The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is already the best gaming processor out right now, but AMD is following up with a mid-generation refresh at CES 2026, with the Ryzen 7 9850X3D.
This new gaming processor is virtually the same as the existing 9800X3D, but with a substantial out-of-the-box overclock, with a Max Turbo Boost of 5.6GHz for the 9850X3D, compared to 5.2GHz on the original processor. That’s about a 7% boost to clock speeds, which should make this processor hold a decent edge over most other CPUs you’ll find in a gaming PC.
The clock speed is about the only thing changing, though. The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D still has 8 cores and 16 threads and the same 104MB of 3D V-Cache. It also has the same 120W TDP, despite its higher clock speed. So while the 9850X3D will be faster than the 9800X3D, it won’t be by enough to convince anyone that already has a 9th-generation Ryzen chip to upgrade.
