AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D review: A no-compromise CPU for demanding gamers

How can we push CPUs forward? That's the question the computing industry has been asking since the Intel 4004 processor launched in 1971. Chipmakers have tried cranking up clock speeds, adding multiple cores and miniaturizing chip architectures to make them faster and more efficient. The conflict between RISC and CISC chip instruction sets (ISAs) — "reduced" designs versus "complex" ones — rages on to this day with RISC-V.

For the past few years, AMD has been exploring a unique approach to speeding up some of its processors with 3D V-Cache, a technology that stacks more L3 cache on top of Ryzen cores. By doing so, the company avoids crowding the 2D plane of its chips, and it's able to cram in more memory without making its CPUs larger. With the Ryzen 9 9950X3D, AMD has now evolved 3D V-Cache to the point where every hardcore gamer ...