The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D is Now Official

AMD will soon have another gaming CPU in its repertoire, as the tech giant has unveiled the Ryzen 7 9850X3D as its latest product. The upcoming Ryzen 7 9850X3D processor from AMD will have slightly higher specs than its predecessor, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, though its price and exact release date remain elusive as of this writing.

AMD’s upcoming processor will support existing AM5 motherboards, including the B850 and X870E chipsets from manufacturers like ASUS, Asrock, and MSI. Older chips like the B650 are also among AMD’s list of supported motherboard platforms for the Ryzen 7 9850X3D. However, users with older AM5 motherboards are encouraged to check their motherboard’s BIOS version and see if any updates need to be made before upgrading to the 9850X3D.

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AMD Reveals New Ryzen 7 9850X3D Processor

During the 2026 edition of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, AMD pulled back the curtain on the Ryzen 7 9850X3D processor. The 9850X3D will go on sale sometime in the first quarter of 2026, though a precise release date remains unclear. For specifications, the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D is an eight-core CPU that is nearly identical to its predecessor, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, in most specs. The 9850X3D will have a 120W total power draw and a base clock speed of 4.7 GHz. However, the 9850X3D will have a higher boost clock speed of 5.6 GHz, up 400 MHz from the 9800X3D’s boost clock speed of 5.2 GHz.

Additionally, the 9850X3D will come with an integrated Radeon GPU with two cores, and will utilize AMD’s patented 3D V-Cache technology to boost performance in some games. AMD also listed some comparisons to one of its chief competitors, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K processor. AMD claimed that the 9850X3D would have up to 21% improved performance over the 285K in modern titles like Battlefield 6 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. However, until the Ryzen 7 9850X3D is fully released and tested, consumers should take AMD’s charts and comparisons with a fine grain of salt.

The Ryzen 7 9850X3D Will Launch at a Chaotic Time

While AMD’s Ryzen X3D processors are a marked improvement for gaming in most cases, using them for standard tasks does come with some caveats. Users will not be able to overclock the Ryzen 7 9850X3D, and the boost clock speeds of the 9850X3D are just 100MHz higher than the cheaper Ryzen 7 9700X processor, which is currently priced at $329. Given that the Ryzen 7 9800X3D launched with an MSRP of $449, the 9850X3D could arrive at a slightly higher price point.

AMD’s upcoming processor will arrive amid a troubling time for PC gaming. Since fall 2025, the price of DRAM has spiraled out of control due to an ongoing supply shortage. Kits of DDR4 and DDR5 RAM have seen price increases as a result, with 2×16 GB DDR5 RAM kits going from $90 to over $360 in just a few months. The move has also affected the price of gaming consoles, with AMD’s custom Ryzen CPUs powering the PS5 and the Xbox Series X/S systems. With Xbox eyeing another price increase on its current hardware, the ongoing RAM shortage crisis may not be resolved anytime soon.

While the prices of RAM and other PC components are on the rise, the launch of the Ryzen 7 9850X3D is proof that AMD is not giving up on the AM5 platform just yet. Between the launch of the 9850X3D and Nvidia’s potential re-launch of the GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card, the current generation of PC components is seeing a second life amid the ongoing crisis. Whether the Ryzen 7 9850X3D succeeds despite the RAM crisis depends on how consumers react to its price and its comparative performance.