New AMD Ryzen X3D gaming CPU with buckets of 3D V-cache dismissed as "fake"

For a moment, it looked as though AMD was about to unleash a killer new 16-core X3D CPU just for gamers, but a renowned tech leaker has now claimed the rumored chip is "fake," which tallies with what AMD has told us in a previous interview. The new 16-core AMD Ryzen X3D CPU was rumored to feature not one but two 3D V-cache chips, one for each batch of eight cores, giving it double the amount of L3 cache found in the acclaimed Ryzen 7 9800X3D.

AMD currently already makes a 16-core X3D chip in the form of the Ryzen 9 9950X3D, but only eight of its 16 cores have direct access to a 64MB 3D V-cache chip. That means AMD can crank up the clock speed on the other eight cores to improve multi-threaded software performance, while the other eight cores with 3D V-cache are used for gaming, providing the best of both worlds. This rumored chip with two 3D V-cache chips, however, would only really be useful for gaming, and barely any games make good use of more than eight cores. If gaming is your top priority, the eight-core Ryzen 7 9800X3D remains the best gaming CPU on our buying guide.

The recent rumor suggested that a dual-X3D AMD Ryzen CPU could be on the way, with 16 cores, a 200W TDP, and a massive 192MB total of L3 cache. However, renowned tech leaker wjm47196 has attempted to put this rumor to bed in a recent post on the Chiphell forums, saying it's "fake" and that "there is no such thing" as this chip.

While you need to take any unconfirmed rumors with a grain of salt, it's worth noting that wjm47196 is the same person who correctly gave us the $1,999 RTX 5090 price leak well before Nvidia finally announced the card, as well as correctly stating that the 9800X3D would have a higher clock speed (and a higher price) than the 7800X3D, again well before the CPU's launch.

In an earlier interview with PCGamesN, Donny Woligroski from AMD told us that he was "scared to death" of the potential response to a dual-X3D chip with 16 cores. While he said the company could make a Ryzen 9 9950X3D with 3D V-cache for both CCDs, he didn't "think there's a massive market for it" as the performance benefit would be tiny, and it would be an expensive chip. "I think everybody would say, 'Why bother? Why would you buy this?' It's like a net loss."

Nevertheless, Woligroski did also say the chip had been requested enough times for him to request some internal analysis, adding that "sure we could do it." AMD could absolutely make such a chip, the question is whether it's worth it when so few games use more than eight cores, and the fact that the peak clock speed would be lower than that of the 9950X3D, impacting its multi-threaded software performance.

That said, in a follow-up post, wjm47196 does also say that there's a chance that a low-spec X3D chip could be released in 2026, providing a cheaper eight-core X3D chip than the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, potentially called the Ryzen 7 9700X3D.

In the meantime, if you're thinking of upgrading to a new AMD X3D chip, check out our guide to the best gaming motherboard to find a good home for it, as well as our guide to buying the best CPU cooler so you can keep its temperatures in check.

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