**Introduction**
In March, AMD unveiled the much-anticipated Ryzen™ 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition: the first desktop processor featuring stacked 3D V-Cache™ on two CCDs. As AMD’s new flagship, the 9950X3D2 boasts 16 cores, 208 MB of cache, and a power limit raised to 200 W. It aims to deliver top performance in gaming and professional workloads, providing a seamless experience for creatives and gamers and bridging the gap between mainstream desktop and HEDT.
AMD’s 3D V-Cache technology, a key feature since its debut in the 5800X3D, integrates extra cache directly onto the CPU die. This enhances data locality by reducing latency from accessing system memory. The innovation in Ryzen 9000 processors involves positioning the cache beneath the CPU cores, allowing direct contact with the processor’s heat spreader, enabling higher power input and sustained boost states.
Previously, multi-CCD 3D V-Cache processors like the 9950X3D had only one CCD with the 3D V-Cache. This design offered one latency-optimized and one frequency-optimized CCD but posed scheduling challenges. Adding 3D V-Cache to each CCD reduces these issues and improves performance in data-locality-intensive tasks like code compilation and 3D rendering. AMD projects performance gains in AI and content creation workloads due to this design.
**Specifications**
The key distinction between the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 and the 9950X3D is cache. The 9950X3D2 includes 192 MB of L3 Cache, up from the 9950X3D’s 128 MB. Combined with 16 MB of L2 cache, the 9950X3D2 totals 208 MB of on-die cache. Positioning 3D V-Cache on both CCDs is just as crucial.
Other changes include a slight reduction in the maximum boost clock from 5.7 to 5.6 GHz in the 9950X3D2, likely due to thermal considerations. Its TDP has increased to 200 W, with maximum socket power (PPT) rising to 270 W, suggesting a push for more aggressive boost behavior under all-core loads. This necessitates effective cooling.
Unlike Intel, AMD hasn’t offered a free upgrade, as including high-speed cache is costly. The 9950X3D2 is $200 more than the 9950X3D, priced at ~$900. This must be factored in when evaluating performance, with key comparisons including AMD’s 9950X3D at $700, 9950X at $550, and Intel’s Core™ Ultra 7 270K Plus at $300.
**Test Setup**
Our review followed the standard methodology, using ASUS ProArt motherboards and NVIDIA GeForce RTX™ 5080 GPUs for both Intel and AMD platforms. Systems were updated with current Windows, BIOS, and drivers. Stock processor settings were used, disabling overclocking features and selecting default power plans. RAM was set to maximum CPU-supported frequency at JEDEC timings, with Windows security at default.
We tested various content creation benchmarks, including the Puget Bench for Creators suite, five offline CPU renderers, Unreal Engine benchmarks, Houdini benchmarking, and Llama.cpp for AI performance.
**Photography: Lightroom Classic**
Adobe’s Lightroom Classic now leverages multiple cores and GPUs, enhancing performance. We evaluated various metrics, such as AI processing and camera-specific results. The Overall score saw the 9950X3D2 improve by 9% over the 9950X3D and 7% over the 9950X, though it trailed the 270K Plus by 17%. Despite this, the processor capitalizes on increased power limits and cache for better performance.
Overall, while the 9950X3D2 excels in performance within testing, it lags behind the 270K Plus in most tasks while being substantially more expensive.
**Graphic Design: Adobe Photoshop**
Photoshop benefits from CPU-bound, low-latency performance, favoring AMD’s Ryzen 9 9950X3D2. The Overall score showed a 45% performance increase over the 9950X and 9950X3D, and was 21% faster than the 270K Plus.
Despite leading in Photoshop performance, the 9950X3D2’s high price makes it less cost-effective compared to AMD’s other Ryzen processors.
**Video Editing: Adobe Premiere**
The 9950X3D2 offers marginal gains over the 9950X3D and 9950X, with performance close to the 270K Plus in Premiere. LongGOP codecs highlight Intel’s advantage with QuickSync acceleration, leaving AMD’s Ryzen processors behind. Intraframe and RAW