AMD has gone official with its Zen 4 3D V-Cache lineup that includes the Ryzen 9 7950X3D, Ryzen 9 7900X3D, and Ryzen 7 7800X3D.
AMD Ryzen 7000 3D V-Cache Official: Ryzen 9 7950X3D 16-Core & 144 MB, Ryzen 9 7900X3D 12-Core & 140 MB, Ryzen 7 7800X3D 8-Core & 104 MB, Set for February Launch
The AMD Ryzen 7000 3D V-Cache CPUs are the second generation of consumer V-Cache parts that feature stack cache. While the Zen 3 lineup only featured one 3D V-Cache, the Zen 4 lineup gets three SKUs at vastly different prices.
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D – 16 Cores with 144MB Cache
Starting at the top, we have the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D which will be the flagship and the first 16-core CPU to feature 3D V-Cache technology. The chip will have a total of 32 threads, a total of 144MB of cache (64MB CCD, 64MB V-Cache + 16MB L2), and a TDP of 120W. In terms of clocks, the chip is rated at 4.2GHz base clock which is 300MHz slower than the standard 7950X but boost clocks are rated at the same 5.7GHz. This should give us a hint as to why the TDP is 50W lower versus the non-3D part.
The way AMD arranges the 3D V-Cache architecture on Ryzen 9 X3D parts is by putting the SRAM cache on a single CCD instead of both CCDs. This way, AMD can maximize performance in games with a single CCD while retaining the secondary die to take advantage of the higher clock speeds (1T). This means there should be a balance between the performance of single-threaded games and multi-threaded applications without sacrificing overall clock speeds like the previous generation. This is first and foremost a gaming chip, so the cache is the most important aspect of optimization. It will be interesting to see how things fare in the final retail units and how well AMD is able to fine-tune the new parts.
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D – 12 Cores with 140MB Cache
The second chip is AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D which will have 12 cores and 24 threads. This is also a 2 CCD configuration with one CCD configured with V-Cache and the second without. The chip has a total of 140MB of cache (64MB CCD, 64MB V-Cache + 12MB L2). The clocks are rated at 4.4GHz which is 200MHz slower than a non-3D SKU and the boost clock remains the same at 5.6GHz. The CPU is also rated at a TDP of 120W.
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D – Replace the 5800X3D as the New Gaming Champion!
Finally, we have the successor to the Ryzen 7 5800X3D and Ryzen 7 7800X3D. This CPU will be the perfect choice for gamers with 8 cores, 16 threads and the same 104MB of cache (32MB CCD and 64MB V-Cache + 8MB L2). The CPU comes with a base clock of around 4GHz which can end up at least 500MHz slower than the Ryzen 7 7700X and a boost clock of 5.0GHz which is 400MHz slower than the Ryzen 7 7700X.
AMD Ryzen 7000 Raphael Desktop CPU Specifications:
| CPU name | building | process node | cores/threads | base clock | Boost Clock (SC Max) | cache | TDP | Prices (to be determined later) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMD Ryzen 9 7950X | Zen 4 | 5 nm | 16/32 | 4.5 GHz | 5.7 GHz | 80MB (64 + 16) | 170 watts | $699 |
| AMD Ryzen 9 7900X | Zen 4 | 5 nm | 12/24 | 4.7 GHz | 5.6 GHz | 76 MB (64 + 12) | 170 watts | $549 |
| AMD Ryzen 9 7900 | Zen 4 | 5 nm | 12/24 | 3.6 GHz | 5.4 GHz | 76 MB (64 + 12) | 65 watts | $429 |
| AMD Ryzen 7 7700X | Zen 4 | 5 nm | 8/16 | 4.5 GHz | 5.4 GHz | 40 MB (32 + 8) | 105 watts | $399 |
| AMD Ryzen 7 7700 | Zen 4 | 5 nm | 8/16 | 3.6 GHz | 5.3 GHz | 40 MB (32 + 8) | 65 watts | $329 |
| AMD Ryzen 5 7600X | Zen 4 | 5 nm | 6/12 | 4.7 GHz | 5.3 GHz | 38 MB (32 + 6) | 105 watts | $299 |
| AMD Ryzen 5 7600 | Zen 4 | 5 nm | 6/12 | 3.8 GHz | 5.1 GHz | 38 MB (32 + 6) | 65 watts | $229 |
Here, we see our expectation of how AMD will manage the cache die and the clocks play here. The 120W TDP is maintained despite the Ryzen 7 7800X3D running in fewer hours than AMD’s Ryzen 7 7700X which has a TDP of 105W. This means that the cache requires an additional TDP limit and AMD significantly improves these base/boost clocks on Ryzen 9 parts to meet the 120W target. It will be interesting to see those clock differences across the dual Ryzen 9 CCD SKUs in further testing.
As for performance, AMD is touting a whopping 30% performance improvement for the Ryzen 7 7800X3D compared to the Ryzen 7 5800X3D. The titles used are cherry-picked and AMD doesn’t share any details like test settings or what configurations were used here but if these results are legit, we could see the Ryzen 7 7800X3D becoming as popular as the Ryzen 7 5800X3D in the retail segment. AMD Ryzen 7000 3D V-Cache CPUs will hit retail shelves next month on February 2023.