AMD Ryzen 7000X3D CPUs slated for 28th February launch, starting at $449

Ever since the Ryzen 7 5800X3D launched last year, the enthusiast gaming community has been eager for more V-Cache models; the 5800X3D was initially the only model with the technology and since it only had eight cores, it couldn't match the productivity performance of higher-end CPUs like the Ryzen 9s and the Core i9s. With Ryzen 7000X3D, AMD is finally bringing V-Cache to its highest-end chips, which launch on February 28 and range from $449 to $699.

Briefly, 3D V-Cache is basically a chip AMD can add to its CPUs that contains nothing but cache, a kind of small but high-speed memory paired with processors to improve performance. Technically, AMD doesn't need a separate chip to add more cache to its CPUs, but it's been getting difficult to shrink cache in recent years, which makes adding more cache more expensive. Offloading extra cache onto its own chip makes it possible to offer mainstream CPUs with a reasonable amount of cache and enthusiast CPUs with tons of cache, all at reasonable prices.

The Ryzen 7 7800X3D, Ryzen 9 7900X3D, and Ryzen 9 7950X3D each come with a single V-Cache chip, which has 64MB of L3 cache. The 7900X3D and 7950X3D have double the amount of cache of the 7900X and 7950X, and the 7800X3D has triple that of the 7700X. However, V-Cache isn't without its tradeoffs; all 3D Ryzen CPUs have lower frequencies than their non-3D counterparts.

Performance in most applications will be slightly lower on these CPUs, with one exception: gaming. Adding more cache is really good for gaming performance, and although games like high clock speeds too, having a larger cache generally improves performance more than having higher frequencies. AMD isn't alone in beefing up its cache; Intel's 13th Gen CPUs are architecturally very similar to 12th Gen, but come with much more L2 and L3 cache for better gaming performance. Although Intel can be satisfied that the Core i9-13900K is already a powerful gaming chip, the company probably isn't happy about the prospect of Ryzen 7000X3D decisively reclaiming the gaming crown.

While the higher-end models will be available on February 28, the AMD Ryzen 7800X3D will launch a bit later on April 6. That model will cost $449, while the Ryzen 9 7900X3D will cost $599 and the Ryzen 9 7950X3D will go up to $699.