Club386100
A standout flagship that pairs top multi-core muscle with excellent gaming speed at the same price as its predecessor.
AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D
11 expert reviews#1 of 5 processors
Photo coming
9/11critics
recommend
recommend
Best overall
Critics’ consensus
11 professional reviewers tested the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D, and 9 recommend it. Most praised: speed and ports and connectivity. Most common complaint: price.
Reviewed by Club386, TweakTown, Tom's Hardware and 8 more
The catch: For pure gaming the 9800X3D is better value.
Broad agreement
Scores run from 77 to 1008 printed scores, 3 estimated · printed scores only: 91
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What do critics say about the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D?
TweakTown95
The all-round X3D chip many wanted, with strong multi-threaded speed and near-9800X3D gaming.
Tom's Hardware90
Delivers outstanding gaming speed along with top-tier productivity, easily justifying its price according to the reviewer, with pricing the only real downside.
PCMag90
A strong 16-core chip with a modest step up from the 9950X in CPU work and bigger gains in certain games, earning an Editors' Choice award.
KitGuru90
A 16-core chip that handles both gaming and heavy productivity work superbly, and the reviewer calls it an outstanding all-rounder that should worry Intel.
Engadget90
A powerhouse for both gaming and productivity that stays fairly cool.
PC Gamer89
An all-rounder that matches the 9800X3D in games and the 9950X in creative work.
Windows Central80
The most capable Zen 5 X3D chip, but its extra cost brings almost no gaming benefit over the 9800X3D.
The Verge89est.
Called the best CPU overall: it matches the 9800X3D in games while greatly improving creator workloads, and beats Intel while running cooler and drawing less power.
Eurogamer89est.
Matches the 9800X3D in games while doubling the cores, making it the single chip to get if you want everything.
Notebookcheck77est.
Delivers near-9800X3D gaming along with strong productivity and improved efficiency, but the value case is questionable at $699.
Scores are converted to 0–100. "est." means the outlet gave no number, so we estimated one from its verdict and checked our estimates against ratings outlets print. How we check estimates
What critics praise most
Speed8 of 11
Ports and connectivity2 of 11
What critics dislike most
Price7 of 11
Alternatives
Not sure about the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D?
Image: AMDPhoto coming
Best for lots of cores for the money
Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus81
4 reviews · broad agreementPhoto coming
Best for gamers who want a little more than the 9800X3D
AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D80
8 reviews · critics split
Image: IntelCommon questions
Is the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D worth it?
Most critics think so: 9 of 11 recommend it. For pure gaming the 9800X3D is better value.
Do critics agree about the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D?
Broad agreement: scores range from 77 (Notebookcheck) to 100 (Club386), a spread of 23 points across 11 reviews. Most reviewers land fairly close together.
What do critics dislike about the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D?
Price (7 of 11 reviews).
What is the best alternative to the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D?
The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D (critic score 87), best for the fastest gaming frame rates.