Micro Center: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D Granite Ridge AM5 4.30GHz 16-Core CPU

kjvmartin

Jun 26, 2025 04:46 AM

1,310 Posts

Joined Nov 2015

kjvmartinJun 26, 2025 04:46 AM

1,310 Posts

I've got two nearly identical computers at home, one for me and one for my oldest kid. 14700K for me, recently built my daughter a 7800X3D rig with a lovely bundle from Microcenter.

I really don't like playing on the 7800X3D, because I am one who frequently tabs out into other windows, likes to multi task between turns or while I'm waiting to re-spawn in game. The 7800X3D and MS Edge do not play well together at all. It's maybe slightly better for gaming, but it's so so so much worse for multi-tasking. This is not unknown, but for some reason rarely talked about as a drawback.

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psuvette

Jun 26, 2025 05:03 AM

974 Posts

Joined Jul 2005

psuvetteJun 26, 2025 05:03 AM

974 Posts

Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank psuvette

Quote from WinkieDuck

:

Newegg has this for 699 but with free 360 mm AIO cooler

Newegg is trash ever since they sold out. They don't get my money.

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Sulla52

Jun 26, 2025 07:58 AM

194 Posts

Joined Sep 2011

Sulla52Jun 26, 2025 07:58 AM

194 Posts

Quote from shakedownbg

:

one should do a good thoroughly research before buying this cpu. It is limited to use the 3D cache only with 8 cores, BIOS settings and Windows drivers to get it right most of the time. You will never use the 16-core in parallel with the 3D cache. Plus, you will benefit it only if playing games at 1080p which is 20 years old technology. I game at 4K and the graphics are absolutely beautiful on cs2 and dota2. Btw my pc is i8700k (6-core) cpu paired with 3090Ti FE and 64GB DDR4 ram @ 4GHz.My pc is a beast.

Some of this is false/hyperbolic. Gaming sees a benefit from the 3D v-cache at every resolution. People such as yourself see the bigger deltas between cpus in 1080p results (often used by reviewers to demonstrate gaming cpu hierarchy/stratification) and commonly reach this incorrect conclusion. 4k does lean more heavily on the gpu than the cpu, so the gains won't be as dramatic, but this is still a much better gaming cpu than your "good enough" several generation old setup. An 8700k WILL bottleneck a $3000+ 5090 (for example) and leave performance on the table. People who spend that kind of money on a gpu, typically don't skimp on the cpu and that's why there's always a market for a top tier gaming cpu. Whether that meets your needs is totally up to you of course, but there is no debate over whether this and the 9800x3d are the best gaming cpus on the market (at any resolution).

As far as parallel usage of the 3d cache and all 16 cores, it's pretty openly marketed to work this way. If someone needs to do massive multi-threaded workloads at the same time as gaming, there are other more appropriate solutions such as HEDT platforms. Those cpus wouldn't be very good for gaming though. This cpu gives you the tradeoff of having the best of both worlds, although not simultaneously, which is a much more common use case than someone needing a threadripper or xeon.

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California_Love

Jun 26, 2025 11:37 AM

147 Posts

Joined Jan 2023

California_LoveJun 26, 2025 11:37 AM

147 Posts

Quote from piscian

:

I need somebody to justify why I need this.

Unless you are going to do a load of productivity it's not worth it. IE you use your pc for pc work loads during the day and at night you play games for a few hours. It varies by +/- 3% in gaming vs the 9800x3d. Which is technically run to run variation.. so virtually no difference considering +/- 2-3% is typical room for error on any test.
If you only do productivity you buy the 9950x. Which means you do no gaming at all.
100% gaming = 9800x3d
70% work + 30% gaming = 9950x3d*
100% work = 9950X
End of Story. *You get the point

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piscian

Jun 26, 2025 01:20 PM

492 Posts

Joined Nov 2011

piscianJun 26, 2025 01:20 PM

492 Posts

Quote from psuvette

:

Newegg is trash ever since they sold out. They don't get my money.

I'd sooner buy my asthma medication from a dude in a back alley than trust newegg with my money.

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psuvette

Jun 26, 2025 01:20 PM

974 Posts

Joined Jul 2005

psuvetteJun 26, 2025 01:20 PM

974 Posts

Quote from piscian

:

I'd sooner buy my asthma medication from a dude in a back alley than trust newegg with my money.

Accurate portrayal of how I feel as well.

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CoralCrown443

Jun 26, 2025 06:52 PM

5 Posts

Joined Dec 2019

CoralCrown443Jun 26, 2025 06:52 PM

5 Posts

Quote from esc1a

:

You got it. When multiple NUCs* are flying around, the COW will still MOO with it open mind when it will get its next milk routine. MOO $$$ MOO $$$.

And a wood chuck would chuck wood...sure Jan

CyanOctopus5168

Jun 26, 2025 11:09 PM

207 Posts

Joined Nov 2018

CyanOctopus5168Jun 26, 2025 11:09 PM

207 Posts

Quote from piscian

:

I need somebody to justify why I need this.

Software gets slower faster than hardware gets faster. Buy an OP processor for longevity. All the stuff that runs in the background slowly bogs PCs down. I have a 25 year old laptop with Windows ME. When you open Excel, it's instant - literally instant. On my 12900k with 64gb, gen 3 nvme, and a 3070, it takes 5sec to open. Drives me nuts. Sometimes a big zip file will take a minute or two. Your exchanging heat, a couple bucks, and electricity for your time. Get the processor.

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efficacyman

Jun 27, 2025 09:45 AM

109 Posts

Joined Dec 2006

efficacymanJun 27, 2025 09:45 AM

109 Posts

Quote from jnick831

:

why not just the the plain 9950x? Is an X3D chip really needed at this level?EDIT: looks like the only difference is an extra 64MB L3 Cache. So I guess for gamers, that's needed. Although running games with the plain x version would probably still be fine with a proper graphics card.So wouldn't it make sense to put the difference towards a better discreet GPU?

Certain workloads really benefit from the X3D cache. MMO's simulation code, etc. eat up the cache. This CPU is great because you get both the multicore performance of the 9950x with the x3d performance in one unit. If you're just doing productivity, 9950x is the solution. If you're just doing gaming 9800x3d is typically recommended. This is unique with this generation that x3d cache is under the CPU instead of over so you don't have the thermal throttling that occurred with the previous 7xxx generation.

efficacyman

Jun 27, 2025 09:48 AM

109 Posts

Joined Dec 2006

efficacymanJun 27, 2025 09:48 AM

109 Posts

Quote from shakedownbg

:

one should do a good thoroughly research before buying this cpu. It is limited to use the 3D cache only with 8 cores, BIOS settings and Windows drivers to get it right most of the time. You will never use the 16-core in parallel with the 3D cache. Plus, you will benefit it only if playing games at 1080p which is 20 years old technology. I game at 4K and the graphics are absolutely beautiful on cs2 and dota2. Btw my pc is i8700k (6-core) cpu paired with 3090Ti FE and 64GB DDR4 ram @ 4GHz.My pc is a beast.

This is no longer mostly true. The windows scheduler has been updated so that it auto-houses gaming processes onto the CCD (8 cores) with the x3d cache. For traditional single player FPS, you do see the most benefit at 1080p. You will see massive improvements in MMO games (FFXIV, Black Desert Online, WOW) with the additional cache at all resolutions. MMO's have been CPU capped since release.

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mrdoge

Jun 29, 2025 07:13 AM

102 Posts

Joined Oct 2018

mrdogeJun 29, 2025 07:13 AM

102 Posts

Quote from jnick831

:

why not just the the plain 9950x? Is an X3D chip really needed at this level?EDIT: looks like the only difference is an extra 64MB L3 Cache. So I guess for gamers, that's needed. Although running games with the plain x version would probably still be fine with a proper graphics card.So wouldn't it make sense to put the difference towards a better discreet GPU?

More cache isn't needed for gamers. No, AMD's X3D branded CPUs are not necessary for gaming. You can get high end performance from just the 9950X alone.
Yes, the L3 cache on the X3D models does help with latency (not ping latency). No one would notice a difference in performance if you were to to test a triple A game on both processors..you'd get the same FPS. If anyone is choosing between the most talked about/popular amd cpus, they should be looking at thread and core count.
So yes, you're right in that the difference should be put towards a better GPU or good quality PC components like RAM, Storage, Motherboard, etc.

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mrdoge

Jun 29, 2025 07:17 AM

102 Posts

Joined Oct 2018

mrdogeJun 29, 2025 07:17 AM

102 Posts

Quote from psuvette

:

Newegg is trash ever since they sold out. They don't get my money.

What's up with all the hate with Newegg? I've had nothing but positive experiences with them. I don't buy from them frequently, but I've been a customer since the early 2000's and they've never let me down. For reference I usually but high-end parts from them.

hoyun

Jun 29, 2025 01:35 PM

217 Posts

Joined Dec 2008

hoyunJun 29, 2025 01:35 PM

217 Posts

I have a 7950X, it gets my room so hot during the Summer. Will this cpu produces less heat in comparison?

Jedi2155

Jun 30, 2025 05:06 PM

625 Posts

Joined Jan 2012

Jedi2155Jun 30, 2025 05:06 PM

625 Posts

Quote from TenseRose9719

:

I'd take $70 cash off over a free $100 aio cooler that I wouldn't want to use anyways

I upgraded my 11 year old AIO to the free MSI one, and I'm thoroughly shocked by how much more quiet the 360mm cooler than my old Corsair H105 (will sell for $5 + shipping if anyone is interested).

Micro Center: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D Granite Ridge AM5 4.30GHz 16-Core CPU

$630

$700

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