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Rumor mill: AMD finds itself in a bit of a pickle with its latest Ryzen 9000 "Granite Ridge" desktop processors. The chips, built on the new Zen 5 architecture, failed to deliver the gaming performance uplift over the previous generation Ryzen 7000 series that AMD had hoped for. With poor sales numbers and Intel's Core Ultra "Arrow Lake-S" CPUs looming, Team Red seems to be scrambling to accelerate the launch of at least one model from its Ryzen 9000X3D lineup.
Hardware leaker Harukaze5719 just shared some screenshots of a Chiphell forum discussion about the upcoming X3D lineup. One user claimed that during a Gigabyte press conference, AMD representatives revealed that the company has only the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, Ryzen 9 9900X3D, and Ryzen 9 9950X3D lined up for the next several months.
However, the three won't be released together. AMD is reportedly targeting a late October release for the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, the successor to the popular Ryzen 7 7800X3D, instead of the originally planned early 2025 launch window. The other two are being pushed back to Q1/Q2 2025 due to "some new features."
– í¬ìÂÂí¬ì (@harukaze5719) September 25, 2024
This means the 9800X3D will be the sole X3D option on the market for a while before the pricier duo lands. The strategy is unique since AMD launched the higher-end parts first with the Ryzen 7000X3D.
With Intel set to launch its Arrow Lake "Core Ultra 200" series on October 24, the 9800X3D will arrive on time to steal some of Team Blue's thunder.
When AMD first unveiled Zen 5, it confirmed that the new CPU chiplets were prepared at the silicon level for 3D V-cache. But at the same time, the non-X3D Ryzen 9 7900X was expected to get relatively close to the 7800X3D's gaming benchmarks. That dream wasn't realized, so AMD's hand is seemingly forced early on the 9800X3D.
As for the touted "new features" on Ryzen 9 9900X3D and Ryzen 9 9950X3D, the rumor is that AMD will be doing something different than just adding 3D cache, with the aim of tempting buyers who want both gaming and productivity performance to rival Intel's Core Ultra flagship. There are no concrete details on what they might be, but dual 3D cache chiplets seem like a reasonable guess.
Another Chiphell forum user replied that the Ryzen 7 9800X3D purportedly lacks overclocking support.
Of course, rumors from these forums don't always pan out, so a dose of skepticism is advised until official word from AMD.