X3D “won’t replace everything else” confirms AMD, despite overwhelming 3D V-Cache success
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AMD’s success in the CPU market has been leaps ahead of the competition, with their X3D chips setting the bar for the very best gaming processors. We saw this with the 7800X3D, which was considered the best gaming processor of all time until it was dethroned by its successor, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, which came with even more power.
Even after nearly four months since its launch, the CPU continues to dominate the market, with demand so high that restocks sell out within minutes. AMD has even taken a few shots at Intel for offering little competition with their Core Ultra CPUs, as AMD’s chips remain the clear choice for gamers.
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- Cores: 8
- Threads: 16
- Boost clock speed: 5.2GHz
- Base clock speed: 4.7GHz
- L3 cache: 96MB
- TDP: 120W
- Platform: AM5
However, despite being the ultimate processor for gamers, X3D chips aren’t the future of the CPU market for everyone. In an interview at CES 2025, TechPowerUp was invited to speak with David McAfee, Corporate Vice President and General Manager of the Client Channel Business. During the session, the publication asked, “Given the huge success of 3D V-Cache, isn’t it time to make it standard on all higher-end processors?” To this, McAfee replied:
“That’s a great question. One thing about the desktop market is there’s no one-size-fits-all. The 7950X3D is a great example. For gaming, X3D is awesome because the big block of cache next to the processor lowers memory latency, boosting gaming performance. But for creator applications like Photoshop or 3D rendering, X3D offers negligible benefit. The stacking process is expensive. There are many PC builders with different priorities, applications, and budgets. X3D is a critical part of our strategy, but it won’t replace everything else.”
David McAfee, Corporate VP and General Manager, Client Channel Business at AMD
It’s true, X3D chips aren’t the best for productivity
From the first X3D chip, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, to the latest, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, we’ve been keen to review every processor bearing the X3D moniker. And while these chips have consistently led in gaming benchmarks, they’ve always lagged behind in productivity workloads. With the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, we did see a notable improvement in productivity compared to previous X3D iterations, but the gains weren’t significant enough to make it a compelling choice for those who don't prioritize gaming when shopping for a processor.
For instance, in our review of the 9800X3D, we tested its performance in Blender rendering. While it did outperform the 9700X by around 5–10 points, it still fell short of Intel’s Core Ultra 7 265K by roughly 40 points, highlighting Intel's continued edge in render performance. This is where David's statement starts to make sense – while X3D has made a major impact on the CPU market, it isn't the go-to choice for every PC builder. David claims that despite the growing popularity of X3D chips, “On a global scale, the split between AM4 and AM5 is not far off from 50/50. Different markets have different preferences. North America and Western Europe skew toward higher-end AM5 builds.”
AMD doesn't plan to replace everything with X3D
AMD’s 9800X3D chips have taken Team Red to new heights, with David himself saying they’re blown away by the demand for the processor. However, despite the overwhelming success, AMD doesn't plan to replace everything with X3D and make 3D V-Cache a standard for every high-end processor, and we’ve seen why. While AMD continues to dominate the gaming market with their X3D chips for who knows how long, there will still be enthusiasts who don’t necessarily want the best gaming processor on the market but instead want the one with the best multi-core performance.