Summary created by Smart Answers AI
In summary:
- PCWorld reports AMD’s Ryzen 7 9850X3D processor launches January 29th for $499, featuring 8 cores, 16 threads, and 5.6GHz top speed.
- This gaming-focused chip appears to offer a 400MHz boost clock improvement over the 9800X3D predecessor at a competitive price point.
- AMD expects the 9850X3D to outperform Intel’s Core Ultra 9 285K by 27% in gaming performance.
AMD has revealed the price and availability for its recently announced Ryzen 7 9850X3D desktop PC processor, providing a safety valve of sorts to the desktop PC market.
AMD said Thursday that the Ryzen 9850X3D, announced earlier at CES 2026, will be priced at $499 and ship on January 29th.
The addition to AMD’s lineup puts it a step above the Ryzen 9800X3D, the first Ryzen X3D chip that was announced on Halloween 2024 for $479. But the chip’s performance immediately put it in high demand, and prices rose accordingly, at least for a while. Today, you can buy a Ryzen 7 9800X3D for $469 on Amazon, a sort of “rebound” price. (Amazon typically sells the chip at $459 instead.)
“Building on the legacy of the 9800X3D, the Ryzen 7 9850X3D features a 400MHz improvement to the boost clock, making the world’s fastest gaming processor even faster,” AMD said. AMD believes the 9850X3D will outperform the competing Intel Core Ultra 9 285K by an average of 27 percent across multiple games, ranging from Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 (a 5 percent boost) to Baldur’s Gate 3 (a 60 percent increase). It runs at a top speed of 5.6GHz, with 8 cores and 16 threads.
AMD does offer the Ryzen 9 9950X3D with 16 cores, but that chip costs substantially more: $699 (or $675 on Amazon right now). The Ryzen 9 9950X3D chip totally crushed the competition in our review.
AMD still hasn’t launched a Ryzen 9000 X3D2 with cache populating both CCDs. However, AMD executives told PCWorld to “stay tuned” on the subject, implying that such a chip will be releasing soon. Separately, AMD officials said that they didn’t want to take away from what the company announced at CES 2026.
