AMD has just unveiled its new Zen 5 Ryzen 9000 CPUs, but if you’re a gamer, you might want to hold off from jumping to buy them when they launch in July.
AMD’s Ryzen 9000Zen 5 CPUsare here, with the company officially revealing the 9950X, 9900X, 9700X, and 9600X CPUs. The new desktopCPUscome with improved I/O support for the newer motherboards, in addition to expanded support forDDR5 memory.
Based on AMD’s chiplet dies, they will utilize a mixture of TSMC’s 4nm process node, alongside a 6nm process node in tandem.
One of the most notable features of the new lineup is that the lower-end CPUs, particularly the 9600X, 9700X, and 9900X are all less power-hungry than their predecessors, making them an attractive option for those looking to build small-form-factor PCs.
Ryzen 9000X3D is inevitable
But, for gamers specifically, clock speeds of up to 5.7GHz on the 9950X might look attractive for single-core performance, but AMD has yet to reveal the ace up its sleeve: TheX3D-enhanced chips.
The same could be true for AMD’s latest Zen 5 CPUs, so the new lineup might appear excellent on paper. Yet gamers may wish to wait for the upgraded version later down the line.
One theory is that AMD is choosing to launch earlier than usual in July in order to push new products out earlier on in the calendar year, and could enable Team Red to release its X3D lineup in the Fall — right around where Intel is poised to debut their new15th-gen CPUs.
According to AMD’s internal tests, the newly-announced Ryzen 9 9950X is anywhere from 4% to 23% faster in gaming workloads when compared to Intel’s flagship 14900K. But, if the 15900K releases and the 9950X can’t keep up, then the X3D refresh could turn the narrative around quickly.
AMD could then launch its X3D lineup in retaliation to claw back some market share from Intel. According to May’sSteam Hardware Survey, Intel chips populate 66% of gaming PCs, whereas AMD chips are in just 35% of systems but are consistentlygaining market share.
Sayem Ahmed was Dexerto’s Tech Editor in the UK team, leading hardware coverage globally. Sayem is an expert in all things Nvidia, AMD, Intel, and PC components. He has over 10 years of experience, with bylines at Eurogamer, IGN, Trusted Reviews, Kotaku, and many more.
