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AMD might deal a huge blow to Intel with new 3D V-Cache CPUs

According to a new leak, AMD may be readying up some truly powerful Ryzen 7000 processors equipped with its 3D V-Cache technology.

The rumor suggests that this time around, at least three CPUs are in the works, and they’re the top-of-the-line models, including the Ryzen 9 7950X3D, Ryzen 9 7900X3D, and Ryzen 7 7800XD. Equipping the already powerful flagships with 3D V-Cache would pose a real threat to Intel’s top Raptor Lake CPUs. What can we expect from these gaming beasts?

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https://twitter.com/greymon55/status/1564807986497081346

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Not for the first time, we have to make do with Greymon55’s cryptic tweets and dig deeper in order to find out more. This time, Greymon simply tweeted: “V95, V9, V8.” The most logical conclusion is that the leaker is referring to upcoming 3D V-Cache processors, and the numbers refer to CPU models, bringing us to the Ryzen 9 7950X, Ryzen 9 7900X, and the Ryzen 7 7800X. Greymon55 also teased that these are new models “with more gaming frames per second (fps).”

In the Zen 3 generation of processors, AMD released only one CPU with a 3D V-Cache — the Ryzen 7 5800X3D. It proved to be a successful processor with huge gaming powers, so it didn’t come as a surprise when AMD confirmed it’d be bringing back the V-Cache. No one knew how many and which chips to expect, though; the Ryzen 7 7800X3D was a safe bet, but now, it seems AMD will be adding its most prized CPUs to the list.

It’s too early to tell how AMD will approach stacking the 3D V-Cache on the new Zen 4 processors. Seeing as the high-end Ryzen 9 7950X and Ryzen 9 7900X will come with two Zen 4 core chiplet dies (CCDs), it’s possible that AMD may have cache stacks on top of both the CCDs. In the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, this was never an issue, because it only featured a single CCD.

If AMD continues to utilize the current 64MB SRAM stack, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D might receive a cache as big as 104MB. The Ryzen 9 7900X would get up to 204/140MB, and the Ryzen 9 7950X would sport a massive 208/144MB. The final number depends on whether AMD will utilize a dual CCD or a single CCD stack. Wccftech points out that this is a 2.6 times larger cache for the Ryzen 7 7800X, 2.9 times for the Ryzen 9 7900X, and lastly, 2.8 times larger for the Ryzen 9 7950X.

The kind of performance we might get from a 3D version of the Ryzen 9 7950X is going to be intense. Based on the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, we can expect up to a 15% boost in gaming, and that’s on top of a CPU that AMD claims might be anywhere between 30 to 50 percent faster than the Intel Core i9-12900K.

According to further speculations confirmed by Greymon, the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D might cost $799, followed by $629 for the Ryzen 9 7900X3D and $499 for the Ryzen 7 7800X3D. These prices don’t sound too steep, though, so they very well might be higher.

The Twitter leaker expects AMD to announce these new processors during CES 2023, so we still might have a long way to go before we hear more about them. If AMD does indeed release all three, it will certainly shake things up and deal a blow to Intel Raptor Lake, especially if the pricing remains competitive.

Monica J. White
Monica is a computing writer at Digital Trends, focusing on PC hardware. Since joining the team in 2021, Monica has written…
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