AMD Debuts 9950X3D2 Dual V-Cache Chip, Possibly Torpedoes Intel's 290K Plus

AMD's new 9950X3D2 has finally been unveiled following months of speculation, leaks, and rumors. At the same time, Intel canceled its planned Core Ultra 9 290K Plus, a new flagship of its own. Coincidence? Some think not, with AMD possibly sitting on this dual-V-Cache CPU for a while, just waiting for the right time to rug-pull Intel before its big announcement.

The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 is a 16-core, 32-thread CPU with two 3D V-Cache chips—one for each internal CCX chiplet. This is something AMD has been asked about for several generations, and rumors of this chip design have circulated since Zen 5 launched in the latter half of 2024. But AMD only now decided to drop it on the market, funnily enough, around the time when Intel was planning its own refreshed top chip.

Instead, we got the 270K and 250K—two fantastic CPUs for gaming and ...