Ryzen 9 9900X3D is here with Zen 5 cores and 2nd gen V-cache!

May 1, 2025

Alongside the headline-making Ryzen 9950X3D, AMD also announced its less powerful sibling: the Ryzen 9 9900X3D with fewer cores and lower power draw. Regardless, the new CPU seems just as impressive as its older brother on paper, it’s sure to be a popular pick among many gamers and creators alike.

AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D Overview

Since we’ve already covered the top-of-the-line Ryzen 9 9950X3D, let’s talk about the major differentiating factors between the two. The Ryzen 9 9900X3D has fewer Zen 5 cores (12 vs 16) and slightly lower clock speeds compared to its pricier counterpart. It also draws less power at 120W and has slightly less amount of cache. Regardless, it’s still a good enough upgrade over its predecessor: the Ryzen 9 7900X3D with Zen 4 cores.

To be specific, the Ryzen 9 9900X3D has 12 cores with 24 threads in total, with a boost clock of up to 5.5 GHz. The TDP stays the same as its predecessor and so does the amount of cache (140Mb in total), but it’s using AMD’s 2nd gen V-cache technology under the hood. This means the cache is situated below the Core Complex Dies (CCDs) so the CPU can push higher frequencies without worrying about heat. This has resulted in better performance for X3D CPUs outside of pure gaming with these chips performing as well as their ‘X’ (Ryzen 9 9900X) counterparts on creative and productivity tasks.