AMD Ryzen 5 9600X3D exists, CPU maker inadvertently confirms, undercuts 9800X3D

It looks as though AMD is gearing up to launch a new AMD Ryzen X3D gaming CPU with a cheaper price than the acclaimed Ryzen 7 9800X3D. The new AMD Ryzen 5 9600X3D may not have officially launched, but the name of the new gaming CPU has now been spotted in a driver entry on AMD's own website, hinting that its release is imminent.

AMD has recently changed its approach to the design of its X3D chips, with the huge layer of 64MB cache now sitting under the CPU cores, rather than on top of them, while also moving to the powerful new AMD Zen 5 architecture. As we found in our AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D review, the new design enables higher clock speeds and cooler running, gaining this chip the coveted top spot on our best gaming CPU buying guide. The 9800X3D is expensive, though, and it looks as though AMD is now offering a cut-down, cheaper design based on the same principles.

As spotted by X (formerly Twitter) user MelodicWarrior, the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X3D now appears in this driver listing on AMD's website. The driver in question is for an AMD Radeon AI Pro R9700, a new GPU aimed at the AI market that's based on the RDNA 4 architecture. The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X3D then appears in a section titled "Radeon Product Compatibility," despite the fact that it's not a Radeon product.

There have been AMD Ryzen 5 9600X3D rumors floating around for a few months now, and the new CPU is expected to have six Zen 5 cores rather than the eight on the Ryzen 7 9800X3D. However, as with other six-core X3D CPUs, the new chip is also expected to retain the same 64MB 3D V-cache used on the 9800X3D, which we've found dramatically improves gaming performance.

Previous six-core X3D CPUs have also had slower clock speeds than their eight-core counterparts, with the Ryzen 5 7600X3D peaking at a boost clock of 4.7GHz, compared to 5GHz on the Ryzen 7 7800X3D. However, given the thermal advantages of AMD's current X3D chip structure, we're hoping the 9600X3D will hit a higher clock speed, perhaps boosting to 5GHz. There may also be headroom to push it further, given that you can also overclock the 9800X3D.

The big question mark is availability, though. The Ryzen 5 7600X3D was available initially only in the US at one retailer (Micro Center), for example, as was the case with the Ryzen 5 5600X3D. There's a big gap in the market for a decent gaming CPU that's cheaper than the 9800X3D and 7800X3D, though, so let's hope this CPU gets a worldwide launch with a decent supply of stock.

While we await more information, check out our guide to the best motherboard if you're thinking about upgrading to AMD's AM5 platform, as well as our CPU install guide, which takes you through the whole upgrade process.

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