4 things to know before investing in an AMD X3D CPU

Since 2022, AMD’s Ryzen X3D CPUs have ruled the gaming benchmarks owing to the Ryzen 3D V-Cache, which gives them a kind of unfair advantage over the rest of the competition. With the new Ryzen 7 9800X3D smashing all previous records and being crowned the fastest gaming CPU in the world, it’s time to revisit all the facets of AMD’s X3D chips.
Some users might not be aware of the special nature of these processors, leading them to form inaccurate assumptions about their performance and features outside of gaming. The marketing hype around their gaming prowess can sometimes make it hard to look at the full picture. So, here are 4 things you should remember before buying an AMD X3D CPU.
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4 Productivity isn’t great on AMD’s X3D CPUs
Invest with the right expectations
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AMD revolutionized the gaming performance of its Ryzen CPUs when it debuted the innovative 3D V-Cache in 2022’s Ryzen 7 5800X3D. The processor was a regular 8-core Zen 3 chip in most regards, but AMD stacked a bunch of L3 V-Cache cache vertically on the existing L3 cache of the chip’s CCD. This innovative packaging technology allowed AMD to give the cores access to more L3 cache without increasing the die size.
This gave the 5800X3D a huge boost in gaming workloads compared to the Ryzen 7 5800X or any other AMD or Intel processor. AMD succeeded in creating the fastest gaming CPU in the world, but the 3D V-Cache also had the side effect of reduced clock speeds, and hence, less than ideal productivity performance.
Now, AMD has always marketed the 5800X3D and any of the later X3D CPUs as gaming CPUs, first and foremost, but not everyone might have the right expectations when buying such a CPU. When buying, say, a Ryzen 7 7800X3D or 9800X3D for a significant premium, some users might expect premium-level performance in multi-core and professional workloads too. This wrong expectation is likely to tarnish their experience with their X3D chip, and they might consider returning it for a more rounded processor.
3 X3D CPUs are relatively harder to cool
These denser CPUs might need a more capable cooler
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I’ll begin by clarifying that none of the X3D processors are power guzzlers. In fact, you won’t find any of them with a TDP of over 120W. This means that operating temperatures never creep into an ungodly range (like some Intel CPUs), but the X3D chips can still run hotter than their regular Ryzen counterparts.
The 3D V-Cache results in a denser CPU package, resulting in slightly higher temperatures. Plus, the Zen 3 and Zen 4 variants have the cache stacked on top of the CCD, which adds a layer of separation between the IHS and the CPU cores. This also adds a few degrees to the CPU package temperature. Note that this isn’t a big deal while gaming, but if you’re also a productivity user or planning to run professional workloads in the future, you should know what you’re getting into.
Suppose you currently have a 65W Ryzen processor running with a stock cooler. You might want to think about getting a capable aftermarket air or liquid cooler for your new X3D CPU. For the new Ryzen 7 9800X3D, you might want to take advantage of the chip’s fully unlocked status with overclocking or PBO. This could possibly raise temperatures beyond what you’re comfortable with. It all comes down to knowing all the sides of the gaming-focused processor you’re buying, and then making your decision.
2 Not all X3D CPUs support overclocking or PBO
Avoid rude surprises later
The latest entrant in the X3D lineup is the Zen 5 iteration, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D. It features the same core layout, amount of 3D V-Cache, and TDP as the Ryzen 7 7800X3D, but has the 3D V-Cache moved underneath the CCD instead of on top of it. This allows the user to fully overclock the processor, and the cores are now easier to cool due to their proximity to the IHS, and thereby, the cooler’s heatsink.
However, if you’re buying the previous-gen Ryzen 7 7800X3D — which you absolutely should, if you can get it significantly cheaper than the 9800X3D — you don’t get the same freedom. The 7800X3D supports AMD’s PBO, but isn’t fully unlocked for manual overclocking. The older Ryzen 7 5800X3D is hard to get hold of (on account of being discontinued), but it lacked official support for both PBO and overclocking.
None of this is to say that any of the X3D chips are weak or bad products, but they might let you down if you expect each of them to function like any other regular, fully unlocked CPU. You’ll undoubtedly get one of the best performing CPUs for gaming, but not all of them will support extracting a little extra performance with a simple PBO tuning or manual overclocking.
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Related How to use AMD Ryzen Master Ryzen Master allows easy, BIOS-free overclocking for your Ryzen CPUs. Here’s a complete rundown of everything you can do with it.
1 You might not get a great