Leaked details about AMD’s unannounced Ryzen 9000X3D desktop processors indeed paint a picture of incremental rather than revolutionary improvements. The leak, coming via an MSI presentation published by Hardware Luxx and reported by Video Cardz, gives some insight into the performance of the coming chips.
Performance Gains: A Mixed Bag
Based on the slides that leaked online, it looks like the Ryzen 9000X3D series offers some impressive gains in terms of multicore performance in specific tasks. But that changes for most parts when it comes to gaming performance. The new chips, for example, offer up to 28% gain over the Ryzen 7 7900X3D in Cine bench R23.
Popular titles like “Black Myth: Wukong” and “Shadow of the Tomb Raider” see the performance increase as low as 2 percent, when compared to the previous models. Low improvements in gaming scenarios may be frustrating for enthusiasts seeking better advancement.
Standard Ryzen 9000 Series Comparison
Recent testing by MSI has cast more light on the performance dynamics between Ryzen 9000 Series Processors. It would seem that X3D variants return performance levels not too far off from the standard Ryzen 9000 series variants, but more so considering they were pitted against models without the X3D branding. In such a case, where the delta between the normal and X3D versions is pretty small, several critical questions come into the limelight about the value proposition of the new X3D processors.
As the consumers weigh their choices, they are left wondering if the improvements on the X3D models are worth the price tags, which usually are jacked up. For example, advantages derived from the X3D technology include improved performance or efficiency in gaming or other applications, maybe not well enough to justify this investment against its standard variants. This is usually a dilemma for potential buyers, as every trade-off should be considered carefully. Eventually, it will be the differences in performance, price, and functionality between the regular and X3D processors that will be the influential driving forces determining consumer choice in the competitive CPU market.
Further Improvement Possible
It is worth noting that MSI does mention performance could improve with production-ready samples and retail units. This does, however, leave a little room for optimism on the final product perhaps offering better performance than the leaked benchmarks suggest.
Industry Context
This is reportedly the same pace as Intel’s CPUs based on the Arrow Lake architecture, which have only carried minor performance improvements. If such minor improvements are indeed a trend that carries across, consumers will also be rather indifferent to such modest performance improvements. Since the response to Ryzen 9000 has already been lukewarm, such a pattern will probably receive a rather lukewarm reception.
Leak: A Very Special Situation
The circumstances of this leak are interesting. Whether Hardware Luxx broke an embargo or whether MSI somehow is responsible for the accidental leak, will have to be seen. Further adding to the ambiguity, the MSI presentation had centered on Intel’s new Core Ultra 200S chips, which makes the ‘accidental’ reveal of AMD’s unreleased processors all the more strange.
Outlook
While these will eventually lead to their actual launch, these first leaked benchmarks have to be taken with a grain of salt as we await AMD’s announcement. The very same benchmarks, while an interesting preview, may differ in actual performance metrics. For the time being, the tech community stands by to witness just how AMD will position these new processors and be in a position to provide compelling reasons for users to switch over to them.
With the CPU market getting fiercely competitive, the AMD Ryzen 9000X3D series will have to bring more value onto the table. For now, potential buyers should wait for thorough reviews and officially stated information before making purchase decisions.
Read the intel Processor
