AMD’s unreleased Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 processor has appeared in the HWBOT database, revealing its performance and power characteristics on multiple benchmarks. These results suggest that the new flagship won’t be easy to cool, potentially requiring liquid cooling to keep it under control and avoid thermal throttling.
Long rumoured before dropping in a surprise announcement, the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 is the first consumer CPU to boast two 3D V-Cache-equipped CCDs. This gives it 192MB of L3 cache to work with, split between its 16-cores. For comparison, the Ryzen 9 9950X3D carries 128MB of total L3. 50% extra L3 should give the newcomer an advantage in cache-sensitive tasks, though if AMD’s workstation marketing target is any indication, gamers may not see that much benefit.
Going back to our leaked benchmarks, courtesy of Stoikov on HWBOT, we can see the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 potential ahead of the official April 22 launch. Starting with 7-Zip, the CPU scored 227,919 MIPS, while maintaining around 5.1GHz frequency and 96°C temperature. Cinebench R23 multi-core netted 38,579 points, at 4.8GHz effective frequency and 95°C temperature. Lastly, the CPU scored 9,246 points in Cinebench 2026 multi-core, at 4.8GHz frequency and 96°C temperature.
The keen-eyed among you may have noticed that in all three tests, the CPU was running at Tjmax, indicating that it may have suffered from thermal throttling. This is also supported by the lower operating clock speeds and lower-than-expected scores. As a reminder, the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 is supposed to reach 5.6GHz boost, i.e. just 100MHz shy of the 9950X3D. However, in these tests, it barely maintained 5.1GHz at best. This becomes more visible in the single-core Cinebench 2026 run, where the 9950X3D2 maintained 5.4GHz at just 76°C. These reports also indicate that the CPU consumed between 200W and 220W, which matches the official 200W TDP figure.
While it’s not clear which exact cooling system has been used, all tests are indicated as being conducted using air cooling. If said cooler is high-end, then the new Ryzen may be too power hungry for air, requiring liquid cooling to avoid thermal throttling. This wouldn’t be surprising, since it already consumes more power than the 9950X3D. Considering its $899 price tag, mind you, most owners will likely pair it with a powerful AIO cooler.
I recommend waiting for proper reviews, which should start appearing next week. Only then will we know for sure if air cooling is out of the question, and most importantly, if the much-requested dual 3D V-Cache brings any benefit to gamers.
