AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D Review – AMD’s Brilliant All-Rounder

1. Introducing the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2. Performance and Testing: CPU3. Performance and Testing: System and Gaming4. Performance and Testing: Gaming5. Closing Thoughts6. View All Pages

AMD's Ryzen 9 9950X3D uses their 2nd Gen V-Cache technology to give the 16-core Ryzen 9 9950X an overhaul that transforms its behaviour. Against all the odds it is excellent at gaming and also at productivity tasks. Our benchmark charts in this review will likely bring despair to Intel.

Time stamps

00:00 Start
01:04 Technical data
01:58 3D V-Cache / Chipset Drivers
02:32 Hardware
03:20 BIOS / Latency heatmap
03:47 Cinebench 2024 Multi Core
03:59 Cinebench 2024 Single Core
04:14 Geekbench 6 Multi Core
04:25 Geekbench 6 Single Core
04:31 Cinebench Multi Core Per £ of cost
05:15 CPU Power Consumption
05:28 Cinebench 2024 Multi Core Per Watt
05:59 7Zip v24 Benchmark
06:05 AIDA 64 Memory Bandwidth
06:27 3DMark Time Spy
06:45 Far Cry 6 (1080p)
07:02 Far Cry 6 (1440p)
07:10 Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora (1080p)
07:29 Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora (1440p)
07:48 Assassins Creed Mirage (1080p)
07:59 Assassins Creed Mirage (1440p)
08:16 Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p)
08:33 Cyberpunk 20277 (1440p)
08:45 Total War Pharaoh (1080p)
09:02 Total War Pharaoh (1440p)
09:16 Closing Thoughts

Alongside this Ryzen 9 9950X3D, AMD is also releasing the 12-core Ryzen 9 9900X3D that we have reviewed HERE.

If you check out that review you will have the background information you require to understand why moving from two 6-core CCDs in the 9900X3D to 8-core CCDs in this 9950X3D is a much bigger deal than it sounds..

Performance and Testing: CPU

Test system

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D
• Motherboard: MSI MPG X870E Carbon WiFi
• RAM: 32GB G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo RGB DDR5-6000 C30
• Graphics Card: MSI RTX 4090 Ventus 3X 24GB
• CPU cooler: Phanteks Glacier One 360D30
• SSD: 1TB Crucial T700
• Power Supply: Seasonic Focus ATX3.1 GX-1000 Gold
• Operating System: Windows 11 24H2

Cinebench 2024 Multi Core

In Cinebench 2024 Multi Core we see the first of many fine results for Ryzen 9 9950X3D, but it should be noted it is only a tiny margin ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K in this test .

Cinebench 2024 Single Core

Cinebench 2024 Single Core reverses the result with Intel taking top honours and Ryzen 9 dropping to second place.

Cinebench 2024 Multi Core per £

In this chart we take the Cinebench 2024 Multi Core score and divide by the cost of the CPU to get a feel for value for money. AMD 3D CPUs cost plenty and as a result suffer in this chart.

CPU Power Consumption

AMD Zen 5 technology is impressively efficient and in this chart of CPU Power Consumption we see that Ryzen 9 9950X and 9950X3D each consume 200W under full load where Intel Raptor Lake demands 253W.

Cinebench 2024 Multi Core per Watt

Here we take the Cinebench 2024 Multi Core score and divide by power consumption to gauge efficiency and we see AMD doing well with the Ryzen 9 9950X3D in third place.

Performance and Testing: System and Gaming

7-Zip

The 7-Zip benchmark is a clear win for the 9950X3D and in second place we see the Zen 4 7950X3D.

AIDA64 Memory Bandwidth

This chart is more about the memory than the CPU and the fact that Intel supports faster memory than AMD hands them a clear win.

Far Cry 6 at 1080p

In Far Cry 6 at 1080p the 8-core Ryzen 7 9800X3D wins by a narrow margin over the Ryzen 9 9950X3D.

Far Cry 6 at 1440p

It is the same story in Far Cry 6 at 1440p with the Ryzen 7 3D beating the 3D Ryzen 9 into second place.

Performance and Testing: Gaming

Assassin's Creed Mirage at 1080p

Assassin's Creed Mirage at 1080p gives the win to the 9950X3D over 9800X3D, however there is very little to separate the two CPUs.

Assassin's Creed Mirage at 1440p

Assassin's Creed Mirage at 1440p reverts to the norm with Ryzen 7 9800X3D taking the win over Ryzen 9 9950X3D and 7950X3D.

Total War Pharaoh at 1080p

In Total War Pharaoh at 1080p we see the 9800X3D once again winning with the 9950X3D in second place. Both CPUs are a huge step ahead of the rest of the field.

Total War Pharaoh at 1440p

In Total War Pharaoh at 1440p we see another clear victory for the Ryzen 7 9800X3D with Ryzen 9 9950X3D taking another valiant second place.

Our benchmark results show the strength of a 16-core AMD Ryzen 9 CPU in day-to-day tasks and the benefits of 2nd Gen 3D V-cache, and that is before we get to gaming.

It is worth noting the 3D V-cache has absolutely no downside in terms of power draw, clock speed or thermals and the only consideration is the extra cost. In gaming the benefits of 3D V-cache are quite extraordinary as this 16-core productivity monster can change mode and suddenly act like a Ryzen 7 9800X3D to deliver excellent gaming performance.

We have no complaints about the Ryzen 9 9950X3D, and feel slightly mean criticising its price when it is likely to be matched with a graphics card that costs between £1,000 and £3,000.

We have a slight sadness at the thought that there are engineering samples out there with 3D V-cache on both CCDs. It is entirely possible the benefits of the extra cache are marginal but our feeling is that more is always better.

You can buy the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D for £699.99 inc VAT from OCUK HERE.

Pros:

• Excellent all-round performance.
• Gaming performance almost matches 9800X3D.
• Cool and quiet operation.

Cons:

• We have to wonder whether a full-cache chip would be even better.
• Relatively expensive.

KitGuru says: The Ryzen 9 9950X3D is excellent and wipes Intel off the map.

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