Gigabyte ruins AMD’s Ryzen 9000X3D surprise by leaking flagship 16-core CPU, which could be something special for gamers with X3D ‘turbo mode’
- Gigabyte indirectly mentioned the 16-core X3D Zen 5 chip in a press release
- Flagship CPU should get a big boost from Gigabyte’s turbo mode
- If the rumors are true, AMD is expected to unveil a new flagship at CES 2025
AMD’s flagship 3D V-Cache processor for the Zen 5 family has been leaked again, this time as part of a press release written by Gigabyte.
We know the Ryzen 9800X3D is coming – actually later this week, on November 7th – as AMD already announced it, and Gigabyte mentions that chip in the press release (noted by German tech site ComputerBase) about the benefits of ‘X3D Turbo Mode’ (which which we have been hearing a lot about lately).
Interestingly, Gigabyte lists “performance improvements of up to 18% for incoming Ryzen 9000 series 16-core X3D processors” (using the mentioned turbo mode) and for the 9800X3D.
No other Ryzen
So it seems like this is an indirect confirmation that there will indeed be a 16-core X3D flagship, which will almost certainly be the Ryzen 9950X3D (there’s no reason why AMD shouldn’t stick to its previous naming scheme, after the Ryzen 7950X3D flagship for Zen 4).
Moreover, if VideoCardz (which highlighted the ComputerBase post) points out that the Ryzen 9950X3D was recently mentioned – with the chip’s full name – by Thermal Grizzly, with the company telling us that the flagship will be compatible with several cooling solutions it makes.
There have been a lot of rumors about the Ryzen 9950X3D (and 9900X3D for that matter), in addition to speculation about the 9800X3D before that processor was formally unveiled by AMD.
At this point it would be a shock if there wasn’t a 16-core Ryzen 9950X3D incoming, but we won’t see the CPU revealed in the near future if the rumor mill is correct regarding the release window. While the 9800X3D is about to arrive, the other Ryzen 9 models for the The Zen 5 X3D series is not expected to ship until CES 2025with a launch likely shortly afterwards.
Analysis: the benefits of turbo mode for the Zen 5 flagship
What’s interesting about the turbo mode that Gigabyte is creating hype is that it apparently applies a series of tuning measures to 3D V-Cache processors, including disabling SMT (multithreading) which can improve gaming performance, and also disabling one CCD (Core Chiplet Die, or chiplet for short).
Now the Ryzen 9950X3D should consist of two chiplets (of 8 cores each, probably one with 3D V-Cache, and one without, as is the case with the 7950X3D). And, in some situations, with some PC gamesit is not necessarily the best idea to have both chiplets active. So using turbo mode will intelligently disable one CCD to improve performance. It may seem strange that 8-cores can be faster than 16-cores, but that is indeed the case sometimes, and at least for many games. -cores is enough anyway.
This CCD issue was one of the reasons why PC gamers preferred the 7800X3D over the 7950X3D – well, that and the cost – but with the flagship Zen 5 this no longer seems to be the case (except for the point that the 9950X3D expensive, which it undoubtedly will be).
Gigabyte’s press release highlights performance improvements of up to 18% for the 16-core this generation’s flagship might be more tempting for gamers. You’ll definitely need deep pockets, though, especially since AMD has increased the price for the 9800X3D (slightly), so the same may be true for the 9950X3D.
