During the evening, AMD stated what the company’s plans are for the future. Not unexpectedly, there are new processors in the Ryzen X3D series for both desktop computers and laptops, new graphics cards are on the way and handheld gaming computers are also getting some love.
3D V-Cache is coming to the Ryzen 9 9000 series
Not entirely unexpectedly, Ryzen 9 9800X3D is joined by its siblings Ryzen 9 9900X3D and 9950X3D. The models are relatively similar to their predecessors Ryzen 9 7950X3D and 7900X3D in that one of the processors’ two CCDs is equipped with a stacked cache.
Like its usual counterparts in the Ryzen 9000 series, the TDP remains at 120 and 170 W respectively. The maximum clock frequency during boost remains at 5.7 GHz for the 9950X3D while it takes the step from 5.6 to 5.5 GHz for the little brother 9900X3D .
In terms of gaming performance, AMD states that the Ryzen 9 9950X3D performs similarly against the very popular Ryzen 7 9800X3D, more precisely they perform within one percent of each other.
Compared to the predecessor Ryzen 9 7950X3D, the average that AMD presents over a total of 40 games is a lift of an average of eight percent. How big the difference is will of course depend on which title you play performance figures in advance should therefore always be taken with a grain of salt. They do, however, appear to be in line with what we’ve come to expect based on the specification. Compared to the closest competitor in the blue team, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, it is instead a lift of an average of 20 percent that is presented, which looks very promising for the red team.
For those who intend to do something other than play, AMD also shows numbers in a bunch of productivity software where the performance is stated to be 13 and 10 percent better than its predecessor and competitor from Intel, respectively. Again, these are average results across a number of applications so results will vary.
Both Ryzen 9 9950X3D and Ryzen 9 9900X3D will be released in the first quarter of 2025 at an as yet unknown price. If we are to start from the launch prices from the predecessors, however, the Ryzen 9 9950X3D will land at a bit over SEK 9,000.
3D V-Cache comes to laptop
With “Fire Range”, AMD brings stacked cache to the manufacturer’s processors aimed at laptops, at least to the flagship product line Ryzen 9 9955HX3D. It is a 16-core model with the same 144 MB cache as the Ryzen 9950X3D but with a restricted power budget and clock frequency. The laptop flagship steps down to a maximum clock frequency under boost of 5.4 GHz with a TDP value of 54 W.
AMD is also launching a 16- and 12-core model in the series without 3D V-Cache, which go by the names Ryzen 9 9955HX and 9850HX. All models will begin to find their way onto the market in the first half of 2025.
RDNA 4 appears (sort of).
That a new generation of graphics cards from AMD is on the way is a poorly hidden secret and now they are official.
Or yes, it is official that there is a new generation of graphics cards with the architecture RDNA 4. We are offered rather sparse information in terms of pure specifications, on the other hand, AMD is pushing extra hard that the cards have clearly improved ray tracing-performance, powerfully improved video encoding and better AI hardware.
FSR 4 will see the light of day in connection with the Radeon RX 9000 series. Being AI-based and specifically targeting RDNA 4, FSR 4 is only compatible with the Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 at launch. The manufacturer promises big leaps in performance and image quality with the latest iteration. In addition to upscaling your games, you’ll also be able to use AI to generate images or ask AMD-related questions directly in AMD Adrenaline, which we’ve been waiting for!
The manufacturer mentions that they are changing the naming scheme to the same generation name as the company’s Ryzen processors and therefore jumping directly to the 9000 series for RDNA 4. Any upcoming RDNA 3.5 models, however, will be called Radeon 8000. Furthermore, the model indicator in the model name is moved to better match how the nearest competitor names its models.
AMD RX Radeon 9070 XT and Radeon RX 9070 peek ahead in the first quarter of 2025 and more information is promised in the future.
The next generation of handheld gaming computers
For those who have been looking for more power in their handheld gaming computer, they don’t have to wait very long as AMD also revealed more information about the upcoming Z2 system chips.
The graphics part in the new circuits is based around RDNA 3 and therefore does not take the step to RDNA 3.5 or RDNA 4. Better battery life and more performance are promised and AMD is working with, among others, Asus, Lenovo and Valve to bring out models with the new circuit and it is expected to see the light of day in the first quarter of 2025.
This time the Z2 and Z2 Extreme are joined by the more scaled-down circuit Z2 Go. The Z2 and Z2 Extreme have the same amount of processor cores, but the Z2 Extreme is equipped with three Zen 5 cores and five Zen 5c cores, while the Z2 is based around 8 Zen 4 cores. However, the Z2 Go is equipped with 4 Zen 3+ cores. The graphics part in the flagship Z2 Extreme is based around 16 RDNA 3.5 cores, the Z2 can make do with 12 RDNA 3 cores, while the smallest is based on 12 RDNA 2 cores.
It’s undeniably shaping up to be a hardware-filled spring with a lot of new stuff for the red team. Stay tuned as we will likely have more information to share in the not too distant future.
Source: www.sweclockers.com
