AMD has officially confirmed the existence of the Ryzen 7 9850X3D processor through a placeholder listing on its driver support website. The listing, noticed by Olrak29, appears on AMD’s official support page, officially acknowledging the processor. This upcoming CPU is part of AMD’s Zen 5-based Granite Ridge Ryzen 9000 series and incorporates the company’s advanced 3D V-Cache technology, which is renowned for delivering exceptional gaming performance by stacking additional cache layers to reduce latency and boost frame rates in cache-sensitive workloads. The Ryzen 7 9850X3D is positioned as a high-end gaming-oriented chip, building directly on the success of the recently launched Ryzen 7 9800X3D, which has quickly become AMD’s best-selling gaming CPU due to its dominance in benchmarks.
In terms of specifications, the Ryzen 7 9850X3D features 8 cores and 16 threads, a base clock speed of 4.7 GHz, and a maximum boost clock reaching up to 5.6 GHz, marking a significant 400 MHz improvement over the 5.2 GHz boost of its predecessor, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D. It maintains the same 120W thermal design power (TDP) rating and expands the L3 cache to a massive 96 MB thanks to the 3D V-Cache implementation, all while utilizing the AM5 socket for compatibility with existing Ryzen 7000 and 9000 series motherboards. This higher clock speed is believed to stem from AMD utilizing higher-binned silicon dies that were set aside during production of earlier models, allowing for better overclocking headroom and sustained performance without increasing power draw.
Compared to the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, the 9850X3D offers the same core count, thread configuration, cache size, and TDP, but the elevated boost clock could translate to single-digit percentage improvements in gaming frame rates, particularly in titles that benefit from higher frequencies alongside the V-Cache. This refinement positions it as a potential counter to Intel’s upcoming Arrow Lake Refresh in early 2026 and Nova Lake later that year, where AMD aims to retain its lead in gaming-centric workloads. Analysts speculate that the 9850X3D could become the fastest gaming CPU available upon release, surpassing even the current 9800X3D in scenarios where clock speed is a limiting factor.
AMD has not announced an official release date for the Ryzen 7 9850X3D, but leaks and industry rumors point to a unveiling at CES 2026 in January, potentially coinciding with the launch of the Ryzen 9000G series APUs for the AM5 platform. This timing would allow AMD to capitalize on holiday sales of current-generation chips before introducing these refined gaming powerhouses, further solidifying its dominance in the enthusiast CPU market. The confirmation via AMD’s own site has generated significant buzz among PC builders and gamers, with early driver support indicating that BIOS updates and compatibility optimizations are already in progress for motherboard manufacturers.
Source: AMD
