FASTER processor for GAMES: AMD announces the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D

AMD announced the launch of a new processor for desktops during CES 2026, the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D, along with new models for notebooks, the Ryzen AI 400 series. According to the company, this new CPU is the fastest in the world for games, surpassing the AMD model, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D.

Despite this feat, the 9850X3D does not bring major changes compared to the 9800X3D. At base, both have eight cores and 16 processing threads based on the Zen5 microarchitecture. Both also have a large amount of level 3 cache (L3 cache) resulting from the stacking of 3D V-cache technology.

The 9850X3D also maintains the new version of 3D V-cache technology, the second generation changes the order of things, with the processing cores and other Zen 5 structures being at the top, stacked on top of the cache memory.

This brought an important benefit: now the processing cores, where there is the greatest heat in the arrangement, are closer to the processor lid, and therefore we have it closer to the cooling solution. This improved processor heat management.

So where is the 9850X3D different? 200MHz plus maximum boost frequency. And… well, that’s just it. It is common for the long-term maturation of the chip production line to generate more efficient products. AMD usually takes advantage of these more efficient chips and relaunches something that is basically the same product, but with slightly higher clock rates.

Higher operating frequencies bring more performance, but they are not directly proportional. Considering that these 200MHz are not even a 5% increase, the performance gain may even be imperceptible versus the 9800X3D.

In the comparative graphs, AMD makes the comparison only with its rival’s product, the Intel Core Ultra 7 285K, so we are not yet able to get this graph to have the exact value of the difference in performance between the models, but it is clear that versus the 9800X3D the difference will be small.

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D will be available for purchase in the first quarter of 2026. In addition to the announcement of this new processor, AMD also presented a new generation of processors for notebooks, the Ryzen AI 400 series, codenamed Gorgon Point.