 4, 2 and 1 threads respectively, while the performance of 16 threads and above is more for 3D rendering or audio/video professional work, most of the mainstream DirectX 12 games can refer to the score of 8 threads, while the score of 4 and 2 threads are related to the old games developed with DirectX 9.

∆ AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D_3DMark CPU Profile.

∆ AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D_3DMark CPU Profile.

∆ AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D_3DMark CPU Profile.

 

3DMark Fire Strike Includes two tests using the DirectX 11 GPU API, a physical test and a combined CPU and GPU test, each testing theoretical game performance at 1080p.

∆ AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D_DirectX 11 Fire Strike.

∆ AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D_DirectX 11 Fire Strike.

∆ AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D_DirectX 11 Fire Strike.

 

3DMark Time Spy The DirectX 12 GPU API is also benchmarked for gaming at 2K 1440p.

∆ AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D_DirectX 12 Time Spy.

∆ AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D_DirectX 12 Time Spy.

∆ AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D_DirectX 12 Time Spy.

 

Two MMORPG-type game performance tests

MMORPG Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game has chosen theFF14_Final Fantasy XIV_ and _Final Fantasy XIV_ and _Final Fantasy XIV_ and _Final Fantasy XIV_.Monster Hunter WildernessMonster Hunter Wilds" two popular games for performance testing, and use their respective "FINAL FANTASY XIV: Dawntrail Official Benchmark" and "Monster Hunter Wilds Benchmark" official performance test tool for the scores, and will be The settings related to texture quality were set to the "highest" settings in the game, and the resolution was set to Full HD 1920×1080.

The first is the "The Race to the Top", which is due to be launched in about 2024.FF14 Golden Legacy_FINAL FANTASY XIV: Dawntrail Official Benchmark", with the texture quality set to "Highest Quality" and NVIDIA DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) enabled.

 

The second paragraph of theMonster Hunter WildernessMonster Hunter Wilds Benchmark is a PC performance test software released in 2025, with a preset combination of "Very High" for picture quality, NVIDIA DLSS for upscaling (ultra-resolution technology), frame generation on, and "High" for light tracking.

∆ AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D_TheMonster Hunter Wilderness_Monster Hunter Wilds Benchmark_.

∆ AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D_ TheMonster Hunter Wilderness_Monster Hunter Wilds Benchmark_.

∆ AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D_TheMonster Hunter Wilderness_Monster Hunter Wilds Benchmark_.

 

三FPS type gaming performance test

Three iconic games have been selected for testing in the FPS gaming category.Battle Attack 2_Overwatch 2, _Rainbow Six: Operation Siege_Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, and theApex LegendsThe APEX is set to the "highest" setting in the game, and the APEX is set to the maximum frame rate of 144 fps by default, so manually input the code to the maximum of 300 fps.

With a standardized resolution of Full HD 1920×1080 to allow for side-by-side comparisons of processor performance under stress, average (AVG) fps and 1% Low fps were collected through NVIDIA GeForce's free FrameView software.

《Rainbow Six: Operation SiegeTom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege: NVIDIA DLSS Quality, NVIDIA Reflex Open + Enhanced, Overall Quality_Superb!
《Apex Legends":DirectX 12, NVIDIA Reflex Enablement + Enhancements, TEXTURE STREAMING BUDGET_LIMITED (8GB VRAM)
《Battle Attack 2_Overwatch 2: DirectX 11, NVIDIA Reflex Open + BOOTS, NVIDIA DLSS Super Resolution

Of the three FPS-type e-sports games, except for Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, which has a built-in performance test, the other two games are all about collecting frames at the shooting range.

• Average fps: Record the number of frames generated during a test play session and divide by the total recording time to get the average value.
• 1% Low fpsThe 1% part of the frame value that represents the longest frame generation time (Frametime) during the test is calculated as the average value, the closer the value is to the measured average fps, it means that the game does not have a significant frame drop problem, in other words 1% Low fps is the fluctuation of the low frame rate.

∆ Three FPS-type gaming games tested: highest texture effects, FHD 1080×1920 resolution.

 

十AAA Masterpiece Gaming Performance Tests

To test the AAA genre, which emphasizes on the experience of graphic performance and storytelling, the author chose to play "The Battle of the Birds", which is the first game in the AAA genre.Bloodshed 2_ Red Dead Redemption 2, _Ghosts of Tsushima Warriors_Ghost of Tsushima》、《Electric Renegade 2077_Cyberpunk 2077, TheBrothers of the Four Seas: The Definitive Edition_Mafia: Definitive Edition, theHorizon: The Western Sanctuary_ Horizon Forbidden West, _The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt_The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, TheKurokami Dialog: Goku_Black Myth: Wukong, TheWatch Dogs: Freedom Corps_Watch Dogs: Legion, TheHowl of War 6_Far Cry 6, _Assassin's Creed: Illusions_Assassin's Creed Mirage" and ten other 3A masterpieces are tested in the game.

《Bloodshed 2_Red Dead Redemption 2: Quality preset (quality-focused), NVIDIA DLSS Quality, DirectX 12
《Ghosts of Tsushima Warriors_Ghost of Tsushima":Default_Very High, Boost_Method_DLSS, Boost_Quality, Framing_DLSS Framing
《Cyberpunk 2077":DLSS Super Resolution Default_Quality / Transforner Model, DLSS Frame Generation On, Material Quality_High, Light Tracing_Crazy
《Brothers of the Four Seas: The Definitive Edition_Mafia: Definitive Edition》:Total Quality Preset_Best
《Horizon: The Western Sanctuary_Horizon Forbidden West: DLSS quality, DLSS frame generation on, preset_very high
《The Witcher 3: Wild HuntThe Witcher 3: Wild Hunt: DirectX 12, Default Image_Light Following: Extreme, DLSS Quality, DLSS Frame Generation_On
《Kurokami Dialog: GokuBlack Myth: Wukong: DLSS Quality, Frame Generator_On, Panoramic Light Tracking_On/Ultra High, Quality Class_Video Class
《Watch Dogs: Freedom Corps_Watch Dogs: Legion: DirectX 12, Screen Quality_Max, Light Trace Reflection_Max, DLSS_Picture Mode
《Howl of War 6_Far Cry 6_: High Quality, DXR Light Tracing Reflections_on, DXR Light Tracing Shadows_on, FSR 1.0_Quality
《Assassin's Creed: IllusionsAssassin's Creed Mirage: World Detail_Very High, Upper Sample Type_NVIDIA DLSS

Considering the fact that most players pursue the most beautiful screen performance rather than the highest frame rate performance when playing 3A masterpiece games, the author also set the built-in "Highest/Higher" texture effect option for AAA type games, and chose "Highest" and DLSS 3-quality quality mode for the light tracking setting, to obtain a certain degree of frame rate enhancement while keeping the screen performance as much as possible, and the frame rate collection. Also uses Software Average Recording (AVG) and 1% Low fps.

• Average fps: Record the number of frames generated during a test play session and divide by the total recording time to get the average value.
• 1% Low fpsThe 1% part of the frame value that represents the longest frame generation time (Frametime) during the test is calculated as the average value, the closer the value is to the measured average fps, it means that the game does not have a significant frame drop problem, in other words 1% Low fps is the fluctuation of the low frame rate.

∆ Ten AAA games tested: highest texture effects, FHD 1920×1080 resolution.

 

AMD R9 9950X3D, R9 9900X3D Processor Temperature and Power Consumption Tests

The test platform was built on an indoor bare test platform in a closed room at 23~25 °C. The ambient temperature in a normal room is difficult to control, so it is for reference only.

The author used Cinebench 2024 (Multi Core_one round), AIDA64 FPU, AIDA64 CPU, theKurokami Dialog: GokuBlack Myth: Wukong" and other scenarios were tested, and data was collected using HWiFO64 to collect and record the maximum temperature, and convert the information into graphs for players' reference.

1. AIDA64 FPU_30 Minute
2. AIDA64 CPU_30 Minute
3. Black Myth: Wukong 1920 x 1080(FHD)_Performance Test Tool 1 Round
4. Cinebench 2024 Multi Core_1 Round

• CPU temperature is measured by the diode in the slot to measure the internal (core) or external (case) temperature, but there is no way to know exactly whether it is the internal or external temperature that is measured, and most monitoring software uses this item to display the CPU temperature.
• CPU (Tctl/Tdie) temperature is the actual maximum temperature of the CPU sensor in the chip.

∆ AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D_ Thermal Performance Test and Power Consumption Performance.

∆ AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D_ Thermal Performance Test and Power Consumption Performance.

∆ AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D_ Thermal Performance Test and Power Consumption Performance.

 

Conclusion

In the Cinebench 2024 Multi Core professional performance test, the Ryzen 9 9950X3D is 29.7% stronger than the 9900X3D and 74.7% stronger than the 9800X3D. If we refer to the Cinebench database, the Ryzen 9 9950X3D is 6% weaker than the original Ryzen 9 9950, while the Ryzen 9 9900X3D is 34.7% stronger than the 9800X3D. If you look at the Cinebench database, the Ryzen 9 9950X3D is about 6% weaker than the original Ryzen 9 9950, while the Ryzen 9 9900X3D is 34.7% stronger than the 9800X3D, and the single core scores of all three are more or less the same.

 

In the three FPS gaming games in the average fps score is basically the same, only "Battlefield Attack 2_Overwatch 2" with the different levels in the average fps and 1% Low fps has increased, but the difference is not big, the other result is more strange "Apex Legends" because the game even if the liberation of the frame rate preset limit is still up to 300 fps, so for these three processors and graphics cards are quite easy not to eat full. Apex Legends, another odd result, is still only 300 fps at most even when the game is freed up from the frame rate default limit, so it's quite easy for all three processors and graphics cards not to be filled up.

 

In terms of the total average fps of the ten 3A titles I play, the Ryzen 9 9950X3D is still a little bit better than the Ryzen 7 9800X3D (but only a little bit), so if you play similar games as I do, then save your money and buy the Ryzen 7 9800X3D.

To summarize, who is suitable to upgrade from Ryzen 7 9800X3D to Ryzen 9 9950X3D? Those who have multi-core professional rendering needs or gamers who are looking for a 500+ frame gaming experience, and I can only think of people who would buy a high-end dual-mode gaming monitor (not me, anyway).

But it all comes back to one thing: who would buy a $20,000+ processor for the vast majority of FHD consumers?