ASUS's first DDR5 memory modules, the ROG 20th Edition, have been demoed on the ROG Crosshair X870E APEX motherboard, showcasing impressive OC capabilities. ASUS Equips Its ROG Crosshair APEX Motherboard With Its First DDR5 Memory Modules & Pushes Them To 8800 MT/s With Ease This Friday, ASUS announced its first-ever "ROG" DDR5 memory modules featuring up to 48 GB capacity, a stunning design, and a special ROG-Mode that switches between low-latency and high-speed profiles. During the event, ASUS's in-house overclocker, Safedisk, also showcased some overclocking capabilities of its first DDR5 memory solution on the newly released ROG Crosshair 2006 motherboard, […]
The reviews of the 9950X3D2 are in from discerning reviewers. TL;DR; - it's not for everyone, but it's very much for some. The return of the 3060 is almost here, wait -…
The newly launched flagship CPU has already entered the top 10 best-selling CPUs on Amazon and could eventually move up on the chart. AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Enjoys Better Popularity Than Intel's Best CPUs on Amazon, Selling as the 10th Best Selling CPU at $899 The Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 didn't impress much and brought even smaller uplifts over Ryzen 9 9950X3D than Ryzen 7 9850X3D brought over the Ryzen 7 9800X3D. Moreover, the hefty price tag of $899 makes it unappealing and unreachable for the masses. But there are always enthusiasts who wouldn't spend a day without buying the latest […]
The AMD's new dual 3D V-Cache Ryzen 9 9950XD2 processor has secured top rankings in overclocking leaderboards on ASRock's flagship AM5 motherboard. ASRock Announces Several World Records in Synthetic Benchmarks With AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 On X870E Taichi OCF CPU world records are getting broken quite easily, especially since the AMD's new flagship Zen 5 has been dropped. While the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 failed to bring any noticeable gains in gaming over the smaller siblings, it's slightly faster than the previous Zen 5 flagship CPU in synthetic benchmarks. We have seen it delivering 2-10% higher performance in various synthetic […]
The system integrator is deploying AMD's flagship Zen 5 X3D chip to deliver the best possible configuration available on the market. MAINGEAR Intros MG-1 Gaming Desktop With Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition, Up To GeForce RTX 5090, and Up To 128 GB DDR5 Memory Popular system integrator, MAINGEAR, has introduced the MG-1 gaming desktop with new configuration, consisting of the recently launched AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition. The MG-1 lineup already has plenty of configurations, including processors and GPUs from popular vendors like Intel, NVIDIA, and AMD, but with the launch of Ryzen 9 9950X3D2, the system has now […]
Dell's Alienware Area-51 has the distinction of being first to market with AMD's latest flagship desktop CPU, and while very few outlets were able to review it you can take matters into…
For half the price, the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D does a much better job at gaming than the new dual X3D edition Ryzen 9000X3D chip. Several Independent Tests Revealed Little to No Performance Gains in Gaming or Productivity With the $900 Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition Typically, almost every Ryzen generation brings some kind of performance uplifts, and even though we didn't see much growth in gaming performance going from Ryzen 7000 to 9000, the Zen 5 family did provide a helpful boost in productivity. On the other hand, the AMD Ryzen 9 9950XD2 Dual Edition is one of the […]
The reviews of AMD's Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition are starting to roll in and it turns out this is no Threadripper replacement. The extra 3D V-Cache on the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2…
When AMD announced the Ryzen 9 9950X3D at CES 2025 we immediately demanded a version with 3D V-Cache on both chiplets, and we even suggested the name ‘Ryzen 9 Lisa Su Edition'. A full year later and we finally have the CPU that we wanted and it comes with a clanger of a name, ‘AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition‘. Let's park that thought, dive into the silicon and see what AMD has created.
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
01:03 So what is the 9950X3D2?
02:44 Cinebench 2026 behaviour
04:03 Test bench
05:41 Cinebench benchmarks
07:05 Efficiency
08:09 Synthetic tests
09:38 Gaming performance
11:19 Pricing discussion
13:51 Leo’s pros and cons
Key features
The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 is the Ultimate Processor for Developers and Creators With Latency-Sensitive Workloads
7% Faster RENDER Average Performance in specific applications vs. Ryzen 9 9950X3D
Faster AI & Simulation Average Performance in specific applications vs. Ryzen 9 9950X3D
3% Faster Productivity Average Performance in 10+ applications vs. Ryzen 9 9950X3D
Same Leading Gaming Performance Average FPS as the Ryzen 9 9950X3D
In Geekbench 6 Multi Core we see the mighty Threadrippers storm to the top of the chart. In third place – and the first of the regular desktop CPUs – it is the new Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition a small step ahead of the current Ryzen 9 9950X3D.
Blender 5.1 Splash Render
The Blender 5.1 Splash Render test is an intense workload that runs for over an hour on the Ryzen 7 9850X3D and still takes 11 minutes on the 64-core Threadripper 9980X. This test shows clear separation between the three Ryzen 9 9950 CPUs with the 9950X3D2 coming out on top.
SPECworkstation 4
SPECworkstation 4 runs a package of 23 benchmark tests and once again we see a healthy improvement from the new Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition over the existing 9950X3D.
Closing Thoughts
Adding a second extra slab of 3D V-Cache to the Ryzen 9 9950X3D to create the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition looks like an easy win, however things are not as straightforward as they first appear.
AMD rolled the pitch ahead of the launch of the Dual Edition and made it clear that gamers should expect very little from this processor as the second core chiplet plays a minor part in the proceedings. That is fair enough but we had high hopes that content creators would be well served by the extra 3D V-Cache, however this turned out to be rather unpredictable.
The end result is a new processor that reliably delivers higher performance thanks to its increased power draw. The Dual Edition might also deliver extra performance, depending on the specific software you are using, but that is very much a case of trial and error.
When the stars align and the processor runs suitable software it can deliver blazing performance while also delivering an impressive gaming experience, but this is certain to require extra power along with a good deal of cost.
You can buy the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition for £799.99 inc VAT from OCUK HERE.
Pros:
Impressive all-round performance.
Drop-in replacement for any modern AM5 motherboard.
DDR5-6000 memory works well with 3D CPUs.
Cons:
Very expensive.
Increased power draw is disappointing to see.
Finding latency-sensitive workloads that benefit from 3D V-cache is tricky.
KitGuru says: We have waited a year for the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition and have to confess we are disappointed by the end result.
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If you were waiting to buy the flagship AMD Zen 5 X3D chip, you can pre-order it before it launches officially. AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition Listed On Amazon for $999; Newegg Lists it As Well, but No Pre-Order Option At $899 official MSRP, the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 was already too expensive, but at $999, the Dual Edition has become the most expensive mainstream CPU in the current generation. After revealing the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition, AMD announced that it's going to see a retail launch on April 22, which is roughly six days away from now. The […]
The flagship Zen 5 X3D chip gets benchmarked ahead of the official launch and here's how it performs with air cooling. AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Appears on HWBot for the First Time in 7-Zip and Cinebench Benchmarking The fastest Zen 5 X3D chip has already been tested by someone, as can be seen from the uploaded benchmarks on HWBot. AMD's Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition, which was revealed two weeks ago, was tested by a Bulgarian user, "Stoikov". There are currently four benchmarks available on the HWBot website, including 7-Zip, Cinebench 2026 Single and Multi-Threaded, and Cinebench R23 Multi-core. The […]
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A couple of weeks ago, AMD officially announced the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition processor, combining two stacks of 3D V-Cache in one chip. This is going to be AMD's top-end Ryzen desktop processor, so we expected it to be expensive, but the exact cost remained elusive. That changed this week with AMD revealing an $899 price tag.
In a tweet this afternoon, David McAfee, AMD's VP and GM of Ryzen, confirmed that the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 will launch on April 22nd with an $899 price tag. As PCGamer points out, this is $200 higher than the launch price for the standard Ryzen 9 9950X3D.
The Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 stands out thanks to its dual 3D V-Cache design, providing 208MB of high-speed on-chip cache, the most ever put into a Ryzen processor. The additional cache means more game data and more assets can sit right next to the CPU cores, providing speedy access with dramatically reduced latency.
This all should lead to performance improvements in both gaming and content creation tasks, but AMD says it will “really shine” in other demanding workflows like simulations, 3D rendering, large software builds, AI models, and game engine compiles, positioning this CPU as a workstation-class chip, rather than a gaming one.
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Our short wait is over, as AMD today announced pricing and availability of the new Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition processor. Are you sitting down? As AMD states:
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