We could make a Ryzen 9 9950X3D with 3D V-cache on all 16 cores, AMD tells us

AMD has confirmed that it could make a limited-edition 16-core Ryzen X3D CPU with 3D V-cache on all 16 cores, and that it’s going to analyze whether it’s worth it, but that it thinks it will be a very niche product. I had the chance to catch up with AMD’s senior technical marketing manager of consumer processors, Donny Woligroski, at CES, where we discussed the potential pros and cons of a limited edition AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D with 3D V-cache on both CCDs.

AMD announced the new Ryzen 9 9950X3D at the tradeshow, coming a couple of months after we wrote our Ryzen 7 9800X3D review, promising not only massive multi-threaded performance, but also fast gaming performance thanks to its 3D V-cache. However, the new chip still only has 3D V-cache for eight of the cores, while the other eight cores have no 3D V-cache underneath them, but they do have a higher clock speed to make the most of multi-threaded workloads, such as video encoding and 3D rendering. That’s arguably the best mix if you want a CPU that can do everything, but could there also be potential for an AMD 16-core X3D CPU where every core has immediate access to 3D V-cache?

MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Ryzen 7 7800X3D review, Best gaming CPU, Radeon RX 7800 XT review