AMD's next gaming champ to debut at $499, and you can already buy it ahead of launch — Ryzen 7 9850X3D is $30 more expensive than the Ryzen 7 9800X3D

AMD's Ryzen 7 9850X3D, a contender for the best CPU, will hit retail for $499 on January 29. This highly anticipated Zen 5 3D V-Cache chip aims to dethrone the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, arguably the fastest gaming processor ever created.

The Ryzen 7 9850X3D holds no surprises as we've known about it for a while now, but that doesn’t diminish its appeal. The gaming processor is a meticulously higher-binned variant of the award-winning Ryzen 7 9800X3D. It features a substantial 400 MHz boost clock advantage over its predecessor, which should translate into up to a 7% improvement in games, according to AMD. Naturally, you should wait for some real-world benchmarks for a true performance verdict.

• Buy the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D at Amazon

The chipmaker wasn't shy about targeting Intel’s Core Ultra 9 285K, the flagship of the Core Ultra 200S (codenamed Arrow Lake) series. AMD claims the Ryzen 7 9850X3D demolishes the Core Ultra 9 285K by up to 27% in gaming. It's a testament to AMD's 3D V-Cache technology, which continues to dominate in gaming scenarios and maintains a significant performance gap that Intel hasn't been able to close.

AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D Specifications

The persistent DRAM shortage continues to wreak havoc in the memory market. The swiftly rising prices on DDR5 and DDR4 memory kits have forced enthusiasts to make difficult compromises when planning their builds or upgrading their existing systems. However, AMD offers a silver lining for prospective Ryzen 7 9850X3D buyers. Apparently, you won’t need to break the bank on premium memory. AMD reassures customers that pairing the Ryzen 7 9850X3D with budget-friendly DDR5 memory won’t compromise gaming performance.

The second-generation 3D V-Cache technology is AMD's secret weapon for the memory performance equation. According to the chipmaker's internal tests on over 30 games, the framerate difference between DDR5-4800 and DDR5-6000 was less than 1%. That means you can use a run-of-the-mill Crucial DDR5-4800 C40 32GB (2x16), the most affordable DDR5 memory kit on the market right now, for $251.92, and still enjoy exceptional gaming performance. This is welcome news for existing AM5 platform owners looking to drop in a Ryzen 7 9850X3D upgrade without replacing their current memory, and first-time builders assembling a new high-end gaming system.

While the official Ryzen 7 9850X3D launch date is still over a week away on January 29, eager enthusiasts don’t have to wait to secure their chip. You can already buy it on Amazon for $499 to lock in your purchase and expect delivery in the first weeks of February, but waiting for benchmarks and real-world testing is normally advisable in this scenario.

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