AMD’s new Ryzen 7 9850X3D makes the best gaming CPU even faster

AMD is introducing an improved version of its popular Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor today at CES. The new Ryzen 7 9850X3D offers up the same 8-core / 16-thread CPU as the 9800X3D, running at even faster boost clocks.

“We’ve fine-tuned our best gaming processor in the world and have increased the boost clocks to 5.6GHz,” says Rahul Tikoo, the head of AMD’s client CPU business, in a briefing with The Verge. The boost clock on the 9850X3D is 400MHz higher than the standard 9800X3D, and it maintains the same 120-watt TDP. It’s essentially a better-binned version of the 9800X3D, and how much faster it is over the existing chip will vary on a game-by-game basis.

“We are seeing in the ballpark of about 7 percent performance delta between the 9800X3D and the 9850X3D,” says Tikoo. “When you look at frequency-sensitive titles like many esports games, we’ll see 5 percent plus uplift in performance,” while AAA games won’t see much of a difference at all.

Naturally, AMD couldn’t resist also comparing the 9850X3D to Intel’s Core Ultra 9 285K, which not only failed to beat the latest Zen 5 X3D chips but also didn’t compare well against Intel’s own previous 14900K flagship in gaming.

“The Ryzen 7 9850X3D unlocks performance, delivering an average of 27 percent uplift versus our competitors across a subset of more than 35 games,” says Tikoo. AMD claims its 9850X3D is 60 percent faster than Intel’s Core Ultra 9 285K in Baldur’s Gate 3 and more than 45 percent faster in both Hogwarts Legacy and Counter-Strike 2.

AMD is also going to continue selling the 9800X3D alongside the new 9850X3D, with the 16-core / 32-thread 9950X3D still the top flagship processor of the Ryzen 9000 series. AMD is planning to launch the 9850X3D in the first quarter of 2026, but the company is not revealing pricing just yet. We’ll get pricing and exact availability closer to the on-shelf date.