AMD is seemingly preparing new Ryzen Pro 9000 processors featuring up to 16 Zen 5 cores, as well as a big helping of 3D V-Cache. An NBD shipping manifest, spotted by @Olrak29 on X, describes a Ryzen 9 Pro 9965X3D with a 170W TDP rating. Though not a guarantee of release, this suggests AMD is at least considering making Pro CPUs with more than 12 cores and large amounts of cache.
Last year, AMD announced the first three Ryzen Pro 9000 CPUs on the AM5 platform, offering six, eight, or 12 cores, clocked at up to 5.4GHz. If this leak is correct, AMD’s Ryzen 9 Pro 9965X3D would be the first 16-core model, sitting above the Ryzen 9 Pro 9945, and possibly with the same targeted 5.4GHz boost frequency. In addition to its higher core count, this Ryzen Pro seems to also be the first chip with 3D V-Cache in the lineup. While it’s unclear if this chip has AMD’s hybrid CCD design (Normal CCD + X3D CCD) or something new, we can expect each CCD to have 32MB of cache, plus an extra 64MB per X3D layer.
The 170W rating hints that this chip is a variant of the Ryzen 9 9950X3D, which only carries one X3D CCD. That said, a 170W TDP would be unusual for this series, as all variants up to the 12-core chip are rated at just 65W. 170W is a huge jump that may be caused by higher clock speeds, as well as additional parts, such as a second cache layer. In other words, this could be a variant of the rumoured Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 with dual 3D V-Cache on the consumer side, but chances are slim.
Lastly, the listing indicates that this is a DVT (Design Validation Testing) unit, meaning it’s in an advanced development stage. Considering that the listing is a couple of months old already, we may see these chips in the first half of 2026. Since AMD isn’t expected to launch Zen 6 anytime soon, these CPUs could act as a stopgap, perhaps alongside new consumer G-series and F-series parts. Let’s see if AMD makes any official announcements later in the year, possibly at Computex.
