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AMD's most powerful desktop processors launch today, so I don't blame you for wondering where to buy the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D. After a reveal at CES at the start of the year, we finally got official launch dates and pricing for AMD's new Ryzen 9 9950X3D and Ryzen 9 9900X3D CPUs. The beefy 9950X3D rests at $699.99 while the 9900X3D costs $599.99, and either will allow you to harness some serious gaming and content creation power thanks to their 3D V-cache technology.
These two processors are bound to shake up the best CPU for gaming landscape, especially compared to Intel's latest desktop processors which haven't been getting rave reports from gamers and content creators. From a look around the virtual stores this morning, it seems like Newegg is the place to be in the US if you want to secure stock of the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D for $699.99. Be warned though, the listings already say that they're out of stock, despite also having a line to say that orders will go live at 6 am PST. So maybe act quickly if you want to buy today.
In the UK, I haven't seen any stock of the new processors until now, at Scan. You can grab the Ryzen 9 9950X3D for £699.98 there. I'll be keeping an eye on this for the rest of the day, so if and when I see retailers on either side of the Atlantic joining the party, I'll let you know.
Should you buy the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and Ryzen 9 9900X3D?
It goes without saying, but these are definitely the sorts of processors you should only be considering if you're trying to build the absolute best gaming PC you can. They're both upgraded versions of the Ryzen 9 chips from the most recent AMD Ryzen 9000 family, which means they're going to give even more of a performance boost than what's out there already. If you're not an enthusiast, pro-level content creator, or gamer who plays at 4K Max settings at all times, there's probably no need to spend this much.
If you are on the enthusiast level though, this is an exciting day. The Ryzen 9 9950X3D offers an 8% increase in performance over the last-gen equivalent when gaming at 1080p. For content creation programs, AMD found in its internal testing a 13% boost in performance. Usually, AMD has fewer cores and threads than Intel's chips, but with a generous 16 to 32 ratio in the 9950X3D, you won't be short on any spec sheet.
The Ryzen 9900X3D may seem a bit weak in comparison, but it's still viable, especially for those who want a less power-hungry chip running their machine. 120W of TDP is a bit more reserved than the 170W you'll need for the flagship, and for $100 less, you're only missing 4MB of cache and 0.2GHz worth of max boost clock.
Just keep in mind that you don't need to spend this much for solid 4K gaming these days. Yes, if you want to play loads of city builders and RTS games with no settings compromises, I can understand your need for these processors. However, most gamers can opt for a much more affordable AMD Ryzen 5 8600G and still get playable frame rates in these games at 4K.
Looking for more PC upgrades this year? Check out the best RAM for gaming, the best computer speakers, and the best graphics cards.
