Review: AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D CPU

For at least the past year, the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D has been the best CPU for high-end gaming, and it wasn’t particularly close. Thanks to its additional cache, high boost speed, and refinement over several generations of Ryzen chips that came before, it’s been an easy pick for anyone with the budget looking for the right balance of efficiency and speed.

AMD’s follow-up, the Ryzen 7 9850X3D, is technically faster, but you’d be hard-pressed to tell them apart when you’re actually gaming. As a result, I don’t see any reason for existing 9800X3D owners to upgrade, but you might as well grab the 9850X3D instead if both are at full price. Regardless of which chip you buy, you’ll be extremely impressed with the performance and ease of use.

The Setup

When you stack the specs for ...