- AMD has announced that its Ryzen 9850X3D CPU will go on sale on January 29
- The new gaming chip is priced at $499 in the US
- That's a mild bump in cost of around 5% over its predecessor, with a 400MHz jump in boost speed making it a compelling new option
AMD has announced that its Ryzen 7 9850X3D processor – a chip that PC gamers are excited about as a step on from the 9800X3D –will be out in less than a week – and we've got a confirmed price.
VideoCardz reports that AMD's David McAfee, Corporate VP of the Client Channel Business, revealed on X that the "world's most advanced gaming processor just got faster" and that the Ryzen 9850X3D will retail at $499 in the US.
The CPU goes on sale on January 29, and pricing will be in line with that in other regions. To put that US price in perspective, it's just shy of a 5% increase on the MSRP that was pinned to the 9800X3D upon launch, and which is widely regarded as the current top gaming chip on the market.
The Ryzen 9850X3D offers an increase in boost speed to 5.6GHz, meaning it's 400MHz faster than its predecessor (which ran at 5.2GHz), which is a considerable bump. Other than that, though, it's the same spec as the 9800X3D.
Analysis: the price is right – assuming no stock woes or inflation
Some folks who have bought a Ryzen 9800X3D in the recent past may feel their noses have been put a bit out of joint. Especially considering that chip has held its value – it is still selling at close to MSRP – and the 9850X3D doesn't cost much more. At least not in theory, anyway, unless stock and availability issues inflate the price.
Ultimately, those who bought the 9800X3D have still got an excellent gaming CPU for their money, and the 9850X3D is essentially a higher-binned version (meaning a top-performing sample, capable of having the max boost speed pushed further, with no other changes in the spec elsewhere as noted). In fact, if you got lucky with your 9800X3D, it might even be close to the 9850X3D in gaming performance terms, anyway.
So, let go of any buyer's remorse, but that said, the Ryzen 9850X3D is a welcome option to have in terms of that faster boost. And with the price tag not being nearly as high as some rumors had us wondering about – some European retailers had pre-release pricing on their product listings as high as €700 (around $820, £600 or AU$1,200) – this is a great release for gamers who are after a fast CPU.
Although always bear in mind that the GPU is the more important part of the equation for gaming, and the processor only comes more to the forefront with certain games (or lower resolutions).
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!
And of course, you can also follow TechRadar on YouTube and TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp too.
Source: TechRadar
