Last year, I got my hands on the "Classic" MG-1 pre-built gaming PC from New Jersey-based Maingear. I was immediately wowed by the build quality, cable management, and flexible buying options. However, it wasn't quite perfect.

In my Maingear MG-1 review, I called out blind spots like non-captive panel screws, AiO cooler positioning, and the use of zip ties for cable management. Regardless, the MG-1's pros certainly outweighed the cons, and I handed it 4.5 stars and a Windows Central Best award.

For 2026, Maingear decided to address those pain points directly with the MG-1 MK.II, announced April 22. Maingear sent me a temporary review unit to try out, and it's now been in use for a couple of weeks. Here's why I'm so impressed with the second generation, and why I think it's among the very best pre-built gaming PCs you can buy today.

Maingear sent Windows Central a review unit on loan for testing. It had no input, nor saw the contents of this review, prior to publication.

How much does the Maingear MG-1 MK.II cost?

The new Maingear MG-1 MK.II starts at $2,249 for a pre-configured model with Intel Core Ultra 5 225F CPU, NVIDIA RTX 5060 Ti GPU (8GB), 32GB of DDR5 RAM, and a 2TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD.

There are 10 different pre-configs available at the time of writing, pushing all the way up to $7,199 for a model with AMD Ryzen 9 950X3D2 Dual Edition CPU, NVIDIA RTX 5090 GPU, 64GB of DDR5 RAM, and a 4TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD.

Of course, a significant chunk of that cost goes into RAM. If you'd like to save $300 compared to the cheapest 2x16GB kit Maingear offers, you can send in your own memory. Maingear will install it, test it, and ship your PC back to you all ready to go.

A deep configurator tool allows you to build an MG-1 MK.II from the ground up, with customization for everything from performance hardware to cable colors and accessories.

You can also find a number of MG-1 Mk. II PCs available at Best Buy, with prices starting at $2,389.

How the Maingear MG-1 MK.II improves on the "Classic" MG-1

A big reason why Maingear didn't name its 2026 version of the MG-1 something like "MG-2" is that it's more of a tweak than a complete overhaul.

One thing I noticed immediately is that the side panels now have captive screws, something I called out last time around. That's a must on a PC this expensive.

The case is slightly bigger this time around, and it's more rigid thanks to some additional internal supports. It's a full-size PC, no doubt about it.

This resize contributes to better overall airflow; I get into more granular details below. Here, though, let me explain the new layout.

Superior AiO positioning and more intake fans

Whereas the "Classic" MG-1 had the CPU's AiO liquid cooler mounted onto the front of the case, it's now been moved to the top to sit horizontally in the MG-1 MK.II. This is optimal positioning for an AiO, generally netting a degree or two lower temperature compared to if the AiO is installed vertically.

This also frees up the front panel to have its own distinct trio of 140mm fans pulling in cool air. One of my complaints about the MG-1 was a lack of dust screen on the front of the PC, and that's been remedied here.

A magnetic dust cover also covers the top panel of the PC where the AiO is mounted, and there's a pull-out screen on the bottom of case to cover the PSU's air intake.

The MG-1 MK.II's new front panel is part form, part function

Speaking of the front panel, it's also been redesigned for two main purposes. First, it's wider to better fit custom artwork, a service Maingear has been providing for a while.

Second, it's not quite as tall, leaving ample space below for air intake. The contoured cutout is more noticeable now with textured dots covering it. This texture becomes more noticeable with the panel's backlighting enabled.

The magnets on the front panel are much larger, and there's absolutely no way it's going to fall off even if it's in transit. It's secure enough that I thought I'd missed some tape from the shipping process. No, just sturdy magneticism.

Surrounding the entire inside of the front panel is an RGB strip, and it's joined by another RGB strip along the inside of the side of the case (right where the glass side panel bumps up). Because all the lighting in the PC is diffused, it's way easier to get that pro glow without any exposed LEDs.

Exploring the MG-1 MK.II's MG-RC reverse connections

Perhaps the biggest difference between the "Classic" MG-1 and the MG-1 MK.II is the use of MG-RC reverse connection motherboards. It's actually Maingear that patented this approach years ago, and it's great to see it come into effect in its flagship desktop PCs.

Each MG-1 MK.II uses a motherboard with all of its cable connections on the back, leading to an almost impossibly clean look. All that's visible from the "front" side of the build is the CPU cooling header's narrow power cable, GPU power cable, and AiO pump hoses.

Yes, this makes the PC super attractive, but in theory, it also lets air pass through the system with fewer impediments.

One other quick mention: the GPU has a firm mount screwed into place, removing the need for any internal packing foam during shipping. The PC arrived wrapped in a soft cover with some foam on the edges; that's it.

The MG-1 MK.II's cable management is impeccable ... except for one little bit

You might assume that having all cables behind the motherboard leads to a mess only visible when you remove the rear panel. That might happen on some builds, but not here.

Cable management is as meticulous as ever, making it easy to upgrade or repair the PC yourself in the future. The only qualm I have is that Maingear still uses zipties. A bit of Velcro for even just the main channels would go a long way towards ease of tinkering and overall premium feel.

Does Maingear's MG-1 MK.II keep cool with good airflow?

I didn't run any benchmarks on this PC in terms of gaming performance. Its Founders Edition RTX 5090 GPU and AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D speak for themselves. Maingear isn't using proprietary or OEM performance hardware, so don't expect any surprises.

However, I did test cooling and airflow. Internal temperatures at the motherboard sensor when the system is idle sit at about 34 degrees C. That's nearly five degrees cooler than the Classic MG-1 I tested last year.

With the system under a full stress test (CPU, GPU, RAM, SSD, etc.), internal case temps only went up to 40 degrees C. With the CPU's heat now being pumped out the top of the case and the GPU's heat being pushed out the back by the three large front fans, it's easy to see how the MG-1 MK.II remains so cool.

👉 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 review: A higher price matches the extra performance in this gorgeous GPU redesign

There are a lot of fans in here, but the noise isn't bad. Maingear did a great job on the stock fan curve. When idling, the system hits about 40 decibels. Under full load, it climbed to 55 decibels. That's slightly quieter than the Classic MG-1.

My only complaints about the Maingear MG-1 MK.II

I already mentioned zipties used in cable management, but there are a couple of other small bits I want to mention.

The case's front/top port selection isn't exactly generous, with just USB-A, USB-C, and 3.5mm audio. I hope this gets expanded in the next generation.

The only other thing I want to mention is that one of the RGB headers was loose when the PC arrived. It was just a matter of applying pressure to pop it back into place.

I imagine some buyers might not have the know-how when it comes to troubleshooting those sorts of things, but Maingear's customer support is all handled in-house and is quite helpful (speaking from a bit of secret shopper experience).

Should you buy the Maingear MG-1 MK.II?

You should buy this if ...

✅ You want a top-tier gaming desktop but don't want to build it yourself.

✅ You love the idea of custom artwork and plenty of RGB lighting.

You should not buy this if ...

❌ You're trying to save as much money as possible on your gaming PC

❌ You don't have a lot of space in your gaming area

Pre-built PCs almost always cost more than building your own system; assembly, warranty, support, and other factors contribute. But how much more is the MG-1 MK.II I tested compared to something I put together myself?

The Ryzen 9 9950X3D2, NVIDIA RTX 5090, 32GB of RAM, 2TB SSD, and motherboard alone tally up to roughly $6,050. Add a Windows 11 license, a case, more case fans, RGB lighting, and a PSU, and you're getting closer to the $6,816 that Maingear asks for this exact config.

Yeah, it's crazy expensive, but I don't place the blame on Maingear. It's still operating at roughly the same margins I saw with the Classic MG-1 despite rising hardware prices.

If you don't want to source your own parts and assemble them yourself, I stand by Maingear being one of the best places to buy a pre-built gaming PC. The Classic MG-1 was good, but the MG-1 MK.II is on a whole other level.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

AMD has officially revealed its new Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition desktop processor, and you'll be able to get your hands on it on April 22.

This is AMD's (and indeed the world's) first desktop processor where both chiplets are equipped with the proprietary 3D V-Cache technology that is so coveted by PC gamers. With 104MB of cache underlying each chiplet, it offers a whopping 208MB total on-chip cache.

What does that mean for you? Well, with more cache, the CPU has more space to store the data it needs to perform as efficiently as possible. As AMD's Senior VP and GM of Computing and Graphics, Jack Huynh, explains in the announcement video, "208MB of cache means more game data, more assets, and more working data sitting right next to the CPU cores."

The Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition remains a 16-core processor based on the Zen 5 architecture and using the AM5 socket, just like its Ryzen 9 9950X3D sibling that we reviewed favorably here at Windows Central. However, it has jumped up to a 200W TDP compared to the 170W TDP of its sibling.

I don't doubt that this CPU is going to be a monster chip for PC gaming, but AMD isn't hiding the fact that it's also exceptional for demanding workloads that require speedy data access.

AMD claims that compared to the 9950X3D, the 9950X3D2 Dual Edition can deliver between 5% and 10% better performance in creative workloads like DaVinci Resolve, Blender, Unreal Engine, and Chromium.

While the original Ryzen 9 9950X3D was undoubtedly a capable CPU for gaming and for creative workloads, AMD is positioning the 9950X3D2 Dual Edition as the new ultimate choice.

There's not yet any word on the new Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition's pricing, but the standard Ryzen 9 9950X3D currently sits at around $675.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

AMD is in good company at MWC Barcelona (formerly Mobile World Congress) this year, even if that company is mostly focusing on the enterprise scene rather than average consumers like me. Just like its Ryzen PRO 8000/8040 Series desktop processors from 2024, and the Ryzen AI PRO 300 mobile chips that followed later that year, it's announcing another AI PRO range for 2026.

Unsurprisingly, it's moving into "the AI PC era for business" with a bump up to AMD Ryzen AI PRO 400 Series mobile and desktop processors, including a new Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 475 mobile workstation chip with an XDNA 2 NPU handling AI tasks on Windows with up to 60 TOPS of local processing power.

That's far above the 40 TOPS requirement for a Copilot+ PC certification. On the desktop side, businesses will be able to get their hands on a new range of Zen 5 processors that hit a slightly lower 50 TOPS with their own NPU chiplet, which is still much higher than its previous-gen, consumer-grade Ryzen 8000G desktop APUs, which ran at around 16 TOPS.

If this all sounds familiar to those waiting for AMD's Ryzen AI 400 Series, codenamed 'Gorgon Point', that's for a good reason. These are essentially the same chips as the consumer side, but with an added layer of enterprise-grade security, remote management add-ons, and stability guarantees. So, regular folk will still get the 60 TOPS XDNA 2-based NPU on consumer-grade laptops this year with current-gen, RDNA 3.5-based Radeon 800M Series graphics chiplets.

What exactly is AMD launching?

Again, these processors are built for AMD's commercial audience, but it's always interesting to see what it's doing with its Zen 5 architecture — now delivering 6 mobile chips and 3 desktop chips (technically 6 if you count the energy-efficient 'GE' variants). It's the mobile workstation (laptop) side that earns the 60 TOPS NPU for local AI work, paired with LPDDR5X memory clocked up to 8355 MT/s.

The Ryzen AI PRO desktop chips stick with AMD's '5 PRO' and '7 PRO' rankings, leaving the '9 PRO' and '9 HX PRO' to the mobile side. That, and the trio of APUs comes with 65W TDP as standard, while the lower-power 'GE' models stick to 35W. Each processor uses the same 50 TOPS NPU, which is a big jump from previous-generation desktop chips like the Ryzen 7 8700G I tested in 2024.

🗨️ Anyone out there using these chips?

On the bright side, it's not like I'll never see these chips in real life, as enterprise-grade PCs from the likes of Lenovo, HP, Dell, ASUS, and Acer will start appearing in Q2 2026. Realistically, they'll only get a passing glance from me at trade shows, but again, it's interesting to see what AMD does on both the consumer and commercial sides.

That, and local AI is more interesting to me than anything in the cloud — shout out to Blender, Audacity, and Davinci Resolve for actually making practical use out of NPUs. The good news is that Ryzen AI 400 Series consumer laptops (and mini PCs) are set to launch earlier in Q1 2026, and you can believe I'll be putting on my polite email-writing hat when those samples start appearing.

I'm wondering if any of our readers use processors like these in their professional lives. And if not, would you like to?

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Processors like AMD's new Ryzen 7 9850X3D spark up conversations about binning and the broader concepts of silicon manufacturing that essentially make this a "super" 9800X3D, but most gamers don't care about the specifics. For most, they want to know why the "50" in its name means it costs $30-40 more.

But that's really what this is. It's the tuned-up version, or the "shiny" edition, if we borrow some gaming verbiage. Before we ever had a sneak peek into its specs, I knew this was never going to appeal to people who already bought a 9800X3D, but it's going to change the conversation for people who were considering one. Let's see where it lands in my testing.

How much does the Ryzen 7 9850X3D cost?

This review was made possible thanks to review samples provided by AMD. The companies had no input nor saw the contents of this review prior to publication.

The 9850X3D now stands as the fourth chip of its kind in AMD's Zen 5 Ryzen 9000 Series, alongside the 9800X3D, 9900X3D, and 9950X3D.

AMD's Ryzen 7 9850X3D specs are almost identical to the Ryzen 7 9800X3D APU (SoC), with the same core/thread count, L3 cache size, and 120W TDP.

It's launching at $499 MSRP, which is $20 higher than the 9800X3D started at, for a 400 MHz bump to its maximum clock speed.

However, the 9800X3D has dropped to $469 since its November 2024 launch, widening the gap with the 9850X3D's launch price to $30.

Surging component prices driven by AI demand might prevent the gap from widening further, as the 9800X3D has recently only seen increased value when retailers bundled it with compatible motherboards and RAM.

How fast is the Ryzen 7 9850X3D?

Besides its impressive single-core performance, there weren't any other surprises from the Ryzen 7 9850X3D in my usual testing gauntlet, and it placed about 5% higher than the 9800X3D in synthetic productivity benchmarks. The creator-centric Ryzen 9 9900X still pulls ahead, currently selling for $382 at Newegg, proving the 9900X is a bargain for anyone who isn't explicitly interested in building a gaming rig first.

My results show a nice 25-30% lead for the Ryzen 7 9850X3D over the last-gen gaming hero, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D, which still sells for $399 at Newegg when the 7800X3D is discounted. If you're already bored with that chip, you could sell it and upgrade to the 9850X3D if you really wanted to, but Ryzen 5000 Series enthusiast owners will see the best gaming upgrades by jumping "two" generations (never mind the 8000G).

Is the Ryzen 7 9850X3D good for gaming?

AMD still officially pits the Ryzen 7 9800X3D and 9850X3D against Intel's Core Ultra 9 285K, which is an absolute productivity monster with a price hovering around $579.98 at Newegg right now, but the 285K disappoints in gaming tests. To that end, it almost feels cruel to compare when Intel doesn't necessarily have a modern horse in the desktop gaming race, and the 13th/14th Gen Core i9 crashes soured its previous generations.

As for the 9800X3D vs. 9850X3D conversation, AMD's in-house tests show a 3% average uplift, with Baldur's Gate 3 and Counter-Strike 2 enjoying the best improvements while Battlefield 6 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 are barely noticeable. Given the productivity scores I collected a couple of days before the 9850X3D's release slightly exceeded AMD's reference scores, there's no reason for me to doubt its gaming charts, but future testing can clarify.

So yes, the Ryzen 7 9850X3D is great for gaming. In fact, it's basically trying to usurp its binned sibling's throne as the new best gaming CPU, but that position will be decided by ongoing pricing between it and the 9800X3D. These chip refreshes are always strange to explain to newcomers, and the 9850X3D especially so, since you're only really getting a 400MHz bump over the 9800X3D, but the price is right (for now).

Should you buy the Ryzen 7 9850X3D?

You should buy this if ...

✅ You're building a high-end gaming PC

✅ You're upgrading from an older AM4 build

You should not buy this if ...

❌ You already have a Ryzen 7 9800X3D

❌ You're still on a high-end 7000 Series CPU

AMD's Ryzen 7 9850X3D is almost a 9800X3D 2.0, a special edition of sorts that gives you slightly better performance at a modest price. I predict the gap will remain worth it for a while, but the later months of 2026 might see that change, especially if enterprise AI continues to gouge prices for the everyday PC gamer. For now, it's easy to recommend over the 9800X3D, because I doubt anyone building a system around this chip is worried about spending an extra $30.

However, I tentatively stand by my darling 9800X3D as my editor's choice, keeping all my fingers crossed for some genuine price drops as the 9850X3D slides in to try and take its place. More choices are great for us builders; it's just that these two are so close that it's hard to separate them. If you're upgrading from a Ryzen 7 5800X3D or an Intel Core i5-13/14600K, then go for the 9850X3D — just prepare for a shock when you need a new motherboard and RAM.

As part of AMD's CES 2026 presentation, a new Ryzen 7 9850X3D processor was revealed. Just a couple of weeks after its initial unveiling, AMD has shared pricing and launch date info.

The Ryzen 7 9850X3D is officially expected to launch at $499, and you'll be able to buy it starting on January 29. It's well worth noting that the Ryzen 7 9800X3D is still widely available at $469 and is extremely popular.

I'm expecting there to be quite a bit of noise surrounding the new chip's launch, and not just because 42% of polled Windows Central readers said — at the time of the initial CES unveiling, when pricing wasn't yet known — they're interested enough in the new chip to buy it instead of the 9800X3D.

The 9850X3D looks a lot like the Ryzen 7 9800X3D. The new CPU is thus being likened by some to a "binned" 9800X3D, which essentially means that it's the older chip with slightly superior tuning.

It's hard to argue with that sentiment when the specs are so similar. Like the 9800X3D, the 9850X3D has eight Zen 5 cores, 16 threads, a 104MB cache, and a 120W TDP. The only major difference is a buff to the chip's boost clock from 5.2GHz to 5.6GHz, which allows AMD to call it the new fastest gaming CPU on the market.

According to AMD's own performance charts, the 9850X3D will push average performance to 27% above the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K when playing at 1080p. The older 9800X3D in the same scenario hits a 24% average, a difference of only 3%. It will be very interesting to see how actual performance differs once reviewers get their hands on the product.

The new 9850X3D arrives using the same AM5 socket as the 9800X3D, making it easy to upgrade. However, the mild performance increase suggests AMD isn't targeting users who already have a 9800X3D.

Regardless, I'm curious to see how the 9850X3D affects the 9800X3D's future. A price difference of $31 isn't a lot, especially if the real-world performance gap proves to be wider than expected.

AMD extends an olive branch for those struggling to find affordable RAM

Part of the magic of AMD's second-gen 3D V-Cache setup — the engineering that delivers such a huge boost when gaming — is that it relies less on high-performance RAM to deliver high frame rates.

AMD reminds us in its press release that the performance difference between DDR5-4800 RAM and DDR5-6000 RAM is less than 1%, tested in more than 30 games. With high-end DDR5 RAM now costing more than most of us are willing to pay, it's just another reason why the 9850X3D (and its other modern X3D siblings) are generally so coveted by enthusiasts.

Assuming we can get our hands on the 9850X3D when it launches, we'll be sure to compare its direct gaming performance with the 9800X3D. I wouldn't mind poking around with the RAM speed claims, either.

Are you happy with the $499 price AMD has set for the Ryzen 7 9850X3D? Let us know in the comments below!

PC building has been all but ruined by sky-high memory and storage prices, but there are still some bundled gems to be had that won't break the bank.

The latest I've spotted includes an AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor, an ASUS TUF Gaming X870-Plus Wifi motherboard, and 32GB (2x16GB) of Corsair Vengeance RGB DDR5-6000 RAM.

If you were to buy these parts separately, you'd realistically be looking at a total cost of $1,118.99, and that's with other ongoing discounts. Newegg puts the bundle's regular value at $1,208.98, but it has dropped the price to just $938.99. That's a total savings of about $270.

As an added bonus, Newegg is throwing in a free Corsair M75 wireless RGB gaming mouse, which regularly costs $129.99.

This is one great bundle for PC builders

The discounted bundle price effectively removes most of the bloated cost of the RAM. Corsair's Vengeance RGB kit is one of the best you can buy, especially if you're a fan of customizable lighting, so it's not like Newegg is just throwing in any memory it can find.

The ASUS TUF Gaming X870-Plus Wifi motherboard is no slouch, either. It's a great choice for high-performance builds thanks to a sturdy 16+2+1 power stage setup, easy overclocking tools, USB4 and Wi-Fi 7 connectivity, dual PCIe 5.0 M.2 slots, and much more.

The bundle also, of course, delivers to you what I (and many others) consider to be the absolute best CPU for PC gaming. AMD's Ryzen 7 9800X3D is what I have in my system, and I have absolutely no regrets. My colleague, Senior Editor Ben Wilson, sums it up quite well in his 9800X3D review:

"AMD continues the theme with its second generation of 3D V-Cache to deliver unparalleled gaming performance and middling productivity. Thankfully, most gamers do not care about the benchmark-breaking number crunching as long as they get their framerate boosts, and the Ryzen 7 9800X3D delivers that sweet extra FPS."

With RAM, motherboard, and CPU handled, all you really need to do is add a graphics card, some storage, a power supply, and a case to complete your build. Although SSD prices are also on the rise, it's not too late to find a decent deal, and I've put together a quick guide with recommended storage starting at $0.08/GB.

And if you'd rather splurge on a complete gaming system, Newegg is also currently home to some deep discounts on pre-built gaming PCs.

FAQ

There's no other way to say it: AMD had a great year in 2025. With record-setting revenue, multi-billion dollar AI compute deals, and the launch of FSR Redstone as better competition for NVIDIA's DLSS, AMD padded its CPU supremacy by launching the Ryzen 9 9950X3D and 9900X3D.

These chips were more powerful follow-ups to the processor that every PC gamer wants, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, which launched late-2024.

Although the Ryzen 9000 X3D lineup seemed complete, AMD has now unveiled the Ryzen 7 9850X3D at CES 2026. It slots into the lineup between the aforementioned Ryzen 7 9800X3D and the Ryzen 9 9900X, featuring 8 cores, 16 threads, a 5.6GHz boost clock, 104MB of combined L2 and L3 cache, and a 120W TDP.

Yes, it's nearly identical to the 9800X3D — AMD says it's essentially a fine-tuned 9800X3D, and only the boost clock is slightly (0.4GHz) higher. According to AMD's own benchmarks, you can expect roughly a 3% average boost in performance from the 9850X3D compared to the 9800X3D.

AMD plans to launch the chip in Q1 2026, but there's not yet any pricing info. Considering the 9800X3D currently costs about $469 ($10 below MSRP), I can't see the new 9850X3D costing much more when the performance difference is so small.

AMD's new "Gorgon Point" processors aren't just for laptops

AMD's Ryzen AI 400 series chips, otherwise known as "Gorgon Point," have officially been revealed.

There are seven new chips in total, starting with the Ryzen AI 5 430 and climbing all the way to the Ryzen AI 9 HX 475 with 12 Zen 5 cores, 24 threads, 5.2GHz boost clock, 16 RDNA 3.5 graphics CUs, and an XDNA 2 NPU with 60 TOPS of power.

Rather than being restricted to laptops, AMD says these chips are also arriving as socketable desktop CPUs in consumer and commercial Copilot+ PCs. The chips are expected to arrive in laptops, desktops, and other form factors in Q1 2026.

New Ryzen AI Max+ chips have the coveted Radeon 8060S GPU

AMD has also padded its Ryzen AI Max+ series of mobile processors, which was first introduced last year at CES 2025.

The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ and Max+ Pro were touted as being "faster than an RTX 4090" thanks to their dedicated memory architecture that allows up to 96GB of system RAM to be used on the integrated GPU, all with a 256GB/s bandwidth. We tested the Pro version of the chip to great effect in our HP Z2 Mini (G1a) review.

One issue with the lineup was that you needed to splurge on the 16-core chip if you wanted to land the powerful integrated Radeon 8060S GPU with 60 TFLOPS of power and 40 graphics CUs.

That's now changed with the introduction of the Ryzen AI Max+ 392 and Ryzen AI Max+ 388. Both chips feature the same Radeon 8060S GPU, albeit with fewer cores (12 and 8, respectively).

The Ryzen 7 9800X3D is still readily available for less than MSRP (about $469), potentially putting the Ryzen 7 9850X3D in a tough spot at launch. At what price would the new chip have to launch to attract buyers? Let us know in the comments below!

AMD's specialized Ryzen processors (CPU) with a unique 3D V-Cache design are considered the pinnacle of hardware for PC gamers. The latest flagship Zen 5 chip, known as the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, is considered the top option right now, having succeeded the previous top option, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D.

Although AMD offers more powerful variants — including the Ryzen 9 9900X3D and 9950X3D — the combination of stellar performance and a very competitive price pushes the 9800X3D to the forefront for most gamers.

Now, it seems like AMD plans to usurp its most popular gaming chip with a new version that's clocked slightly higher than its sibling. AMD actually leaked this revelation itself when it posted a Ryzen 7 9850X3D listing on its official driver website, which was spotted by X user Olrak29_ on November 29, 2025.

Although the AMD site listing has been taken down — the URL now simply shows a 404 error — some info was gleaned with the help of another leaker on X, g01d3nm4ng0.

It appears that the 9850X3D chip will have the same 8 cores and 16 threads as the 9800X3D, but it will push its boost clock up to 5.6GHz (compared to 5.2GHz in the 9800X3D). It's alleged that it will run at a similar 120W TDP.

Of course, the second leak also mentions a Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 chip, something that's been rumored for a few months without official confirmation from AMD. The "X3D2" portion of the name suggests that it could have dual X3D tiles, expanding the chip's V-Cache — the part that makes such a huge difference in PC gaming performance — to proportions yet unseen.

Turning back to the chip that was accidentally mentioned on AMD's website, the Ryzen 7 9850X3D curiously seems to only represent a slightly higher boost clock without other improvements.

It's unclear for exactly who this chip is intended, especially when there's already the Ryzen 9 9900X3D available for those who need more cores and a higher boost clock.

The Ryzen 7 9800X3D currently retails for about $479 (less if you can find it on sale), while the 9900X3D usually sits at about $599 before discounts. There's definitely room to squeeze in another chip between the two, but with the 9800X3D so readily available at an (assumedly) lower price, AMD will have to work some magic positioning its "upgrade" as a meaningful improvement over the flagship chip.

It could also instead completely replace the 9800X3D over time; I'm hoping to hear more details from AMD at CES 2026.

(via Videocardz, PC Gamer)

MSI's Raider A18 HX joins a fairly exclusive club of 18-inch powerhouse gaming laptops, competing directly with the likes of the Razer Blade 18 and ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18, two laptops we also reviewed this year at Windows Central.

Equipped with up to an NVIDIA RTX 5090 Laptop GPU and an AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX3D CPU, MSI's Raider hits the upper limits of power available in a gaming laptop. It's not all about power, though, as MSI has included quite a few premium features to keep you happy while you game or work.

Is this the right 18-inch laptop for you? Let's find out.

MSI Raider A18 HX (2025) review

MSI's Raider A18 HX is not an affordable laptop, but that's expected for a device with so much power.

The most affordable price I found while reviewing the PC is $2,799 at B&H (after a $500 discount) for a model with an AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX3D CPU, 32GB of DDR5 RAM, 2TB SSD, NVIDIA RTX 5080 Laptop GPU, and a UHD+ mini-LED display at 120Hz.

You can also find the same configuration available at Amazon for $3,399, at Newegg for $3,299, or at Walmart for $3,799.

Models with an RTX 5090 are not recommended due to price and meager performance gains over the RTX 5080. The exception is users who plan to use the Raider A18 HX for creative or AI work, in which case a 5090 might be necessary.

👉 NVIDIA's most expensive laptops are a terrible value — Here's what you should buy instead

This review was made possible thanks to a loaned review unit provided by MSI. The company did not see the contents of this review before publishing.

Design ⭐⭐⭐⭐

As with any 18-inch gaming laptop designed to accommodate the latest and greatest mobile performance hardware, there's a decent amount of bulk involved. Models with all the best internals weigh in at about 7.94 pounds (3.6kg) with about 1.26 inches (32mm) of thickness.

A lot of the chassis is plastic, although MSI uses aluminum for some of the larger panels to add strength. The PC feels sturdy and doesn't have much bend.

The back edge has stylized red and black vent covers, with some space at the center for 2.5Gb Ethernet, HDMI 2.1, and a proprietary charging port. This positioning helps improve cable management. The plastic venting extends to the sides to cover additional exhausting.

On the left, you'll find dual USB-A 3.2 (Gen 2) and a UHS-III SD card reader. On the right are dual USB4 ports, a third USB-A 3.2 (Gen 2), and a 3.5mm audio jack.

It's a decent mix of modern and legacy ports, even if it doesn't officially support Intel's branded Thunderbolt tech (as some of MSI's product notes suggest). Wireless is also as modern as can be, with Wi-Fi 7 support and Bluetooth 5.4.

The gem-cut front corners and display bezels add some distinct flair to the PC, and a customizable LED light bar along the front edge is a nice addition that users can choose to disable in more professional settings.

Above the display, there's a 1080p webcam with an IR sensor for Windows Hello facial recognition. A physical shutter adds some privacy. Overall, picture quality is just OK; if you plan to stream your games, a great standalone webcam will do a lot better.

The top-firing speakers remain unmuffled, and they get plenty loud without distorting. The downside is that there's not a whole lot of body to the audio. I do love the manual shutter on the webcam and the fingerprint reader below the keyboard; many gaming laptops ignore these features.

Getting inside the PC requires the removal of 12 screws on the vented bottom panel. Once removed, you have access to RAM, storage, and the Wi-Fi card for quick and easy upgrades/replacements after purchase.

Display ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Raider A18 HX's 18-inch display hits a 3840x2400 (UHD+) resolution, making for an ultra-crisp look whether you're gaming or working. The use of a mini-LED panel provides deeper blacks, brighter whites, and improved contrast when compared to a standard LCD screen. The difference is immediately noticeable.

Compared to OLED, mini-LED is better suited for HDR content thanks to its higher brightness. Indeed, the display here is certified for VESA DisplayHDR 1000, and I tested for 558 nits of brightness without HDR using my colorimeter.

Also tested was color accuracy, for which the Raider A18 HX scored quite well, hitting 100% sRGB, 94% AdobeRGB, and 100% DCI-P3. These results are crucial for creative work.

Combine all of this with a 120Hz refresh rate (quite fast for a 4K display), and you have an impressive screen to work or play with at any time. I also appreciate the matte finish that reduces glare.

Performance ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Running through our standard set of benchmarks, the Ryzen 9 9955HX3D CPU unsurprisingly falls behind Intel's flagship mobile chip for productivity tasks. AMD designed its CPUs to boost gaming performance, and that's evident as soon as you start playing.

Paired with a 3840x2400 (UHD+) display, the performance hardware doesn't have an easy job. However, I clocked a 148.7 FPS average in Cyberpunk 2077 using Multi Frame Gen 4x, high overall settings, and ray tracing lighting set to high.

In Far Cry 6 with Ultra settings and no DLSS, I got back a 100 FPS average. And in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, with highest settings and DLSS enabled, I saw a 170 FPS average.

DLSS is doing a lot of heavy lifting here, but that's no different in any other powerhouse gaming laptop. The fact that you can still max out the UHD+ display's 120Hz refresh rate with these demanding titles is mighty impressive.

MSI has also included the fastest M.2 PCIe 5.0 SSD we've ever tested in the new Raider. Thanks to its own heat pipe connected to the full cooling system, I didn't find it overheated.

Thermals & fan noise ⭐⭐⭐

I kicked off performance testing with a full-system stress test. The Raider A18 HX showed no signs of throttling under these conditions, and you should find that working normally at the PC won't create a ton of fan noise or heat.

MSI's included control app allows for intelligent balancing of power using AI, but you can also force it into specific performance categories. The GPU is overclockable, though I'm not sure the added fan noise is worth it.

The laptop's fans are not quiet when under gaming duress. I tested about 52 decibels when pushing the system with Cyberpunk 2077. Less demanding titles don't create nearly as much ruckus, but you'll still hear fan noise practically any time you're at the PC.

Battery life ⭐⭐⭐

MSI's Raider A18 HX was not built to be an efficiency superstar. Sporting the most powerful mobile CPU and GPU combo for gaming in the world, it focuses on raw power rather than long runtimes.

A Windows battery report shows that standby lasting power is excellent (lasting a couple of days), but active power is not the same story. You should not attempt to game on this laptop without it being plugged into an AC adapter unless it's a light title and you have a bunch of the Raider's power settings turned down.

Leaving the laptop at full power and going about regular, non-gaming tasks will get you about two or three hours of life, more if you tune the system down. It's the same story for practically any gaming laptop with this much power inside.

Keyboard & touchpad ⭐⭐⭐½

A colorful keyboard isn't exactly a rare sight in the gaming laptop world, but MSI's option isn't just flashy.

It's a SteelSeries board boasting 99 keys thanks to the full number pad, each with separate and customizable RGB lighting. Key travel is deep enough that I didn't experience any discomfort when typing or gaming, and although it's not a mechanical board, it feels snappy and responsive.

I dislike the translucent keycaps on the WASD and arrow keys, but it's overall a quality keyboard.

I'm not as impressed with the mechanical touchpad. There's a lot of movement on the surface that makes some clicks feel spongy, and it seems like MSI could have used up more space on the deck for wider and taller dimensions.

The plastic pad is smooth and tracks well, and in the end, that's what matters most. You might wish it were a glass touchpad if you were using the built-in pointer full-time, but I suspect most gamers are switching to a controller or an external mouse anyway.

MSI Raider A18 HX (2025): Should you buy it?

✅ You should buy this if ...

• You want one of the most powerful gaming laptops on the market today.
• You love a gaming laptop with customizable RGB lighting.
• You want to experience the very best of what AMD and NVIDIA can deliver.

❌ You should not buy this if ...

• You require long battery life to get you from one AC outlet to the other.
• You want a laptop that's easy to carry around.
• You don't plan on tackling demanding local AI tasks or hardware-intensive games.

MSI's Raider A18 HX should be a top choice for anyone who wants the best mobile gaming CPU in the world and a choice of NVIDIA's latest laptop GPUs, including up to an RTX 5090.

Battery life isn't great, and the fans aren't exactly quiet, but these are downsides found in practically any high-performance gaming laptop.

Considering the Raider A18 HX is competitively priced against similar laptops, there's no reason not to consider it unless you particularly value audio and touchpad quality.

• Back to the top ⤴

AMD's third-quarter financial results for 2025 are in, and they're looking good for the NVIDIA and Intel competitor almost entirely across the board. In the age of astronomical AI-related spending, it's great to see Team Red making headway with its consumer graphics card and processor business, and not just AI chips.

Not only did AMD's revenue grow in the third quarter, but it broke a record at $9.2 billion with a gross margin of 52%. That revenue represents a 36% year-over-year increase, which AMD Executive Vice President Jean Hu says "generated record free cash flow."

With $1.3 billion in operating income and $2 billion of net revenue, diluted earnings per share work out to $0.75. Looking at the results with a non-GAAP eye — which can often give a better picture of core operations — AMD says its gross margin was 54% and diluted earnings per share were $1.20.

Before these earnings were made public, I probably would have placed my bet on AMD's specialized AI chips — known as Instinct — making the most money for the company. That is, however, not the case at all.

AMD says its data center segment's revenue was $4.3 billion, a 22% increase compared to the third quarter of 2024. The company says this growth was, unsurprisingly, driven by its specialized EPYC CPUs and Instinct MI350 GPUs.

It's the client and gaming segment that shows the most growth, and it's not close at all. Third-quarter revenue from this segment was $4 billion, which is an increase of 73% compared to the previous year.

Client revenue alone broke an AMD record at $2.8 billion, an increase of 46% year-over-year. AMD says these record sales were driven by its consumer Ryzen CPUs and "a richer product mix."

Considering the almighty AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D — widely considered the best CPU for PC gaming and a nice upgrade over its predecessor, the 7800X3D — and its other new X3D siblings launched at the end of 2024, it's pretty clear that the demand for AMD's coveted CPUs is only climbing.

Ryzen is undoubtedly a hot buy, but it was AMD's Radeon gaming GPUs that grew the most in the third quarter. Gaming revenue hit $1.3 billion in the third quarter, which was a 181% year-over-year increase.

AMD has positioned itself on the launch pad ... will it take off?

AMD's third-quarter 2025 results are impressive, but, of course, it's not always easy to maintain such a performance.

"Our record third quarter performance and strong fourth quarter guidance marks a clear step up in our growth trajectory as our expanding compute franchise and rapidly scaling data center AI business drive significant revenue and earnings growth," said Dr. Lisa Su, alluding to some of the deals AI has coming its way in the next few years.

NVIDIA has propelled itself to the top of the world market charts with its specialized AI GPUs, recently blowing past a $5 trillion valuation as the first ever company to do so. AMD undoubtedly wants some of the action.

AMD notes that its AMD AI platform is gaining interest, alluding to the massive OpenAI partnership worth tens of billions of dollars announced in early October 2025. It involves 6 gigawatts of AMD's Instinct AI GPUs powering OpenAI's next-gen infrastructure; the first gigawatt is set to deploy in the second half of 2026.

Of course, the current tensions between the US and China are getting in the way of Instinct AI GPU sales to one of the largest AI markets in the world, but AMD has priced that into its expectations.

AMD expects that fourth-quarter revenue will be somewhere around $9.6 billion, another increase compared to the third quarter, and that "does not include any revenue from AMD Instinct MI308 shipments to China."

Business is indeed taking off for AMD, and it's great to see that it's not just all AI-related revenue. There are serious concerns about a growing AI bubble that wants to wipe out the stock market should it ever burst, but it looks like AMD's more traditional money makers — GPUs and CPUs — would act as great insulators against the storm.

(via PC Gamer)

FAQ

AMD has cornered the PC gaming market with its Ryzen X3D processors (CPU), and the Ryzen 7 7800X3D remains one of the most popular chips around thanks to awesome performance and a modest price.

Performance hasn't changed (that's a good thing), but the price has come down significantly at Amazon. With a massive 29% discount and a $319.99 price that's as low as it's been since May 2024, it's a perfect time to give your PC the gaming CPU it craves.

AMD's Ryzen 7 7800X3D is a good buy at full price, never mind at 29% off

Whenever I see the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D CPU on sale, I get a warm feeling inside knowing that more gamers are going to experience the magic of 3D V-Cache.

3D V-Cache is a proprietary AMD technology that changes the design of the CPU's L3 cache, stacking it vertically rather than horizontally. This allows the CPU to access data stored in the cache quickly and more efficiently.

And because there's so much extra L3 cache compared to normal — the 7800X3D has 96MB, whereas something like the Core Ultra 7 265K has just 30MB — the CPU doesn't have to lean on slow system memory nearly as much as usual.

These two benefits of AMD's 3D V-Cache directly boost PC gaming performance to the point that I've sworn off any other types of CPUs for personal use, barring a miraculous breakthrough elsewhere.

I use the newer Ryzen 7 9800X3D in my personal gaming PC to great effect, but at $120 more than the 7800X3D, AMD's slightly older chip is a way better deal that can land you average gaming performance within about 10% of the newer CPU.

For more information, including performance charts and further buying advice, I recommend checking out my AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D vs. 7800X3D comparison.

The 7800X3D that's so cheap right now is built on AMD's Zen 4 architecture, which offers modern DDR5 RAM and PCIe 5.0 support. Motherboards supporting the 7800X3D include A620, X670, B840, B850, B650, and X870, giving you plenty of options from which to choose.

The 7800X3D's 8 cores, 16 threads, and 5GHz boost clock aren't just for gaming, either. While you can certainly find a CPU that's better tuned for a life of productivity — something like the Ryzen 7 9700X we reviewed is a solid choice — the 7800X3D will certainly do a great job outside of gaming.

I'll wrap up this awesome deal highlight with a quote from our AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D review:

I have no idea how long the 7800X3D will remain at its $319 sale price, which is only the second time in its history that it's dropped so low at Amazon. If you're looking to upgrade your PC with a powerful CPU, I wouldn't wait too much longer, as pricing history suggests the chip doesn't usually remain this affordable for long.

When it comes to running Large Language Models (LLMs) and other intense artificial intelligence workflows locally, colossal desktop PCs powered by hyper-expensive NVIDIA GeForce RTX GPUs tend to reign supreme.

Even the best discrete GPU quickly runs out of VRAM under these conditions, though, and that's where AMD's poorly named Ryzen AI MAX platform comes in. This all-in-one platform fulfils a very specific niche and does so in devices barely larger than just an NVIDIA GPU by itself, and it's this platform that HP selected for its flagship Z2 Mini (G1a) PC.

I've been using this compact mini PC and putting its insane hardware to the test, and reaffirmed that 1) HP knows how to make stellar enterprise-ready devices and 2) AMD Ryzen AI MAX should be the go-to for anyone who wants to meet their AI demands without sacrificing all their desk space.

This review was made possible thanks to a review sample provided by HP. HP had no input nor saw the contents of this review prior to publication.

A beautiful design that nails the fundamentals

The HP Z2 Mini (G1a) is definitely a "mini" PC, although it's still beefier than the most compact options from companies like Geekom. That makes sense — there's a lot of power under this hood, and at 20cm x 16.8 x 8.55cm and around 2.3kg, it's still around the same size as an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 by itself.

Many enterprise products clearly prioritize function over form, but the Z2 Mini manages to offer top-notch practicality in addition to elegant design. It's all matte black, with an interesting front grille design that allows for maximum airflow through the unit.

It looks awesome, but it does attract a lot of fingerprint smudges, so be careful when handling it. The Z2 Mini (G1a) is designed to operate vertically, horizontally, or even mounted on a rack, to the wall, on the back of your monitor, or wherever else you want it. The HP logo on the front also rotates to match the orientation of the PC, which I always love to see.

You get lots of ports on the rear and a few on the side (or top, depending on your orientation), and the Z2 Mini also supports HP's "Flex I/O" with two expansion slots for enterprises to customize their units. Even without expanding, though, you still get five USB Type-A ports, three USB Type-C ports (two of which are full USB4/Thunderbolt 4 ports), two Mini DisplayPorts, Ethernet, a Kensington Nano Security Slot, and a 3.5mm audio jack.

Mini DisplayPort is a bit odd and will likely require an adapter, but you can't deny the Z2 Mini is loaded with ports, and it's on the cutting edge of wireless connectivity with Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4, too. There's even a single, 2W internal mono speaker, since that's apparently important to enterprise customers (yes, the audio quality is terrible, tinny, and muted, but it's not meant for entertainment).

Like the other best mini PCs, the Z2 Mini allows for toolless access to its internals, including the two M.2 expansion slots. A simple switch lets you slide off half the main body, providing much more comfortable access than most mini PCs can manage... but that switch doesn't feel secure at all; there's a lot of give in the removable panel even when the switch is fully engaged. It's the one place the Z2 Mini (G1a) doesn't feel as high quality.

Ridiculous performance — exactly what you paid for

Depending on your configuration, your HP Z2 Mini (G1a) could have anywhere from 6-16 CPU cores and 16-40 GPU cores, but it's all under the AMD Ryzen AI MAX umbrella, and it's all with an industry-leading Neural Processing Unit (NPU) that enables Copilot+ PC AI features.

The model I reviewed sits near the top with the 16-core Ryzen AI MAX+ PRO 395, 40-core Radeon 8060S, and 128GB of shared memory. Like other devices built on this platform, you can allocate up to 96GB of VRAM to the GPU. The Z2 Mini (G1a) supports many of HP's enterprise-focused apps and features, too, including the Performance Advisor app that lets you tweak every element of your PC (such as VRAM allocation) without needing to dive into the BIOS.

All that VRAM means the Z2 Mini can run massive LLMs entirely locally and entirely on the GPU, leading to drastically improved performance that can genuinely best the flagship NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 GPU. It helps that the Radeon 8060S is actually quite impressive for an integrated GPU, competing with laptop-grade RTX 4070s in overall performance.

This is my third experience with AMD Ryzen AI MAX, following my HP ZBook Ultra 14 (G1a) review and ASUS ROG Flow Z13 (2025) review, and I've been impressed each time. While true desktop-grade hardware will absolutely outperform this mini PC in most tasks, you won't find such a capable compact PC anywhere else.

As expected, the HP Z2 Mini (G1a) performs better on average than the two laptops I've reviewed using the same platform, thanks to a beefier thermal system. Speaking of, the Z2 Mini does an excellent job cooling itself under sustained loads, but the fans do get loud — certainly more than your average mini PC.

At the end of the day, this mini PC excels at creative and AI workflows, exactly as HP designed it to do. This is a heavy-duty enterprise workstation meant for the most demanding users, and it delivers on that front while being backed by HP's impressive enterprise suite, like the HP Wolf Security Pro platform. Yes, you can also play games on it (I enjoyed some Forza Horizon 5), but those considering this mini PC will be doing so with a job in mind.

HP Z2 Mini (G1a) review: My final thoughts

✅You should buy this if ...

• You want the most powerful mini PC you can get your hands on.
• You want a compact workstation for heavy-duty AI workloads.
• You highly value HP's added enterprise features and programs.

❌You should not buy this if ...

• You won't take advantage of the shared system and GPU memory.
• You're looking for a capable but affordable mini PC for the home.

The HP Z2 Mini (G1a) is an absurdly good bit of kit — I'll just put that out there. AMD knocked it out of the park with its Ryzen AI MAX platform, and HP kept that momentum up with its practical design and bevy of useful features.

When it's on sale, the Z2 Mini (G1a) also isn't a terrible value considering all the capabilities packed into its compact chassis, but that's if it's on sale. Like all HP Z-series devices, this mini PC can be incredibly expensive, which makes it even more important that you're certain this is the PC you actually want.

Yes, it's far more powerful than your average mini PC, enough that it can play all the latest and greatest PC games in a form factor not much larger than your average desktop GPU, but it's designed with very specific and very demanding workloads in mind. It's a specialized tool targeting AI-focused enterprises, and you see that in every part of this mini PC — all the way to its mounting support.

In that niche, though, the HP Z2 Mini (G1a) simply can't be beat, and you can configure your own from $2,480 at HP.com... or peruse HP Z2 Mini (G1a) configurations at HP.com for potential discounts.

AMD's Ryzen 9000 series of desktop processors was officially revealed in June 2024, with the company offering an initial collection of four flagship chips on the Zen 5 architecture.

AMD then added new Ryzen 9000 X3D CPUs with the unique 3D V-Cache — including the awesome Ryzen 7 9800X3D that's immensely popular amongst PC gamers — in early 2025, but it's been about six months since the chips found any new company.

That changes with AMD's recent and quiet release of two new Ryzen 9000 desktop processors (via Tom's Hardware).

The new CPUs, named AMD Ryzen 5 9500F and Ryzen 7 9700F, notably have the "F" designator. That's unlike any other chips so far included in the Ryzen 9000 series.

Whereas even AMD's X3D processors include integrated Radeon graphics, these new F-class chips do without. That means they must be paired with a discrete graphics card to function.

The Ryzen 7 9700F comes with 8 cores, 16 threads, and a boost clock up to 5.5GHz, all while running at a base TDP of 65W.

Comparing the 9700F to AMD's Ryzen 7 9700X, it seems like they're the same, other than the lack of discrete graphics in the former. Clock speeds are the same, cache is the same, and they're both unlocked for overclocking.

The Ryzen 5 9500F is slightly different than its Ryzen 5 9600X and Ryzen 5 9600 siblings. While it has the same 6 cores and 12 threads, it has lower maximum base and boost clocks than the 9600X. It also falls behind the 9600 with its 5GHz max boost (compared to 5.2GHz).

The new Ryzen 5 9500F comes packaged with one of AMD's Wraith Stealth air coolers, which is only otherwise available with the Ryzen 5 9600.

Both new CPUs understandably use AMD's latest Zen 5 architecture and fit into an AM5 motherboard socket. It appears that the Ryzen 7 9700F will be available in North America, while the Ryzen 5 9500F will see a global release.

AMD continues to produce Zen 3 and 4 chips for OEMs

The new Ryzen 5 9500F and Ryzen 7 9700F aren't the only new chips that AMD has recently added to its repertoire. The older Zen 3 and Zen 4 platforms are also getting some love with quiet additions.

X user @harukaze5719 recently spotted listings on Danawa — a Seoul-based comparison and shopping site — with some other new AMD info regarding South Korean availability.

Listed are the Ryzen 5 7400F, Ryzen 5 7400, and the aforementioned Ryzen 5 9500F.

Focusing on the Ryzen 5 7400, it's worth pointing out that this might be the only time AMD has launched an F-series chip after its standard counterpart. The Ryzen 5 7400F launched earlier this year.

Perhaps most interesting is the Ryzen 5 7400's 22MB of combined L2 and L3 cache. That falls out into 16MB of L3 and the usual 6MB of L2.

Compare that to the Ryzen 5 7400F's 32MB of L3 and 6MB of L2 (for a total of 38MB), and it seems like AMD has decided to cut the biggest chunk of cache in half for the new 7400 chip.

With the already released Ryzen 5 7400F seeing availability only in the Asia Pacific, Japan, and China regions, it makes sense that the Ryzen 5 7400 will follow suit.

AMD wasn't satisfied with only adding new Zen 4 and Zen 5 chips. It's been about nine years since AMD introduced Zen 3, and the architecture that simply won't quit also just received a new chip in 2025.

Spotted by X user @momomo_us, the Ryzen 5 5600F is headed to the Asia Pacific and Japan region. It joins its global sibling, the Ryzen 5 5600, which launched in 2022.

The Ryzen 5 5600F features 6 cores, 12 threads, a boost clock up to 4GHz, and a 3GHz base clock. Its L2 and L3 caches combine for 35MB, and it runs at a 65W TDP.

It's essentially a nerfed version of the Ryzen 5 5600, coming in with lower max and base boost clocks. Interestingly, both the 5600F and 5600 lack integrated graphics; talk about a confusing naming scheme.

In any case, AMD's refusal to let its older generations wither is notable. AMD's Ryzen 5000 series now has more than 20 different CPUs using a mix of Vermeer and Cezanne silicon, and Zen 3 has been on the go for nine years.

Gaming laptops keep getting more expensive as performance hardware gets better and builders fight to deal with changing tariffs. That's exactly why I've been paying closer attention to big discounts.

If you're looking for a gaming laptop that can handle even the most demanding games, this is it.

The ASUS ROG Strix G16 features an AMD Ryzen 9 8940HX CPU, NVIDIA RTX 5070 Ti Laptop GPU with access to all of DLSS 4's latest features (including Multi Frame Gen), and 16GB of DDR5 RAM that can be upgraded after purchase.

Rather than the usual $1,999.99 price tag, it's currently down to $1,599.99 at Best Buy.

ASUS builds gaming laptops for maximum performance

When buying a gaming laptop, you'll often have to choose between size and performance. Whereas 14-inch gaming laptops provide the most portability and 18-inch laptops provide the most performance, a 16-inch device is a sweet spot for most gamers.

With a 16-inch gaming laptop, you get enough cooling capacity to allow your hardware to run without making it too bulky to carry around. The G16 features three fans and plenty of exhaust/intake around the sides and rear edge for airflow.

ASUS provides the NVIDIA RTX 5070 Ti Laptop GPU with a 140W power envelope, allowing it to run all-out. And considering the GPU brings all of the latest Blackwell architecture improvements and 12GB of VRAM, you should have no issues enjoying even the most demanding games.

DLSS 4's Multi Frame Generation is the killer feature here; I tested it in DOOM: The Dark Ages using the desktop version of the RTX 5070 Ti, and I came away convinced that NVIDIA is using magic to propel frame rates into triple digits.

Supporting the CPU and GPU is 16GB of DDR5-5600 RAM that can be accessed after purchase. 16GB should be enough to get you started, but it's a relatively cheap upgrade if you find you need more.

ASUS also placed a 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD inside, also accessible for upgrades after purchase.

The 16-inch display in the discounted model comes with a 1920x1200 (FHD+) resolution, a 165Hz refresh rate, and a 3ms response time. The 90% screen-to-body ratio means bezels are slim along the top and sides for a modern look.

NVIDIA G-Sync is included to reduce screen tearing, and Dolby Vision makes supporting content look that much better. ASUS pegs the screen as having 100% DCI-P3 color reproduction and Pantone color validation, so you could certainly use the PC for creative work when you're not gaming.

The RGB keyboard has several macro shortcut keys that you can customize, and the 1.9mm key travel keeps your fingers comfy whether you're typing or gaming. The touchpad is big enough to feature ASUS's funky digital number pad should you want to handle some spreadsheets.

Connectivity is modern, with reliable and fast Wi-Fi 6E as well as 1Gb Ethernet. Because this is an AMD system, you don't get Thunderbolt, but you do get dual USB4 (an unbranded version of Thunderbolt 4) with display support.

Other ports include HDMI 2.1, dual USB-A 3.2 (Gen 2), and a 3.5mm audio jack. Not bad at all.

Unless you prefer a built-in display with a higher resolution or you want to push the GPU to the RTX 5080 (which needs a lot more space inside to run all-out), I can easily recommend checking this one out. The $400 discount at Best Buy won't last long.

Not every piece of technology can be bold or exciting. Sometimes, tech is boring; boring can be good, and boring can be cheap. That's exactly what a lot of people want, and you'll find a whole lot of "boring" in budget and mid-range Windows laptops.

Out of all the laptops I've used recently, the Dell 14 Plus (DB14255) is one of the best... at being boring — the design, the display, the features, even the boring name that has spread across Dell's entire portfolio to simplify (overly so, in my opinion) branding.

Dell famously plays it safe with a lot of its hardware, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The Dell 14 Plus gets the job done without fuss or flair, and its reasonable pricing makes it a solid choice for those who just need a tool (or for those who want to equip a fleet with an army of indistinguishable gray laptops).

My Dell 14 Plus (DB14255) review

Design ⭐⭐⭐½

At a glance, the Dell 14 Plus meets the minimum for a mid-range Windows laptop with its metal-clad design, but it only takes a second to see that it doesn't do much more. This aluminum chassis is just a little on the thick side (around 17mm), a little on the heavy side (around 1.52kg), and definitely sticks with the basics design-wise.

Build quality is also average. There's a decent amount of flex in the panels and the laptop itself, but I still have confidence it could take a beating and withstand years of use.

For I/O, you're looking at one HDMI 1.4 port, two USB Type-C (10GBps with DisplayPort/Power Delivery) ports, one USB Type-A (5GBps) port, and one 3.5mm audio jack. There's no USB4 or HDMI 2.0/2.1, but the basics are (once again) covered.

Display ⭐⭐⭐

The biggest disappointment with the Dell Plus 14 is easily its display. It's not because it's IPS LCD instead of OLED (there are some really nice IPS LCD displays). It's not because it's only 60Hz. It's not because it's just 1200p (although text can still be pretty choppy on this 14-inch panel).

The Dell Plus 14's screen just doesn't look good. Contrast is average, brightness is low, colors are inaccurate and washed out, and the backlight bleed is egregious — unless you're browsing the web, checking your email, or writing in documents, you probably won't want to use this display.

This feels like the screen of a sub-$500 laptop, not something that starts from $799.99 at Dell.com.

Performance ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Dell 14 Plus comes in Intel and AMD variants, but I chose to review the model powered by the 6-core AMD Ryzen AI 5 340 and its integrated AMD Radeon 840M graphics.

You can upgrade that chipset or increase the RAM and storage, but this laptop will never be the powerhouse — and it doesn't need to be. For casual computing (lots of web browsing, email, Microsoft Office, light photo editing, etc.), performance was always consistent and smooth for me.

Try to go beyond the casual workload, though, and you'll quickly find the limits — especially with graphics. Anything but the lightest games aren't likely to run well on the Dell Plus 14, but I honestly expected that. This laptop runs as well as it needs to.

Battery life ⭐⭐⭐⭐½

A low-resolution/refresh rate display, a medium-sized battery, and a high-efficiency chipset are a recipe for fantastic battery life, and the Dell Plus 14 does deliver here. A full day of work isn't cause for concern, especially since the display physically can't get bright enough to properly stress the battery.

I drained 6% of the battery after looping a generic Microsoft Office workload, and another 6% after looping an HD video at 50% volume. Running a Windows Battery Report showed me hitting around 7 hours of screen-on usage even with performance cranked up to the highest settings for my testing.

Charging is easy through either of the USB Type-C ports, but both ports are aligned on the left side.

Keyboard & touchpad ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Continuing with the positives, I actually really like the Dell Plus 14's keyboard. The individual keys are on the small side, but the layout itself is spacious and intuitive, the key action is consistently tactile, and the keycaps are textured nicely. You also get backlighting, which isn't always a given at this price point and below.

The touchpad is less impressive. Its size is fine, the button action is clicky, and you do get Microsoft Precision drivers, but the rough texture and shallow buttons knock a few points off. It gets the job done, but it's no comparison to a premium laptop touchpad.

Software & AI ⭐⭐⭐⭐

"AI PC" is thrown around a lot these days, but the Dell 14 Plus is actually a full-fledged Copilot+ PC thanks to the Neural Processing Unit (NPU) attached to its AMD chipset. That means all the latest and greatest Windows 11 features, and futureproofing for any updates released down the line.

Windows is slowly adding more useful artificial intelligence features, so even if there's nothing you care about right now (that's mostly true for me), the Dell 14 Plus is set up to get even better down the line. There's no Human Presence Detection (HPD) feature, though.

Dell didn't bury this laptop in its own bloatware, either, although the Dell Optimizer app for managing your PC settings is a little on the slow and useless side.

Everything else ⭐⭐⭐½

As expected for a laptop of this caliber, everything else about the Dell 14 Plus is perfectly average at best. The webcam and microphones will get you through video calls, there's a fingerprint sensor for Windows Hello biometric authentication that works most of the time, and you get Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth wireless connectivity on board with solid stability and performance.

The one area that somehow manages to fall below average? The speakers. Windows laptops aren't known for great audio experiences anyway, but these recessed, bottom-firing speakers are metallic and hollow-sounding, only suitable for casual listening. I like to have music playing while I work, but I did not do that with this laptop's speakers.

Dell 14 Plus review: My final thoughts

✅You should buy this if ...

• You want a simple, no-frills work laptop with good performance.
• You want a more affordable PC that still supports Windows AI features.
• You find it on sale and want to save some cash.

❌You should not buy this if ...

• You plan to do more than work, like play games or watch movies.
• You care a lot about having a bright, colorful display.

With all that said, the Dell 14 Plus (DB14255) is a boring laptop — but that's largely okay. Plenty of people want a boring laptop, and this PC is bound to attract a whole lot of tasty sales to make it an easier pill to swallow than it is at full price.

This is a workhorse, so it drops the frills and extraneous features to deliver good performance, solid battery life, enough ports, and a comfortable keyboard. Sure, the display is dim and washed out, and the speakers are tinny, but that won't prevent you from getting the job done.

You can configure your own Dell 14 Plus (DB14255) from $799.99 at Dell.com. This one won't be landing on our list of best Windows laptops any time soon, but the Dell 14 Plus is a decent machine.

HP has been steadily growing and improving its OMEN line of gaming hardware in the last few years, and the brand has become a consistently good option for consumers.

Now, the OMEN family is quite a bit larger, with HP announcing a handful of hardware refreshes — and an entirely new product to sit at the very top of the lineup.

2025 is giving us a new HP OMEN 35L desktop (including a very interesting new edition), a refreshed HP OMEN 16 laptop, and the absolutely ridiculous HP OMEN MAX 45L desktop.

There's some interesting stuff going on here, so let's dive in.

First, we have the all-new HP OMEN MAX 45L. Similar to the HP OMEN MAX 16 (2025) I reviewed, this tower is meant to be the best HP can offer to those who demand the greatest performance.

Equipped with up to an AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D (16 cores, 32 threads), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 (32GB VRAM), 128GB of DDR5 RAM, and 2TB of PCIe Gen5 SSD storage, the OMEN MAX 45L is a monster for gaming, creation, and artificial intelligence workflows.

What makes this desktop "flagship" level, though, is more than just the components inside. Toolless entry into the roomy chassis allows for easy upgrades of the standard parts, you get a high-powered motherboard that enables in-depth CPU, GPU, and RAM overclocking, HP improved its "CRYO CHAMBER" cooling technology (which includes 360mm liquid CPU cooling), and the 1,200W PSU is now fully modular and even includes unique features like automatic fan cleaning.

This tower is massive and it's bound to be expensive, but it should offer some of the best and most consistent performance you can expect out of a modern gaming PC, and compete with PCs like the Lenovo Legion Tower 7i (Gen 10) I just reviewed. I do wish the OMEN MAX 45L got the same "pair up to three wireless HyperX accessories without a USB dongle" feature as the MAX 16 laptop, though.

Before I jump into the new OMEN 35L desktop, a brief mention of the third OMEN product HP announced today.

The HP OMEN 16 gaming laptop has also been refreshed, but it's a simple spec bump to the latest internals, including up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti.

I reviewed the HP OMEN 35L (2024), and I honestly loved that desktop. It wasn't perfect (mostly on the software/firmware front), but its compact chassis was gorgeous. HP hasn't messed with that design for 2025, but the OMEN 35L is getting treated to many of the same on-paper components as the OMEN MAX 45L.

Performance won't be as good thanks to less space for airflow to keep everything running cool, but a lot of people will be more than happy to accept that compromise. The most exciting part about this year's OMEN 35L, though, is the new Stealth Edition.

Designed for esports but aimed at anyone who wants a more understated design, the OMEN 35L Stealth Edition boasts all the same specs as the standard version, but does away with the glass-clad, RGB-lit chassis in favor of a blockier, all matte-black design.

It's a gaming PC that doesn't look like a gaming PC, and I personally think it's awesome. It's an even better version of the reasons I loved the Dell XPS Desktop (8960) we reviewed. I'm willing to be a lot of people will be drawn to the Stealth Edition.

In other news, HP also announced some new HyperX gaming accessories, so be sure to check those out, too. Stay tuned, because as you're reading this I'm in Los Angeles with HP, going hands-on with these new products. My initial impressions will be appearing on Windows Central soon.

Gaming PCs these days have become works of art. Enthusiasts spend hundreds of dollars to customize their systems, and that's before even getting into the actual hardware that runs games.

I can attest — my current build is a beautiful mixture of glass, steel, and silicon that glows softly while I game. I love it, but it's a far cry from the PCs with which I grew up.

Some of my earliest PC gaming memories date back to about 1996. A childhood friend of mine had an older brother who was into PC gaming, and he had passed down a system to his siblings based around the infamous 386 CPU.

👉 Related: How classic Windows games got me into building PCs

I have no idea what else was in that PC, but it could run Sim City and Wolfenstein 3D. That was enough for us at the time. I can still clearly recall the look of that PC, with its yellowing beige panels, horizontal layout, disk slots on the front, and massive CRT monitor on top.

That old PC is what first popped into my head when I saw Maingear's new Retro95 custom build.

Maingear's new Retro95 custom gaming PC is a tribute to my childhood

Maingear says its Retro95 PC is "a 90s throwback with 2025 firepower," and I don't think I could put it better myself.

As Maingear suggests, it's a PC for my generation, born in the '80s, who are old enough to have started gaming by the mid-'90s.

A time when you'd load your PC into your mom's van and head to a LAN party with your friends; when games came on floppy disks and connecting to the internet disabled the phone line for everyone else in the house.

Maingear's CEO, Wallace Santos, says:

"This one is for the gamers who lugged CRTs to LAN parties, swapped out disks between levels, and got their gaming news from magazines. The Retro95 drop is our way of honoring the classic era of gaming, with a system that looks like the one you had as a kid, but runs like the monster you’d spec from MAINGEAR today."

Maingear has really captured the old-school styling. From the faux floppy disk drives (which hide modern I/O) on the front to the green status lights and massive power/reset buttons, the Retro95 looks like it's arrived straight out of a time portal.

This is a true "sleeper build," as Maingear has created customization options that would make any gamer who remembers the '90s weep.

Prices start at $1,599 for a baseline model, but Maingear says you can configure the Retro95 with up to an AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU, NVIDIA RTX 5080 GPU, 96GB of DDR5 RAM, and 8TB of M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD storage. Have some old disks lying around? You can pop a DVD drive into your configuration.

How does this level of performance hardware fare in an old-school case? Maingear solved that by plonking two massive Noctua fans on either end of the horizontal setup, which push air through the system like any modern PC.

It remains to be seen how well the cooling actually works, but Maingear isn't one to skimp on important aspects of its builds.

I recently reviewed Maingear's MG-1 pre-built gaming PC, handing it a Windows Central Best Award in the process. In my review, I noted that it's the next best thing to building your own system thanks to careful attention to detail and the use of industry standard parts.

And like the MG-1, Maingear says its Retro95 PCs are hand-built in New Jersey with the same standard one-year warranty that can be boosted to three years.

Even if you don't need a new gaming PC, I urge you to check out the Maingear Retro95 to see exactly what it's all about.

And if you are currently searching for a new PC without having to build your own, know that there is a limited number of Retro95 PCs available. If you want to get one, I'd suggest checking out sooner rather than later.

Last year, AMD announced its Ryzen AI 300 mobile processors with reasonable fanfare during Computex in Taiwan, or at least, more fanfare than its most recent Ryzen AI 5 330 chip has received. Adding an entry-level option with the bare minimum specifications wouldn't normally be that interesting, which tracks with the quiet addition, but there's an interesting aspect to this little budget APU.

All six of the Ryzen AI 300 Series mobile chips feature an NPU (Neural Processing Unit) designed for local AI processing that's rated at 50 TOPS (Tera Operations per Second), which is above the 40 TOPS requirement for Copilot+ PC certification.

So, some jargon aside, the interesting part here is how upcoming AMD-based Copilot+ PCs could, potentially, be even cheaper (or match) the offerings featuring Qualcomm's ARM64-based Snapdragon X chip designed for ~$600 laptops. However, the silent drop might have something to do with some unusual spec counts that have enthusiasts debating its naming scheme.

Previous generations of AMD's Ryzen mobile processors, such as the "Phoenix" 7000 Series, had denominations of Ryzen 3, 5, 7, and 9. The former, Ryzen 3, would traditionally feature a quad-core CPU, whereas the latest Ryzen AI 5 330 that just surfaced is, clearly, listed as a Ryzen 5 chip despite using the very same.

It was the same deal in "Hawk Point" 8040 Series with 4-core CPUs (Zen 4) sticking in the Ryzen 3 subcategory, so it's an unusual switch for this new budget Ryzen AI 300 Series processor, which remains unconfirmed as to whether it uses a "Strix Point" or "Krackan Point" (Zen 5) CPU chiplet (via Tom's Hardware).

Either way, the intention is for these mobile processors to feature in entry-level Copilot+ PCs, in line with how I suspect AI PCs will quietly become the standard for laptops, rather than an extraordinary variant — part of a "great PC reset" that we've been expecting since the dawn of Qualcomm's aggressive entry as an afordable AI PC provider with the announcement of Snapdragon X.

There haven't been any models confirmed to use the Ryzen AI 5 330 just yet, but I'd wager that we'll see the usual suspects in Acer, Lenovo, HP, and many more who have a broad collection of entry-level laptops, announcing some budget x86-64 (instead of ARM64) Copilot+ PCs in the next few months.

Naturally, power efficiency will likely be the all-encompassing theme of advertising for these theoretical AI laptops, particularly because the relatively weak integrated Radeon 820M GPU won't be up to much gaming outside of ultra-lightweight titles.

Otherwise, Microsoft's modern Copilot features like Windows Recall, Click to Do, and AI Search will run locally on AMD's 50 TOPS NPU within a (presumably) cheap range of new AI laptops that's still to surface. I'll keep my eyes peeled.

This year's Amazon Prime Day is delivering some of our highest-rated processors at record-low prices, and anyone planning to upgrade their PC should find something that perfectly suits their build.

AMD's Ryzen processors dominate the PC gaming world. It's what I use in my PC, and it's what I recommend to everyone I know. Not only are they always competitively priced, but they also deliver some of the best performance possible.

👉 Related: Prime Day PC hardware deals are here — These are the GPUs, CPUs, SSDs, and RAM that I'd buy as a PC build expert

AMD Ryzen CPUs with the proprietary 3D V-Cache, like the Ryzen 7 7800X3D down to its lowest price of the year, are particularly good at boosting gaming performance, but any of these chips I've handpicked will do a great job with modern titles.

Beyond gaming, AMD's Ryzen CPUs can also deliver stellar productivity performance, especially those with 16 cores like the discounted Ryzen 9 7950X and Ryzen 9 9950X.

I pulled the 7 best AMD Ryzen Prime Day deals I could find based on our own in-house reviews as well as my decades of PC building experience.

AMD Ryzen CPU deals quick list

• AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D: was $449 now $341 at Amazon
• AMD Ryzen 9 9950X: was $649 now $434 at Amazon
• AMD Ryzen 9 7950X: was $699 now $450 at Amazon
• AMD Ryzen 5 9600X: was $279 now $165 at Amazon
• AMD Ryzen 9 7900X: was $549 now $303 at Amazon
• AMD Ryzen 7 7700X: was $399 now $227 at Amazon
• AMD Ryzen 9 5900XT: was $349 now $218 at Amazon

Which AMD Ryzen CPU do I recommend for most people?

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D is my top pick when it comes to discounted CPUs during Prime Day.

It comes from AMD's previous Zen 4 generation that uses the AM5 socket (which is still in use today), and it's widely regarded as one of the best gaming CPUs in the world. It's only been usurped by the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, which isn't currently on sale.

👉 Related: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D vs. Ryzen 7 9800X3D

The secret to the 7800X3D's success is its proprietary AMD 3D V-Cache, which adds extra L3 cache that's stacked vertically on the die. This allows for quicker access by the CPU, directly benefiting gaming performance.

Although the newer 9800X3D is now on the market, the 7800X3D isn't going anywhere soon, and it's expected to remain relevant for years to come.

Access to the deal does require an Amazon Prime membership, though you can find a competing deal at Newegg for $370 with a free 1TB SSD thrown in; no membership required.

If you are shopping at Amazon, you can grab the Ryzen 7 7800X3D for only $341. To be completely transparent, this CPU did fall to $320 last year, but the fresh $341 price is by far the best deal in 2025.

What's the best AMD Ryzen CPU deal for general productivity work?

Not everyone needs a Ryzen CPU with 3D V-Cache. Those who don't plan on using their PC for gaming won't see much benefit from the additional tech, and you'll do a lot better with something like the Ryzen 9 9950X.

It's currently enjoying the lowest price it's ever been since launch, sitting at $434 at Amazon. That's 33% off the regular $649 price.

In his Ryzen 9 9950X review, Windows Central Senior Editor Ben Wilson remarked:

"They're excessive and powerful, needing capable CPU coolers to prevent throttling from overheating, especially with the 170W powerhouse 9950X, but both Ryzen 9 chips deliver what AMD promises: high-end performance for creators."

The 9950X remains one of the most powerful consumer CPUs you can buy today, and the fact that it's such a great price means you should have some budget room left over for an upgraded cooler.

While a high-end air cooler can get the job done, I recommend splurging for an AiO water cooler for quieter running. Arctic's Liquid Freezer III Pro 360 is currently 30% off at Amazon, dropping the price to $86.99 for a limited time.

AMD's Ryzen 7 7800X3D is a CPU that I always recommend for PC gamers looking for a stellar upgrade, and it continues to drop in price in 2025.

Last week, Newegg's 4th of July sale had it down to a $369.99 sale price, which at the time was the lowest of the year.

Amazon has gone ahead and one-upped Newegg one day ahead of Prime Day, dropping the 7800X3D price to just $341.

Why I can easily recommend the Ryzen 7 7800X3D to PC gamers

It's a true testament to AMD's Ryzen prowess that the 7800X3D is still such a hot item. Despite being "replaced" by the newer Ryzen 7 9800X3D, the 7800X3D is still holding strong when paired with even the most powerful NVIDIA RTX 5000 and AMD Radeon 9000 GPUs.

The Ryzen 7 7800X3D has 8 cores and 16 threads, a 5.0GHz max boost clock speed, and a 120W TDP.

The secret to the 7800X3D's success lies in its 3D V-Cache, a feature that's unique to AMD's X3D hardware. It works by stacking additional L3 cache on the CPU die, allowing the CPU to benefit from 96MB of cache that's quickly accessible.

👉 Related: AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D vs. Ryzen 7 7800X3D

While 3D V-Cache doesn't do much for productivity work, it directly benefits gaming performance. I have an X3D chip in my gaming PC, and there's no way I'm switching anytime soon.

While the newer 9800X3D does offer between 8% and 22% performance uplifts compared to the 7800X3D, based on our in-house testing, you'll pay about $470 for the newer chip.

That's roughly $130 more than the discount price of the 7800X3D, which makes it very easy for me to recommend the older CPU, especially when it remains so potent for gaming.

Senior Editor Ben Wilson reviewed the Ryzen 7 7800X3D when it launched in 2023, remarking:

"True to its word, the average temperature of the 7800X3D seems to hover around the low-to-mid 80°C region when it's under stress, but my radiator fans were barely doing any work. The talk about power management holds true; AMD is squeezing every bit of power out of this CPU like diamonds out of coal."

The current $341 sale price at Amazon is outstanding, and I don't know if it will get any cheaper during the rest of the week.

When is Amazon Prime Day?

Amazon's Prime Day 2025 runs from July 8 until July 11, making it a full four-day event.

Major competing retailers, including Newegg, are hosting their own sales events to draw attention away from Amazon, and I urge everyone to shop around before checking out.

👉 Related: Early Prime Day PC build deals are live — Major savings on NVIDIA RTX GPUs, AMD Ryzen CPUs, fast storage, and more

Newegg currently has a FantasTech Sale running until July 13, while Best Buy is hosting a Black Friday in July event that also runs until July 13.

I come bearing good news for PC builders who hate spending big money; signs are pointing to AMD launching a new Ryzen 5 9600X3D processor this year.

The information comes from X user MelodicWarrior, who found the 9600X3D chip listed in AMD's latest "SI Driver for Radeon" update notes.

AMD really didn't try to hide the 9600X3D at all. The link to the update notes has the CPU clearly listed alongside Zen 5 X3D chips already on the market, including the 9950X3D, 9900X3D, and 9800X3D.

This could be a soft leak to begin building anticipation among PC enthusiasts, but it's more likely a lapse in documentation information.

MelodicWarrior follows up the initial leak post with speculation about a potential release date for the new Ryzen 5 9600X3D. With AMD's previous scheduling in mind, the new chip could arrive for DIY builders sometime toward the end of Q3 or the start of Q4.

As is always the case with these types of leaks, the information isn't concrete, especially the speculated launch date. There's also no indication of whether or not this chip will see a global release or if it will be available to anyone but system integrators.

But the fact that AMD has listed the chip for the first time in official documentation should be great news for system builders who don't want to spend big bucks on the Ryzen 7 9800X3D or its more powerful Ryzen 9 X3D siblings.

What is 'X3D' and why does it matter for PC gamers?

AMD's proprietary 3D V-Cache technology is only found in its X3D-class processors for desktop and laptop PCs. What makes them so coveted by PC gamers is their additional L3 cache that's stacked vertically on the CPU die.

This design allows for the chip to access cached data much faster than usual, and the larger cache size allows it to load up on more bytes. While 3D V-Cache isn't likely going to make a splash for general computing, it's particularly potent when gaming.

This leak, which is the first time the 9600X3D has been spotted, has no specific info regarding core counts and clock speeds, but some assumptions can be made based on how AMD has handled the split between X3D and non-X3D chips so far available from the Zen 5 era.

Using the Ryzen 9 9950X and 9950X3D chips (which we've tested and reviewed favorably) as an example, there's not a huge difference in specs beyond the inclusion of AMD's boosted 3D V-Cache.

Using the above model as an example, we can look at the standard Ryzen 5 9600X and make assumptions as to what the Ryzen 5 9600X3D with 3D V-Cache will look like: the same 6 cores, 12 threads, 3.9GHz base clock, and 5.4GHz boost clock, all running at a 65W default TDP.

AMD's X3D chips are always more expensive compared to their standard siblings, but considering the Ryzen 5 9600X is currently selling for about $178 at Amazon — it launched at a $279 MSRP — we could get a 9600X3D chip for $350 or less.

The cheapest way to currently buy one of AMD's latest Zen 5 X3D chips is via the awesome Ryzen 7 9800X3D, but it's currently selling for about $472.

That's certainly not cheap, and I know that many PC gamers are turning to the older X3D stock, including the Zen 4 Ryzen 7 7800X3D at about $359 and the Zen 3 Ryzen 7 5700X3D at about $251, to fill the gap.

That's a testament to how long these chips remain relevant, especially in the PC gaming world.

I wouldn't be surprised to see AMD officially acknowledge the leaked Ryzen 5 9600X3D CPU in the coming months, and those who are considering a system upgrade should probably wait to see what AMD's next X3D CPU has to offer.

The ASUS ROG Strix G16 is a popular gaming laptop that sits at the entrance to the premium segment, and it often comes in both AMD and Intel variants.

For 2025, those versions couldn't be more different, with the Intel models enjoying a redesign while the AMD models recycle last year's chassis. Despite a less exciting upgrade, though, it's the AMD-powered ROG Strix G16 that I think most people should have their eye on.

AMD's most powerful mobile processor ever puts up an impressive fight against Intel, and the ROG Strix G16 in general offers an excellent gaming experience. While this is still an expensive laptop, you can also argue it provides greater bang for your buck than its Intel competitors.

This review was made possible thanks to a review sample provided by ASUS. ASUS had no input nor saw the contents of this review prior to publication.

ROG Strix G16 review: Pricing and specifications

The ASUS ROG Strix G16 (2025) is actually and confusingly two entirely separate laptops.

The AMD version of the ROG Strix G16, which is the model I'm reviewing, starts from $2,399.99 at ASUS, but effectively only comes in two configurations, both with a 16-inch, 240Hz IPS LCD display, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti GPU, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB of SSD.

The ROG Strix G16 you can get for $2,499.99 at ASUS is basically identical, but that extra $100 gets you AMD's unique X3D tech for even better gaming performance.

The Intel version of the ROG Strix G16 starts from $1,999.99 at ASUS with an Intel Core Ultra 9, GeForce RTX 5060, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB of SSD storage.

In the box, you'll find the ASUS ROG Strix G16 (2025), a proprietary 280W charger, and 3 months of PC Game Pass.

ROG Strix G16 review: Design and build quality

The latest ROG Strix G16 (at least the AMD variant) utilizes the same chassis design as last year, so you're getting a predominantly plastic build with a metal lid, RGB accents, and ROG flourishes.

That plastic does make the Strix G16 feel less premium, but it also doesn't feel cheap. It's solidly pieced together, and there's only minor flexing in the keyboard deck. The use of plastic also helps the Strix G16 achieve a slightly lower weight, although it's still a very thick, heavy device.

Overall, though, it looks good, and ASUS' little design flourishes avoid stepping into the realm of "garish."

For ports, the ROG Strix G16 is relatively decked out, and at the very least makes good use of the limited space not occupied by the prominent vents.

Aside from the barrel plug for charging, you'll find an Ethernet port for wired connectivity, an HDMI 2.1 port for display output, two full-speed USB Type-A ports, and two USB Type-C 4.0 ports — both with the same bandwidth and display output as Thunderbolt 4.

ROG Strix G16 review: Display quality

High-end gaming laptops have begun to phase out traditional, back-lit IPS LCD panels for OLED or mini-LED displays, but the ROG Strix G16 achieves its slightly more competitive pricing by sticking with the older tech.

It's not to this laptop's detriment, either; this is a beautiful, vibrant screen with great color reproduction and excellent performance. Company-specific branding normally doesn't mean much, but I understand ASUS calling this an "ROG Nebula Display."

It's a QHD+ panel with a 240Hz refresh rate, and it's comfortable for productivity, punchy for media consumption, and responsive for gaming. The backlighting is also quite consistent across the panel, which is a common problem for IPS LCD displays.

Slim bezels on three sides put the screen front and center, and there's a surprisingly effective anti-reflective coating to keep the glare off.

In testing, the ROG Strix G16's display performs well, achieving higher-than-average color accuracy and a respectable max brightness of over 500 nits. If this screen has any weakness, it's the average contrast ratio across the board and the slightly inconsistent white balance (the panel tends to get cooler as it gets brighter).

You do get Dolby Vision HDR support, but like with most laptop displays, it's not going to make a dramatic difference. There is adaptive sync with NVIDIA G-SYNC compatibility, too.

ROG Strix G16 review: Performance and thermals

Unlike many of the latest, performance-focused gaming laptops we've seen lately, this version of the ROG Strix G16 does not rely on the latest Intel Core Ultra (Series 2) chipsets.

Instead, we get AMD's most powerful mobile processor ever, the Ryzen 9 9955HX (or 9955HX3D on the higher end). It's a 16-core monster designed solely with gaming in mind, and this is some impressive silicon.

That processor is paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, the upper mid-range of NVIDIA's new 50-series GPUs. Alongside that, you'll find two SODIMM slots and two M.2 slots to upgrade the memory and storage yourself — by default, you're looking at 32GB of dual-channel RAM and 1TB of SSD storage.

How does this combination perform? Incredibly well, as you can imagine. The ROG Strix G16 tears through basically everything you can throw at it, and it tests well, too.

The AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX3D is powerful enough that I'm honestly shocked ASUS doesn't offer a configuration of this laptop with the GeForce RTX 5080 GPU inside. The 5070 Ti we got is more than enough for most people, but I would've been interested in some more direct comparisons with Intel-powered systems.

Either way, I can't complain about performance — and that includes thermal management. This laptop's fans can get audibly loud but not obnoxious, I never felt an uncomfortable amount of heat, and the ROG Strix G16 maintained a 98.2% framerate stability after 25 consecutive loops of 3DMark's Time Spy test.

Long gaming sessions are a breeze.

• Forza Horizon 5 — 134 FPS (Extreme preset, 1600p resolution, 240Hz refresh rate, v-sync enabled, NVIDIA DLSS Super Resolution/DLSS Frame Generation/Reflex Low Latency disabled) | 195 FPS (Max settings, v-sync disabled, NVIDIA DLSS Super Resolution set to Auto, NVIDIA DLSS Frame Generation/Reflex Low Latency enabled)
• Gears 5 — 124 FPS (Ultra preset, 1600p resolution, uncapped framerate, v-sync enabled)
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 — 135 FPS (Extreme preset, 1600p resolution, 240Hz refresh rate, v-sync enabled, NVIDIA DLSS Super Resolution set to Performance, NVIDIA DLSS Frame Generation disabled, NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency enabled)
• Cyberpunk 2077 — 69 FPS (Ray Tracing: Ultra preset, 1600p resolution, 240Hz refresh rate, v-sync enabled, NVIDIA DLSS Super Resolution Transformer Model set to Auto, NVIDIA DLSS Frame Generation/Ray Reconstruction disabled, NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency enabled) | 142 FPS (Ray Tracing: Overdrive preset, v-sync disabled, NVIDIA DLSS Multi-Frame Generation set to 4x, NVIDIA DLSS Ray Reconstruction enabled)

With the RTX 5070 Ti in tow, the ROG Strix G16 performed exactly where I expected in games. There's more than enough power here to play practically any modern PC game at high to ultra settings and achieve stable, smooth framerates, and leaning on NVIDIA's impressive DLSS 4 tech can let you keep those settings and take advantage of that 240Hz display.

ROG Strix G16 review: Software and AI experience

One of the major differences between AMD's Ryzen 9 9955HX3D and the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX is the complete lack of a Neural Processing Unit (NPU), so the ROG Strix G16 isn't technically an AI PC.

Of course, you can still take full advantage of the NVIDIA GPU, which is designed from the ground up with artificial intelligence in mind. Just don't expect any Copilot+ PC or ASUS-specific AI features.

What you will find is an assortment of AMD, NVIDIA, Dolby, and (especially) ASUS apps. ASUS preloads a little too much of its own software, in my opinion, and you'll also catch unwanted add-ons like McAfee Antivirus and CapCut, but this build of Windows 11 is mostly clean.

Most of your management of the ROG Strix G16's hardware will be divided between the MyASUS and Armoury Crate programs. It's a little annoying to have two separate apps, and Armoury Crate confusingly and arbitrarily divides your system settings, though.

ROG Strix G16 review: Battery experience

Gaming laptops like the ASUS ROG Strix G16 may pack some of the largest batteries possible, but often boast some of the shortest battery lives. I didn't expect any different with the ROG Strix G16, but I was gently surprised.

This 90Whr battery cell still can't be described as having "all-day" endurance, but I was able to get 3-5 hours of actual usage without trying too hard or disabling default features like the RGB lighting.

A Windows Battery Report confirmed those findings, and running the ROG Strix G16 through an hour-long loop of a generic Microsoft Office workload and HD video playback via Procyon resulted in battery drains of 28% and 22%, respectively.

To summarize: this is a gaming laptop, but the ROG Strix G16 does perform a little better in this regard than many of the comparable Intel-powered laptops I've tested.

In terms of performance, you lose around 29% CPU performance and 62% GPU performance on battery power. That's a pretty severe dip, especially for the GPU, but even with that throttling, the ROG Strix G16 is still more performant on both accounts than most laptops without a discrete GPU.

ROG Strix G16 review: Keyboard and touchpad

I figured the ROG Strix G16 would have a good keyboard, but that's not a positive enough descriptor to adequately capture how much I ended up enjoying these keys.

Many gaming laptops take normal keyboards and slap RGB lighting on them, but the ROG Strix G16 really feels like it was designed for gaming. You get large, spacious keys with deep travel and a responsive, tactile action, full-sized arrow keys with built-in page navigation, dedicated, full-sized media controls, five additional macro keys, and per-key RGB lighting.

It offers a great typing and gaming experience, and I'm a big fan. The only oddity here is the touchpad, which brings over a productivity-focused feature from some of ASUS' non-gaming devices: a hidden ten-key number pad, lit up in LEDs.

The touchpad itself is average. Microsoft Precision drivers enable gesture support, but this touchpad doesn't feel as responsive as the best. Hold down the "Numlk" text, though, and you'll activate the number pad. It's better to have than not have, and I'm sure some will appreciate having this (and not having a cramped keyboard with a down-sized number pad squeezed in).

ROG Strix G16 review: Other hardware

It's in the finer details where you can see where ASUS made some cuts to shave costs down. For example, the FHD webcam and microphone array are exactly as average as most gaming laptops, and you don't get any Windows Hello facial recognition (or any other biometric authentication, for that matter).

Wireless connectivity is great, but also a generation behind with Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3.

There aren't any standout features, although I already mentioned the extra (customizable) keys ASUS provides on the keyboard, which is a nice plus, and the per-key RGB lighting and front-facing RGB lightbar are of a higher quality than I've come to expect from ASUS' beefiest gaming laptops.

I was a little shocked to spin up these speakers, though. Dual, down-firing speakers do not instill confidence, even with Dolby Atmos support, but these speakers are louder, clearer, and deeper than they have any right to be. It's still only two speakers, though, and with poor positioning at that, so don't expect the world.

ROG Strix G16 review: Also consider

ROG Strix G16 review: My final thoughts

✅You should buy this if ...

• You want an AMD-powered gaming laptop instead of Intel
• You want enough power to play all the latest and greatest games.
• You like a deep keyboard with lots of extra keys.

❌You should not buy this if ...

• You care a lot about having a sleek, premium design.
• You want an option to upgrade to an RTX 5080 GPU.

I have to give ASUS its just dues, the ROG Strix G16 is a much better gaming laptop than I would've predicted had you asked me before I began testing it. I absolutely love the Zephyrus line and ASUS' consumer laptops, but the Strix products have never particularly amazed me.

The ASUS ROG Strix G16 (2025, AMD) isn't revolutionary by any means, but it is a really good, well-rounded gaming laptop with an excellent keyboard and fantastic, reliable performance. It's also priced well, and it's sure to go on sale in the coming months, too.

It was nice to test a gaming laptop powered by AMD's latest instead of Intel, too. I just wish this version had benefited from the same design update as the Intel-powered Strix G16, and that we had more configuration options to build our dream laptop.

Still, I really like this machine, and you might, too. You can get my recommended ASUS ROG Strix G16 (2025, AMD) configuration for $2,499.99 at Best Buy.

Memorial Day deals are proving to be worthwhile for PC builders, and while AMD's Ryzen 7 7800X3D at $377 is hogging a lot of attention, there's an even more affordable CPU available.

I'm talking about the Ryzen 9 7900X, which is now down to $325.26 at Newegg for Memorial Day only.

That's $223 off the regular price for a powerful CPU, plus Newegg is throwing in a 1TB Patriot P400 M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD completely free when you buy the chip.

Why choose the Ryzen 9 7900X over the Ryzen 7 7800X3D?

As I mentioned, AMD's Ryzen 7 7800X3D at $377 is stealing a lot of attention from other CPUs on sale on Memorial Day.

I stand by my claim that it's the day's best CPU deal for gamers, but that doesn't mean it's the only chip worth checking out. That's especially true if you split your PC time between fun and work.

The Ryzen 9 7900X is from the same Zen 4 generation as the 7800X3D, and rather than a heavy focus on gaming with 3D V-Cache, it adds additional cores and threads while boosting the clock speed.

The 7900X has 12 cores (compared to 8), 24 threads (compared to 16), and a boost clock frequency up to 5.6GHz (compared to 5GHz). Its L1 and L2 caches are also larger, partly making up for the lack of 3D V-Cache.

What does that all mean? It makes the Ryzen 9 7900X much better for demanding workloads while also providing some impressive gaming performance.

Former Windows Central Senior Editor Rich Edmonds had this to say in his Ryzen 9 7900X review:

"These processors are excellent for intensive workloads, and the improvements AMD has made to the AM5 platform with the latest round of processors are noticeable even when simply playing around in Windows 11 (or your favorite flavor of Linux). Everything ... seems faster."

Regarding gaming performance, Edmonds stated:

"Gaming is excellent, as was the case with the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X and AMD Ryzen 7 7700X. Single-core performance is slightly weaker because we're talking 16 cores, but you'll see an improvement over the previous generation."

One other area where the Ryzen 9 7900X pulls ahead of the 7800X3D is pricing. Even at the lowest price of the year, the 7800X3D is still about $53 more than the 7900X's discount price, allowing you to spend the money elsewhere in the PC.

And let's not forget the 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD that Newegg is throwing in for free when you buy the Ryzen 9 7900X. It's a $62 value on its own, which sweetens the deal considerably.

Memorial Day deals are live at most major retailers, and I found one discount that PC gamers can't miss.

AMD's Ryzen 7 7800X3D, by far one of the most popular CPUs in the world for gaming, is down to the lowest price of the year. This deal even beats the one I covered during Amazon's Gaming Week, where the CPU hit $391.

Right now, you can grab the Ryzen 7 7800X3D for $377.99 at Newegg, which is about 15% off the regular price of $449.

Why AMD's Ryzen 7 7800X3D is so easy to recommend in 2025

AMD's Ryzen 7 7800X3D has been on the market since 2023, and it's now been "replaced" by the newer Ryzen 7 9800X3D built on the Zen 5 architecture.

I used quotes there because the 7800X3D is still a killer CPU for PC gaming despite its age. It uses the same AM5 socket as the newer 9800X3D, it supports DDR5 RAM, and it has 8 cores with 16 threads.

AMD's 3D V-Cache technology is really what sets the X3D chips apart from any other on the market when it comes to gaming performance.

Extra L3 cache is stacked vertically on the CPU die, providing 96MB for quick access. This cache is especially beneficial for modern games. I have an X3D chip in my gaming PC, and I see no reason to switch to anything else.

👉 Related: AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D vs. AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D

Our Senior Editor Ben Wilson reviewed the Ryzen 7 9800X3D and compared it to the 7800X3D, noting between 8% and 22% performance uplifts between the two chips.

However, the best price I could find for the 9800X3D is about $489 at Newegg. Why spend an extra $100+ when the 7800X3D is still such a great chip?

Former Windows Central Senior Editor Rich Edmonds reviewed the Ryzen 7 7800X3D, remarking:

"The improvements brought over from AMD's 3D V-Cache make the 7800X3D more of an appealing choice than the cost-saving alone. Though it sits as the cheapest -X3D variant, it's arguably the best option for gamers looking to adopt the AM5 socket with a chipset of their choice."

With the Ryzen 7 7800X3D sitting at the best price of the year — $377.99 at Newegg — it's a great time to upgrade your gaming PC.

AMD's Radeon RX 9060 XT graphics cards are official after weeks of rumors, set to arrive on June 5 with 8GB and 16GB VRAM versions. The news comes out of Computex 2025, which is currently underway in Taipei, Taiwan.

The 8GB RX 9060 XT is expected to launch at a $299 MSRP, while the 16GB version should launch at $349. AMD is calling the 16GB version "the world's best graphics cards under $350."

Of course, MSRP doesn't mean much these days, so it'll be interesting to see the prices that board partners come up with. AMD does not plan to release a reference card of its own.

The Radeon RX 9060 XT joins its more powerful RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 siblings, which launched on March 6 with $599 and $549 MSRPs, respectively.

Here's a look at the RX 5060 XT's raw specs as shared by AMD in its presentation.

AMD buried the 8GB RX 9060 XT at its Computex presentation

There are a few things that don't sit right with me regarding AMD's Computex presentation.

Taking a page out of NVIDIA's recent playbook, AMD completely glossed over the RX 9060 XT with 8GB of VRAM.

It used to be a misstep to launch the same card with different amounts of VRAM. Now it's normal, and consumers are paying the price due to the extra confusion created by the naming schemes.

You can watch AMD's presentation in the embedded video above; you won't see any discussion about the lesser card. The only time I saw it was for a brief moment on a slide displaying the price, availability, and board partners.

What's worse, AMD's performance comparisons all use the 16GB RX 9060 XT, but it's placed up against the 8GB RTX 5060 Ti.

I understand that AMD is focusing on pricing, and the 9060 XT 16GB at $349 compares better to the RTX 5060 TI 8GB at $379. For reference, the 5060 Ti 16GB launched at $429.

Considering how hard it currently is to find AMD's RDNA 4 GPUs at MSRP, it's difficult to take the comparisons seriously. Putting a 16GB card up against an 8GB card at 1440p Ultra and Ultra Raytracing settings has predictable results.

The card with more VRAM can better handle the higher resolutions and cranked in-game settings, and AMD's claim of 6% faster gaming in 40 games under those conditions isn't exactly blowing me away.

Claiming to offer an extra 15% gaming performance per dollar compared to the 8GB RTX 5060 Ti is the more impressive slide, yet again, I'll wait to see what prices look like on June 5 when the 9060 XT launches.

A direct comparison between AMD and NVIDIA's 8GB and 16GB cards would have been a lot better, but I suspect those numbers don't favor AMD as much.

Where's the backlash for AMD's 8GB RX 9060 XT?

It's only been a few hours since AMD announced its RX 9060 XT, but I'm not seeing much backlash from publications and consumers around the model with 8GB of VRAM.

NVIDIA has been getting roasted for its decision to launch 8GB and 16GB VRAM versions of its RTX 5060 Ti, and for good reason.

8GB of VRAM is simply not enough in 2025, when games are launching with incredibly detailed textures and always-on ray tracing.

I've been covering NVIDIA's troubles since the RTX 50-series was announced, and AMD had a great opportunity to put NVIDIA's mid-range cards to rest.

Instead, it's pulling the same tricks by hiding the 8GB model and launching two GPUs under the same name. I'm disappointed, AMD.

I expect some of the backlash will pick up when it comes to review time, but it's unclear if AMD even plans on offering the 8GB model for testing.

AMD announces Redstone as an upgrade to FSR

The new Radeon RX 9060 XT wasn't the only announcement from AMD at Computex 2025.

Alongside new Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9000 and 9000 WX-series CPUs, a Radeon AI PRO R9700 GPU for high-performance workstations, and ASUS Expert P Series Copilot+ PCs with Ryzen AI 300 chips, AMD unveiled an evolution for FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR).

"Redstone" is an upgrade to FSR 4's Super Resolution and Frame Generation. Like FSR 4, it's powered by machine learning and aims to improve visual fidelity while lowering the raw horsepower required from your GPU.

It's expected to arrive in the second half of 2025 for RDNA 4 GPUs; no word about older cards picking up support.

As AMD explains it, Redstone focuses on adding or improving Neural Radiance Caching, Machine Learning Ray Regeneration, and Machine Learning Frame Generation.

This pulls FSR closer to what NVIDIA offers with DLSS, but it remains to be seen how well it'll compare.

Amazon Gaming Week is proving to be a great time to upgrade your gaming PC, especially if you're a fan of AMD Ryzen CPUs.

Some have been discounted to the lowest price I've ever seen at Amazon — I checked CamelCamelCamel pricing history to be sure.

👉 Amazon Gaming Week is LIVE — Hand-picked deals with price-busting competitors that you can't miss!

I've been sure to note which AMD Ryzen CPUs are at their lowest price ever, and I've included price checks from competing retailers.

👉 12 best RTX gaming laptops on sale during Amazon Gaming Week

🔥 Hottest Gaming Week CPU Deal 🔥

I recommend PC gamers consider the Ryzen 7 7800X3D before any other AMD CPU. It doesn't come with a free copy of Monster Hunter Wilds, but it will deliver the best possible gaming performance next to the Ryzen 7 9800X3D.

Best AMD Ryzen deals during Amazon Gaming Week

NOTE: AMD has bundled a free copy of Monster Hunter Wilds with these discounted CPUs at Amazon.

Which discounted AMD Ryzen CPU is best for you?

Which discounted AMD CPU you choose ultimately depends on how much you're willing to spend and what level of performance you want to achieve.

For anyone who wants to buy at the lowest price ever, the Ryzen 5 9600X, Ryzen 9 9900X, and Ryzen 9 9950X are the best options.

Even the 9600X at $185 is going to be able to handle 1080p and 1440p gaming when paired with a capable GPU, but you can move up to the Ryzen 7 or Ryzen 9 if you need more cores for creative and development work.

👉 $391 for a Ryzen 7 7800X3D? The most popular gaming CPU gets a huge price cut during Amazon Gaming Week.

AMD's Ryzen 7 7700X, Ryzen 7 9700X, and Ryzen 9 7950X aren't at their lowest prices ever, but the deals are still the best I've seen in months.

The 7000-series chips are built on the Zen 4 architecture, so if you'd like to grab the Zen 5 enhancements — like better power efficiency and slightly improved performance — you'll have to stick with the 9000 series.

You definitely don't need to grab a Zen 5 chip, as Zen 4 hardware is still potent.

Amazon Gaming Week: Frequently Asked Questions

This is the second time Amazon has hosted a "Gaming Week" with countless deals on everything from hardware to accessories. Here are some answers to frequently asked questions surrounding the event.

Amazon's Gaming Week sales event is going strong, and the first deal that caught my eye is still available; you can land one of the most popular gaming CPUs ever at a steep discount.

AMD's Ryzen 7 7800X3D, launched in 2023, remains a top option for any PC gaming enthusiasts despite the newer 9800X3D being released.

👉 Amazon Gaming Week is LIVE — Hand-picked deals with price-busting competitors that you can't miss!

Instead of the usual $449 price, you can pick up the Ryzen 7 7800X3D for $391.14 at Amazon. That beats Newegg's $409 discount price, making this the best PC gaming upgrade deal you'll find all week.

Why is the Ryzen 7 7800X3D such a great CPU for PC gamers?

Since it launched in 2023, AMD's Ryzen 7 7800X3D has been sought after by serious PC gamers who want the best performance possible.

AMD's secret weapon comes in the form of a 3D V-Cache setup that specifically targets improved gaming performance.

AMD stacks extra L3 cache vertically on the CPU die, massively improving the cache capacity and making the transfer of data to the CPU much faster.

For PC gaming, which requires tons of data processing on the fly, AMD's 96MB 3D V-Cache is second-to-none.

👉 Related: AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D vs. AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D

While AMD offers Ryzen 9 versions of its X3D chips, they're made more for creators and developers, with the Ryzen 7 offering more than enough power to handle modern games.

There is, of course, also the newer Ryzen 7 9800X3D built on the newer Zen 5 architecture.

Windows Central Senior Editor Ben Wilson discovered between an 8% and 22% performance uplift between the two X3D CPUs in his Ryzen 7 9800X3D review; however, the newer chip is about 32% more expensive than the discounted 7800X3D.

The Ryzen 7 7800X3D uses the same AM5 socket and the 9800X3D, it supports DDR5 RAM, and it has 8 cores and 16 threads.

In our Ryzen 7 7800X3D review, former Senior Editor Rich Edmonds highlights the CPU's dominant gaming performance:

"True to its word, the average temperature of the 7800X3D seems to hover around the low-to-mid 80°C region when it's under stress, but my radiator fans were barely doing any work. The talk about power management holds true; AMD is squeezing every bit of power out of this CPU like diamonds out of coal."

You'll still be better off with an Intel CPU if you want to focus on productivity work — AMD's X3D chips don't hide the fact that they're made for gamers — but I can easily recommend this CPU even at full price.

Considering it's down to $391.14 at Amazon for Gaming Week, you really can't go wrong.

Have a look at the best RAM for the Ryzen 7 7800X3D if you're thinking about upgrading more than one component.

AMD's new Ryzen 8000HX mobile processors could be the perfect chips for a 2025 blanketed in tariffs and rising tech costs.

The new "Dragon Range Refresh" lineup includes four high-performance CPUs designed for laptops; they're successors to AMD's original "Dragon Range" Ryzen 7000HX mobile chips that first launched in 2023.

Gamers who groan at the idea of shelling out for a CPU that includes a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) for local AI work — which often goes unused on a gaming laptop — will be particularly interested.

AMD's "Dragon Range Refresh" mobile CPUs

Those who have followed AMD's laptop CPU lineup will quickly spot some similarities between the 7000 and 8000 chips. In fact, they're almost identical.

The newer 8000HX options still use AMD's Zen 4 architecture — AMD has moved on to Zen 5 for its Ryzen 9000 chips — and they're still built on a 5nm node.

There's also no change to the integrated Radeon 610M GPU, which boasts two RDNA 2 GPU cores.

That doesn't matter as much considering these chips are intended for use in laptops with a separate discrete GPU.

Here's a look at how the two generations compare.

The only difference I can see in the chart above is a 0.10GHz improvement on the Ryzen 9 8940HX's boost frequency.

It's worth mentioning that the Ryzen 7000 HX series originally launched with two Ryzen 9 chips, one Ryzen 7, and one Ryzen 5.

Part of AMD's restructuring for 8000 HX sees the Ryzen 5 dropped in lieu of a second Ryzen 7 8745HX CPU with 8 cores.

AMD's Ryzen 7000HX series eventually grew to seven total chips. The Ryzen 9 7945HX3D brought AMD's awesome 3D V-Cache technology to high-end gaming laptops, significantly boosting gaming performance.

AMD could once again grow its Ryzen 8000HX stable after this initial four-chip launch, but it'll likely depend on demand and popularity.

AMD's lack of fanfare makes sense

AMD's new Ryzen 8000HX mobile CPUs arrived without much fanfare, which makes sense once you see the SKUs.

The new "Dragon Range Refresh" chips are certainly not a major upgrade over their predecessors. Instead, AMD looks to be focusing on affordability with these new chips.

While the Zen 5 HX mobile series — including the mighty Ryzen 9 9955HX and Ryzen 9 9850HX — will continue to offer the best performance, 8000HX should be an excellent stopping point along the way for many gamers.

That's more important than ever in a tech market thrown into chaos by tariffs that are raising laptop prices.

In response, Acer announced a laptop price hike, and Razer notably halted sales of gaming laptops in the US.

Most other laptop companies that deal out of China are now scrambling to figure out what to do with tariffs reaching up to 145%.

Our Tariffs live blog has a lot more information on the subject, and we're keeping it updated with the latest news.

If a leak is true, then it seems that there will be five chips total in the upcoming AMD Ryzen Z2 line for PC gaming handhelds, and one of them, specifically, will be an AI-boosted processor (thanks, VideoCardz and Wccftech).

This rumor is based on a post by semiconductor-focused @AnhPhuH on X (formerly Twitter) that specifically lists "Ryzen Z2," "Ryzen Z2 A," "Ryzen Z2 Go," "Ryzen Z2 Extreme," and "Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme."

As of the time of writing, AMD has only officially revealed three chips in this line: the Ryzen Z2, Ryzen Z2 Go (used in the Legion Go S), and Ryzen Z2 Extreme (expected for the upcoming ROG Ally 2).

You should always take leaks and rumors with a massive heap of salt.

However, considering that Intel AI SoC (System-on-a-Chip) have already been seen in gaming handhelds, it completely makes sense that AMD would be making a competitive Ryzen AI processor for AMD-toting handhelds.

Outside of the AI SoC, the leaker also listed an "AMD Ryzen A Z2" (not "AI").

It's currently unclear how exactly it differs from the others.

It's possible the Rzyen A Z2 is a more budget-focused chip rather than the likely far more expensive flagship Extreme options.

Are AI chips good for gaming handhelds?

If you're already familiar with the best PC gaming handhelds, then you know that the original MSI Claw A1M was one of the only mainstream devices to feature an AI processor — specifically, an Intel Core Ultra 100 Series AI (Meteor Lake) chip.

The thing is, the original Claw wasn't powerful enough to keep up with the performance of its non-AI, AMD Ryzen Z1-toting rivals like ASUS ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion Go.

However, things have now turned around.

MSI has since released its next-gen MSI Claw 8 AI+ and MSI Claw 7 AI+ handhelds with the new Intel Core Ultra 200 Series (Lunar Lake) processors, and these portable gaming devices offer far better performance than ROG Ally and Legion Go.

• RELATED: MSI Claw 8 AI+ vs ASUS ROG Ally X

Now, you should always expect a next-gen processor to offer better performance than its predecessor or its closest rival's predecessors. But AI-chips can definitely offer really good benefits for handhelds.

Unlike traditional CPUs (central processing units), AI CPUs feature integrated NPUs (neural processing units), which take some of the load off of the CPU and GPU (graphics processing unit) in order to allow a system to run more efficiently.

Typically, an AI processor isn't as powerful as traditional processors. However, AI-accelerated chips usually do allow a device to have notably better battery life in a smaller form factor.

These are features that match the whole idea of a gaming handheld.

Handhelds aren't nearly as powerful as high-tier PC gaming desktops and gaming laptops, but they do offer portable convenience.

That all said, it's hard to know for sure if the rumored Ryzen A1 Z2 Extreme will be a good option for handhelds until we learn more about its specific specs.

Could the recently teased next-gen ROG Ally and Xbox handheld have the Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme?

On March 31, 2025, ASUS teased a next-gen ROG Ally on X with a short, 34-second trailer.

Xbox responded to the tweet with the Side-eye Monkey Puppet meme, indicating that this might have something to do with the "Project Kennan" Xbox handheld coming in 2025, that my colleague had previously exclusively broken the news about.

When I was covering this ASUS trailer, the idea had crossed my mind that ASUS might have specifically been teasing an AI handheld (represented by the robot in the clip), but it was just a suspicion at the time.

If AMD truly is releasing an AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme, then this would make that idea more plausible.

I've been told during press briefings that AI PCs are projected to be 100% of the market by the end of 2026, so it stands to reason that many PC gaming handhelds will also make the shift to AI.

This being the case, I won't be surprised if the ROG Ally 2 and the ASUS ROG Xbox handheld have AI configurations.

Amazon's Big Spring Sale is now live, and I've been searching through all of the discounted items for some quality savings on PC hardware.

One of the most significant discounts I found is on the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 desktop processor (CPU) with six cores and a 4.2GHz boost clock.

While it's a few generations old at this point, it remains a dependable chip for budget builders who don't want to overspend.

The Ryzen 5 5500 CPU has a standard $159 price tag, but it's usually available between $90 and $110.

With Amazon's Big Spring Sale, however, the price has dropped to $76. That matches the previous lows spotted at Amazon, and I haven't found it for less anywhere else.

Why buy one of AMD's older AM4 processors?

AMD's CPU generations are generally classified alongside the architectural generation on which they're built and the socket they use to connect to a motherboard.

For example, the Ryzen 5 5500 that's on sale at Amazon launched in 2022 for the AM4 socket, and it uses AMD's Zen 3 architecture.

AMD made the switch to the Zen 4 architecture with its Ryzen 7000 chips, and again to Zen 5 with its Ryzen 9000 lineup.

That means you'll need an AM4 motherboard (if you don't already have one) for the Ryzen 5 5500 to work properly.

Although Amazon is the best place to pick up the standalone CPU, Newegg has some competing bundle deals on a Ryzen 5 5500 CPU and a compatible motherboard.

You can pick up the CPU and board for as little as $129.59 at Newegg, with some slightly pricier options also available.

Turning back to the Ryzen 5 5500, it's essentially a Ryzen 5 5600G APU with the integrated GPU removed, making it cheaper for those who have a discrete GPU standing by for gaming.

The Ryzen 5 5500's biggest flaw is its reduced L3 cache, which pulls some potential performance away compared to its Ryzen 5 5600 sibling.

In general, you can expect the Ryzen 5 5500 to be outperformed by the Ryzen 5 5600 in 1080p games.

Even the Ryzen 5 3600 pulls ahead in some instances at 1080p, but for the most part, the 5500 will match or exceed the 3600's potential.

Considering the best price I could find for the Ryzen 5 5600 is about $103.99 at Newegg, the $28 savings should be enough for plenty of budget PC builders.

Match it up with something like an AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT, Intel Arc B570, or NVIDIA RTX 3060, and you'll have more than enough power for respectable 1080p gaming without overspending.

I don't know how long the $76 Ryzen 5 5500 deal at Amazon will last, but anyone who's been waiting to build a new budget gaming PC can save big.

Amazon notes that more than 3,000 of these CPUs have been sold in the last month, so rest assured you're not the only one taking advantage of this affordable chip.

Receiving a fake piece of performance hardware is every PC builder's nightmare, and it's evidently becoming harder to separate the scams from the actual products.

This time, Amazon sold Aris Mpitzipoulos of Hardware Busters fame a fake version of the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D, widely regarded as the best processor for gaming in the world.

For an idea of the timeframe — and to give you a better idea of whether or not you should indeed check out that new CPU you've yet to unbox — the "Ryzen 7 9800X3D" was ordered on February 25, 2025, and arrived on March 4 after being purchased from Germany's Amazon.de.

In this example, the "Ryzen 7 9800X3D" arrived in a sealed retail box. Amazon is supposed to do a quick check on products it ships out, but a retailer selling as many different items won't always have the know-how to spot a fake.

And, as Mptizipoulos states in a blog post on Hardware Busters, nothing seemed out of the ordinary at first:

"All seemed legit till I opened the box, with the weird looking processor, having nothing to do with the 9000 series. I immediately noticed the different heatspreader, the pins (!) on the bottom side, and the writing on the heatspreader which tells from miles away that it is “fake”! After realizing I have no 9800X3D to use in my upcoming CPU review, I grabbed my camera to shoot some photos and a video!"

As you can see in the above image, which I grabbed from the Hardware Unboxed post, the fake chip's heatspreader reads "AMD Ryzen 7 9700X3D" and has the extra codes and numbers you'd expect to find.

Looking closer, of course, reveals some oddities, like the year, place of origin, and actual shape of the CPU's lid — the real Ryzen 7 9800X3D has a cutaway lid rather than a full square, as seen on the fake.

The fake says it was made in China and has a 2020 date on it, but a sticker was peeled away by Mptizipoulos to reveal an AMD FX-4100 CPU from 2011. Talk about a Scooby-Doo moment.

Someone with less PC knowledge might not have noticed the differences until attempting to install the chip in one of AMD's compatible AM5-chipset motherboards.

It wouldn't actually fit properly in the socket, but it could certainly do some damage if someone were to attempt to mount it.

How did Amazon miss a Ryzen 7 9800X3D scam like this?

The troubles experienced by Hardware Unboxed are unfortunately not unique, and Amazon is often the retailer shipping the scam hardware.

As I mentioned, the retailer is so big that it can't possibly keep track of everything it ships. Amazon is far from a PC-focused storefront, and even the more specialized stores can fall prey to this level of scam.

Mptizipoulos seems convinced that this particular scam is at a "different level," owing to the fact that he purchased the CPU new from Amazon itself rather than a third-party seller hosted on the storefront.

I find it hard to believe that AMD itself would attempt to sell a 14-year-old processor in lieu of the mighty Ryzen 7 9800X3D, but stranger things have happened.

What I expect happened is someone purchased the Ryzen 7 9800X3D from Amazon, carefully opened the packaging, replaced the chip with the doctored FX-4100, and resealed the packaging.

Shrink-wrap gizmos that can produce results similar to those of an actual factory are no longer a heavy investment, especially if a scammer foresees making big money off of the process.

After returning the chip, which would have gone back looking like it'd never been opened, Amazon returned it to a live listing to sell again as new.

No matter what actually happened behind the scenes, the scam made it quite far down the line before being discovered.

Mptizipoulos has entered the return procedure via Amazon, but he now has to wait for up to three weeks before getting any money back.

This is a reminder to check the PC hardware you purchase

In this case, the scam was quite evident once the chip was out of the box, but that's not always the case.

As reported by Tom's Hardware in January 2025, fake Ryzen 7 9800X3D chips coming out of China looked a whole lot more legitimate with the right lid and printing.

You should also be ever-wary of scams involving irresistible prices. During 2024's Black Friday/Cyber Monday, Amazon had listings for the Ryzen 7 9800X3D priced at $200, less than half the MSRP, just days after the official launch.

👉 Where to buy AMD's Ryzen 7 9800X3D

I've yet to fall victim to a scam like this despite often dealing in PC hardware (knock on wood), but I'm always careful to ensure that what I ordered is what I received.

This situation with Hardware Busters should serve as a reminder to us all to double-check our hardware for any noticeable differences before attempting to install.

At the beginning of the year, AMD announced the Ryzen 9 9950X3D at CES as "the world's best processor for gamers and creators." The killer selling point for this top-end Zen 5 chip is its appeal to both, as it promises gains in raw productivity alongside its redesigned V-Cache to benefit games and content creation workloads.

However, AMD was always transparent that gaming performance won't change much compared to the already dominant Ryzen 7 9800X3D, unless specific titles can explicitly benefit from the extra cores and threads offered in the 9950X3D.

So, this ultra-high-end Ryzen 9000 desktop processor lands itself in a strange situation.

Sure, it's the most powerful consumer gaming processor on paper, and the productivity boosts should intrigue content creators and indie game developers, but is it worth the temptation of X3D fans who only want to stick to gaming?

This review was made possible with review samples provided by G.SKILL, Samsung, and Gigabyte via AMD alongside be quiet! The companies did not see the contents of the review before publishing.

AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D: Price, availability, and specs

AMD is set to add another "Zen 5" X3D desktop CPU to its lineup on March 12, 2025. The Ryzen 9 9950X3D comes nearly half a year after the Ryzen 7 9800X3D launched to a warm reception, and it's built to be the most powerful CPU for gamers and creators.

With a $699 MSRP, it's the most expensive of the Zen 5 chips. That's roughly $220 more than the Ryzen 7 9800X3D's MSRP, which can be hard to find.

That's mainly due to the 9800X3D's appeal as the best gaming CPU on the market today. It's the chip I use in my system, and it's the one I recommend to any serious gamers.

So, where does the 9950X3D fit into the Zen 5 lineup with its higher price?

Like the 9800X3D, the new Ryzen 9 CPU comes complete with AMD's proprietary V-Cache technology that stacks L3 cache below the CPU die. This allows the CPU to access the cache — used for fast, frequent, and temporary storage — in a much more efficient and speedy manner.

It's particularly good at improving performance in games, which is a big reason why the chips are so sought after by enthusiasts. Because the Ryzen 9 9950X3D is made for gaming and work, AMD has added a secondary unstacked cache with maximum frequency, boosting performance in creative apps.

The L3 cache difference between the Ryzen 9 9950X3D and the Ryzen 9 9950X is evident; it hits 128MB in the former chip, dropping to 64MB in the latter. The 9950X3D isn't your only 128MB L3 V-Cache option in the Ryzen 9 lineup. The Ryzen 9 9900X3D comes in at a more reasonable $599 MSRP, though it drops 4 cores and 8 threads in the process. It also lowers the TDP from 170W to 120W, lowering heat and energy demands.

All of AMD's Zen 5 CPUs, including the 9950X3D, use the AM5 socket, which has been in use since 2022.

👉 See the best AM5 motherboards for Ryzen 9

Those upgrading from an AMD Ryzen 7000 chip will have an easy path. Anything beyond that, and you'll need to swap your AM4 (or older) motherboard for the AM5 hardware.

• Back to the top ⤴

AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D: Zen 5 architecture

AMD is doing things quite differently with Granite Ridge; it's using a new iteration of its 3D V-Cache tech where the L3 cache is situated below the processor, and as a result, the core complex die sits closer to the cooling solution, increasing thermal efficiency.

Basically, the cores have much better heat transfer to the TIM and IHS (which still looks ugly), and the node switch to TSMC's 4nm means there are decent gains with power efficiency and density.

This is how AMD is finally able to deliver fully unlocked designs with X3D models, and the 9800X3D showcased just how big of a difference it makes in daily use as well as gaming.

The 9950X3D builds on this foundation, and although it has a lower base frequency than its predecessor, it is able to deliver much better sustained performance.

AMD is delivering sizeable IPC gains with Granite Ridge and Zen 5, and a key difference with this generation is a two-block ahead branch predictor that basically predicts two code paths ahead, instead of the standard next-block prediction that has been standard on x86.

Although the 9950X3D doesn't include a built-in NPU, it does a much better job with AVX-512 instructions.

The 9950X3D has 16 cores and 32 threads, and the L3 cache has doubled from the previous generation to 128MB. The cache bandwidth itself has increased, with latency coming down.

Like the rest of the Ryzen 9000 series, the 9950X3D uses the AM5 socket, with AMD switching to LGA (LGA 1718) pins this time.

While the 9800X3D had a 120W TDP, the increased core count with the 9950X3D pushes it to 170W, and you'll ideally need an AIO liquid cooler to maximize its potential.

AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D: CPU benchmarks

AMD's Ryzen 9 9950X3D finds itself firmly atop my desktop processor testing hierarchy in multi-core performance, overtaking Intel's now-$600 Core Ultra 9 285K with fewer cores and threads, albeit offset with its higher 170W base TDP. In CPU-centric benchmark tests, the 9950X3D scores the highest so far, shining in burst-processing performance with Geekbench 6 and even sustained stress in Cinebench 2024.

The only test that the Ryzen 9 9950X3D faltered was in CPU-Z, another short benchmark that tests burst processing, where Intel manages to hold its ground. It's not a particularly groundbreaking discovery, but still an interesting metric to compare how each manufacturer excels in particular areas.

The 9950X3D's multi-core performance is around 5.22% ahead of its non-X3D counterpart, while single-core performance is practically unchanged from the Ryzen 9 9900X, which sells for around $550 at Newegg, dropping some of the cost since its late 2024 release.

Gaming benchmarks: Stick with the 9800X3D

After testing three modern PC games with demanding specifications, it became clear that the 1% difference metric was an accurate claim from AMD; there really is nothing between them for the most part.

Again, certain games will be GPU bound while others will thrive on extra CPU performance. However, for a brief cross-section of my usual benchmark testing suite, there is nothing to write home about.

These two chips performed the same for gaming alongside an NVIDIA RTX 4090 Founders Edition and 32GB of DDR5-6000 RAM with a Samsung 990 PRO storage drive. Each game was set to their respective 'maximum' graphical fidelity, albeit with upscaling technologies switched off and frame generation similarly deactivated.

• Back to the top ⤴

AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D: Competition

AMD already dominates the gaming subcategory of the desktop processor market by offering its Ryzen 7 9800X3D as the best gaming CPU you can buy — if you can find it. A common issue with making such a popular product is that availability is often at the mercy of scalpers and bulk buyers. Thankfully, the 9800X3D is in stock for $479 at Newegg at the time of writing, which is great to see, but I'm getting used to seeing that "out of stock" badge on the daily.

If you're looking for the top gaming processor without losing too much value for your money, the 9800X3D remains king of the hill in that respect. However, if raw performance is what you're craving, then the non-X3D Ryzen 9 9950X currently sells for $544 at Newegg, but you'll miss out on the V-Cache that generally improves gaming performance. Still, $155 is a huge price drop, so it depends entirely on what your daily workload looks like.

• Back to the top ⤴

AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D: Should you buy?

You should buy this if ...

✅ You're a game developer with a flexible budget

✅ You can utilize the core/thread count to its fullest

You should not buy this if ...

❌ You're just looking for the best gaming CPU

While the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D is technically the most performant X3D processor in its Zen 5 lineup, the specifications inside are so extravagant that most consumers would likely never benefit.

This is a chip for power-hungry number crunching in a gaming environment, harnessed either by a content creator with a seriously complex setup or a game developer who'll constantly switch between their chosen game engine and iterations of their project for testing.

At $699 MSRP, you had better be absolutely positive that you need every inch of the performance on offer here.

Any half-measures would be a waste of cash, especially when the non-X3D Ryzen 9000X chips are gradually coming down in price, and the Ryzen 7 9800X3D remains, without question, the ultimate choice for PC gaming enthusiasts without going overboard.

Make no mistake; the 9950X3D is the high-end chip in AMD's most cutting-edge offerings — there is nowhere higher to go from here at a consumer level, and that should be a clear hint at who really needs it (spoiler: you probably don't.)

• Back to the top ⤴

AMD's unveiling of the new Ryzen 9 9950HX3D for desktop computers undoubtedly has a bunch of gamers and creators salivating, but there's also some huge mobile CPU news coming out of CES 2025.

While it would usually be the reveal of an updated "Fire Range" Ryzen 9 9955HX3D mobile CPU with 3D V-Cache hogging all of my attention, some of AMD's bold claims surrounding a completely new set of chips have me very interested.

Is the Ryzen AI Max+ actually faster than an NVIDIA RTX 4090?

AMD's Ryzen AI 300 mobile processors made their debut in June 2024 with an initial run of Ryzen 9 chips. I cover the new Ryzen 7 and Ryzen 5 300 CPUs also announced at CES below, but it's the new Ryzen AI Max hogging all of the attention.

The new "Halo" series of mobile CPUs made for Copilot+ PCs brings up to 16 "Zen 5" cores, up to 40 RDNA 3.5 GPU compute units (making it the most powerful integrated GPU within the Windows ecosystem), and an XDNA 2 Neural Processing Unit (NPU) with up to 50 TOPS of power for local AI acceleration. A redesigned memory interface allows for up to 96GB of system memory to be used on the integrated GPU, with a 256GB/s bandwidth.

This dedicated memory architecture massively boosts the potential to run huge AI workloads, and, in some cases, AMD says the Ryzen AI Max+ 395 flagship chip can outperform the mighty NVIDIA RTX 4090 desktop GPU. It's an understatement to say that's a bold claim, and indeed, the test was performed within some narrow confines.

AMD tested the two pieces of hardware using a 70-billion parameter LLM (in this case, Llama 3.1). With the Radeon 8060S integrated GPU using a full 96GB allowance of RAM from the test system's 128GB total, the Ryzen AI Max+ 395 bested the RTX 4090 by 2.2x in AI performance, all while drawing up to 87% less power.

NVIDIA's RTX 4090 is the most powerful consumer GPU in the world — at least until the RTX 5000 series is unveiled — so that's not a small achievement on AMD's part. It's a small slice of the whole pie, but it's clear that AMD is serious about creating chips that are ideal for AI workloads.

Elsewhere, AMD says its Ryzen AI Max+ 395 can outperform the Core Ultra 9 288V by an average of 2.6x for 3D rendering, and its iGPU performance is on average 1.4x faster compared to the same Intel CPU. Even the 12- and 14-core Apple M4 Pro chips fall behind, with the Ryzen AI Max+ 395 coming out ahead in Cinebench, Blender, Corona, and Vray.

The new Ryzen AI Max+ and AI Max mobile CPUs are expected to launch in the first half of 2025, and you'll be able to find them in a wide range of laptops, including workstations, mini PCs, and compact 2-in-1s.

AMD expands its more affordable Ryzen AI 300 mobile chips

The Ryzen AI Max chips come in well above the current Ryzen AI 9 300 CPUs in terms of power and price, but AMD also has four new chips on the way intended for more affordable PCs.

The AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 and AMD Ryzen AI 5 340 are expected to launch in Q1 2025, while their PRO-series counterparts are expected in Q2 2025. AMD highlights some serious performance improvements compared to Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Plus (X1P-42-100) and Intel's Core Ultra 7 258V. The Ryzen AI 7 350 hits a 35% average increase in multithreaded tests compared to the X Plus, and a 30% average increase compared to Intel.

In terms of AI PC work, the NPU inside these chips beats the NPU in the aforementioned Qualcomm and Intel CPUs in Procyon AI benchmarks. That's good news for any fans of Copilot+ AI tools in Windows 11.

AMD's 3D V-Cache makes it return to mobile CPUs

I'm a true believer in AMD's 3D V-Cache technology, and the Ryzen 7 9800X3D in my personal gaming PC isn't going anywhere anytime soon. If you're more of a fan of gaming laptops, you don't have to miss out on the fun.

3D V-Cache allows AMD to stack more cache on the CPU die, resulting in considerable improvements specifically for gaming. While X3D tech isn't new to the mobile space — Windows Central's Zachary Boddy reviewed the ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 17 X3D with a 7000-series X3D mobile CPU — it has made its return in the form of a "Fire Range" Ryzen 9 9955HX3D.

AMD says it's "the world's best gaming and content creation mobile processor," coming at you with 16 cores, 32 threads, a 144MB cache (the same size as the desktop-class Ryzen 9 9950X3D), and a 54W TDP.

The Ryzen 9 9955HX3D is joined by a couple of CPUs without the 3D V-Cache, making them better suited to a life of creation without as much gaming. The Ryzen 9 9955HX has the same core/thread count and TDP, but it drops the cache to 80MB. There's also the Ryzen 9 9850HX with 12 cores, 24 threads, a 54W TDP, and a 76MB cache.

All three CPUs are expected to launch in the first half of 2025.

Calling the launch of AMD's Ryzen 7 9800X3D desktop CPU in November 2024 a success is an understatement; it sold out everywhere almost immediately, and it's still hard to find for a reasonable price a couple of months later. AMD brings good news to CES 2025 for any desktop gamers and creators craving the benefits of AMD's 3D V-Cache and Zen 5 architecture.

Today, two new Ryzen 9 chips with second-gen V-Cache were announced. The Ryzen 9 9950X3D is the chip stealing all of the attention with its 16 cores and 144MB cache, but its Ryzen 9 9900X3D sibling isn't far behind with 12 cores and a 140MB cache.

Both CPUs are expected to launch in Q1 2025, and from what AMD has shown, the 9950X3D is easily the best chip for any gamers who also spend time working with creative apps from the likes of Adobe, Davinci, Blender, and more.

AMD's Ryzen 9 9950X3D shouldn't threaten the 9800X3D's gaming supremacy

The Ryzen 9 9950X3D is headed our way with 16 cores, 32 threads, and 144MB of total cache space. It runs at a base 170W TDP, and it can reach up to a 5.7GHz frequency at max boost. That's twice as many cores and threads as the current gaming champ — the Ryzen 7 9800X3D we reviewed — but you shouldn't expect a massive uptick in performance when it comes to pure gaming.

As AMD points out, gaming performance comparisons between the 9800X3D and 9950X3D are within 1%; the company is now calling the Ryzen 9 9950X3D "the world's best gaming processor," but day-to-day gaming performance differences shouldn't be big enough to notice in real-time.

Here's a look at raw specs from the new 9950X3D, its new 9900X3D sibling (which I cover more below), and the popular Ryzen 7 9800X3D that launched two months ago.

Significant performance gains compared to Intel's Core Ultra 9 285K

So, how did AMD do it? Let me back up for a moment. The "X3D" part of the CPU's name denotes the inclusion of 3D V-Cache tech, which is unique to AMD's high-performance chips. AMD stacks the processor's cache — used for frequent, fast, and temporary storage — vertically on the die, allowing for more cache space and lower latency. This directly results in a significant boost to gaming performance.

With the new Zen 5 architecture used by AMD's latest chips, the 3D V-Cache is now located below the CPU's cores to promote better core cooling. This is a major point in how AMD has boosted power while keeping temperatures within reason. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D in my personal gaming PC has the same tech, and it rarely climbs above 55°C even when under heavy gaming load. It's impressive, and it benefits users directly.

Turning back to the Ryzen 9 9950X3D specifically, AMD has a stacked cache to boost gaming performance, but it also has a max-frequency unstacked cache next to it that largely benefits creative work. AMD employs the same general idea in its past Ryzen 9 X3D CPUs, which have traditionally been the go-to chips for those who enjoy both gaming and creating.

Compared to its 7950X3D predecessor, as well as Intel's flagship Core Ultra 9 285K, performance gets a major boost. AMD claims that the 9950X3D can offer an 8% average uptick at 1080p compared to the Ryzen 9 7950X3D, topping out at a 58% increase in Counter-Strike 2.

Looking at the Core Ultra 9 285K, AMD says it hits a 20% average improvement at 1080p. Notable standouts are Cyberpunk 2077 with a 36% increase, Far Cry 6 with a 45% increase, and Watch Dogs: Legion with a massive 64% increase.

The Ryzen 9 9950X3D doesn't stop with gaming. Compared to the 7950X3D predecessor, AMD says the new chip can offer an average 13% performance increase in popular creative apps. Upticks are fairly flat, ranging from 4% through 23%.

Comparing it to the Core Ultra 9 285K, on the other hand, results in an average improvement of 10%. However, the range is much broader, from 1% in Cinebench 2024 up to 47% in Adobe Photoshop.

AMD also slid a sibling CPU in alongside the 9950X3D. The Ryzen 9 9900X3D comes with 12 cores, 24 threads, and a 140MB total cache. It can boost up to a 5.5GHz frequency, and it rests at a more modest 120W TDP.

AMD hasn't yet mentioned any pricing for these new chips, but they'll assumedly be more than the Ryzen 7 9800X3D's introductory $479 MSRP. Both the Ryzen 9 9950X3D and 9900X3D are expected to launch in Q1 2025.

AMD previews RDNA 4 desktop GPUs at CES 2025

There have been plenty of rumors and leaks surrounding AMD's Radeon RX 9070 XT desktop GPU, but the company just made it official.

Built on the new RDNA 4 architecture, the RX 9070 XT and its RX 9070 sibling offer optimized compute units, a reorganized architecture that boosts IPC and frequency, an overhauled AI compute architecture, and "substantial improvements to media encode and decode engines." RDNA 4 uses a 4nm process, with AMD's second-gen AI accelerators, third-gen ray tracing accelerators, and second-gen Radiance Display engine.

AI is a big focus here, as AMD has also unveiled FidelityFX Super Resolution 4 (FSR 4) alongside the new RDNA 4 cards. To put it briefly, FSR is roughly the same sort of upscaling tech used by NVIDIA (DLSS) and Intel (XeSS) to boost frame rates and quality in compatible games.

AMD claims that it's made "dramatic improvements in terms of performance and quality compared to prior generations," but we'll have to test ourselves to confirm. FSR 4 is expected to only be available for RX 9070-series GPUs and will only work in games that already have FSR 3.2 in place.

Fans of Team Red likely already noticed a change in AMD's GPU naming scheme. Coming from cards like the RX 7900 XT, it was expected for a while that the RDNA 4 cards would have some sort of 8xxx name.

AMD mixed it up instead to bring its new GPUs in line with its latest Ryzen processors. AMD's RDNA 3.5 mobile GPUs will continue to use 8000-series branding, but new cards will be 9000-series for the foreseeable future.

AMD says it's using the 9070 XT name, for example, to allow easier comparison between NVIDIA's cards. Details are still sparse, but I envision an AMD Radeon RX 9070 matched up alongside NVIDIA's 5070, with XT/Ti models also drawing up next to each other. You get the idea.

More information surrounding RDNA 4 is expected soon, as the cards should launch in Q1 2025. AMD says that all of its board partners (like Acer, ASUS, Sapphire, and more) are producing RX 9000-series desktop GPUs.

In what looks like a case of an accidental embargo breakage, AMD's Z2 processes appear to have broken cover earlier than intended. AMD will likely debut the Z2 processor line up at CES 2025, exclusively for handheld gaming devices like the Lenovo Legion Go and ASUS ROG Ally.

Detailed by VideoCardz, the new Z2 range is still based on RDNA 3. However, AMD's new APUs promise to boost battery life efficiency while offering performance improvements over 2023's Z1 range. The Z2 Extreme is of particular interest, as it will boast the biggest gains over the previous systems.

The Z2 Extreme is Strix Point-based with 8 Zen 5 cores, designed for maximum performance (and most likely, maximum price points). For people who want the "best of the best," the flagship ASUS ROG Ally 2 and Lenovo Legion Go 2 will most likely boast the Z2 Extreme platform, probably set for launch some time this year. There will also be a mid-range Z2 non-extreme version, as was the case with the Z1 platform. However, there's also going to be a more "budget-friendly" Z2 Go version, tied up in exclusivity for the oft-leaked Lenovo Legion Go S. Although it remains to be seen just how budget friendly that device will be.

Interestingly, Videocardz claims that AMD pointed out the fact that Valve itself will be leveraging the Z2 range, potentially giving us the first hint so far at what will be inside a prospective "Steam Deck 2," or perhaps a new more powerful variant of the Steam Deck 1. However, as some have pointed out online, it could be a misinterpretation by Videocardz, and AMD may simply be referring to Steam-powered third-party devices like the Lenovo Legion Go S.

AMD Ryzen Z2 specs

It's a hot time in the PC gaming handheld market

The PC gaming handheld market is experiencing rapid growth since its debut, with companies like GPD and its "Win" PC gaming handheld pioneering a huge explosion in variety in subsequent years. Nintendo is also known to be revealing a Switch 2 this year, and Microsoft and PlayStation both are supposedly working on their own handhelds too.

As gaming companies try to figure out how to find new users, handhelds have been tipped as a potential tool for cornering potential players in situations where they can't access their PC or home console. For Microsoft, the battle is increasingly becoming existential, too. Per previous leaks, the Lenovo Legion Go 2 range is expected to include a Steam OS-powered version to compete directly with the Windows-powered version. It'll lead to direct performance comparisons, potentially exposing Windows as a performance hog while Steam OS with its Linux-based gaming-focus takes the shine off Windows 11's gaming chops.

Microsoft is sending one of its hardware leads, Jason Ronald, to CES 2025 to discuss how Xbox is intending to improve Windows 11 for PC gaming handhelds on devices like the Lenovo Legion Go.

Black Friday has come and gone, but any gamers hoping to land a PC with AMD's Ryzen 7 7800X3D can save huge as we approach the end of Cyber Monday. AMD's Ryzen CPUs made for gaming are hot items, but the lack of sales on the standalone 7800X3D chip is leaving plenty of gamers out of luck.

That's where pre-built PCs come into play. iBuyPower's Valorant VCTA comes in with a $1,699 $1,749 price tag , which might seem a bit steep until you see all the premium hardware inside. It's only on sale until the end of the day, so don't wait too long.

🔥The hottest post-Cyber Monday deals🔥

• 💻HP EliteBook 14 (Ryzen 7 PRO) | $899 at HP (Save $2,023!)
• 🎮Xbox Series X Digital Edition (1TB) | $398 at Walmart (Save $52!)
• 🕹️Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (3-months) | $29.29 at CDKeys (Save $11!)
• 🎮Lenovo Legion Go (Z1 Extreme) | $534.44 at Amazon (Save $166!)
• 💻Surface Pro 11 w/ keyboard (X Plus) | $999.99 at Best Buy (Save $350!)
• 💽Seagate Xbox Series X|S Card (2TB) | $199.99 at Best Buy (Save $160!)

A pre-built is the next best way to land an AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D

AMD's Ryzen 7 9800X3D launched earlier this month and sold out in minutes, no doubt due to the rave reviews from just about anyone who has come near the new CPU. Its predecessor, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D, is still on the market, but even its popularity makes it hard to find at (or above) the full MSRP price.

AMD also released the Ryzen 7 5700X3D earlier this year. It's a cheaper alternative for those who crave the extra 3D V-Cache that so effectively boosts performance when gaming, and it's ideal for anyone still on the AM4 platform.

I urge you to check out my guide on building a gaming PC for less than $800 with the 5700X3D. It's not the right chip for everyone — especially those who want the AM5 platform with DDR5 RAM and PCIe 5.0 support — but it might be just what you're looking for if you're shopping with a tighter budget.

Turning back to AMD's AM5 processors, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D looks to be available at a discount in certain pre-built gaming PCs. My first choice is the iBuyPower Valorant Vcta, especially as I'm coming off of testing and reviewing the iBuyPower Slate 8 Mesh. I was impressed with the cable management, build quality, and price, and I don't imagine it will change much as you scale up the price.

The Valorant Vcta comes in a gorgeous Hyte Y40 case with wraparound glass panels, and iBuyPower has a vertical mount to show off the GPU. The Ryzen 7 7800X3D gets a liquid cooler, and there's plenty of RGB lighting throughout. It's down to $1,699 at iBuyPower after a $350 discount.

Both companies use a majority of standard, non-proprietary parts which helps make the PC feel like it was built at home. There aren't any oddly-shaped proprietary motherboards or PSUs like you'll sometimes find in pre-built gaming PCs from Dell, HP, and Lenovo.

My advice when buying a pre-built gaming PC

I'm a huge fan of building custom PCs at home, but I know that not everyone has the time or patience to do the same. Pre-built PCs from the more "boutique" places like CyberPowerPC and iBuyPower provide a quality build with parts you can usually buy on the open market, but I do have a word of warning.

I always urge anyone who buys a pre-built PC to check the PSU. This is often an area where builders try to save some money, and the result can be catastrophic. If your pre-built comes with a no-name power supply, I recommend putting a replacement at the top of your shopping list.

If you're unsure what you're working with, a quick search online will usually bring up forums full of experience, especially if it's negative. A faulty PSU can damage the rest of your PC in a major way, but the good news is that a quality replacement will usually come in way under $100.

💽More Cyber Monday deals that won't quit💾

• Dell: Lowest PC prices of the year for a little longer after Cyber Monday
• HP: Aggressive "Cyber Week" deals on laptops while supplies last
• Lenovo: Still save up to 68% on laptops, desktops, and select doorbusters
• Samsung: Week-long holiday deals on laptops, TVs, phones, and more

AMD is stealing the spotlight this year thanks to its Ryzen 7 7800X3D and Ryzen 7 9800X3D processors made for gaming; however, the former is only available above MSRP (if at all), and the latter is sold out everywhere.

If you're shopping for a CPU upgrade and don't want to pay full price, I have some great alternative recommendations still on sale during Cyber Monday. The Ryzen 5 7600X is down to just $194.99 at Newegg after an extra promo code, and there's a free 1TB M.2 PCIE 4.0 NVMe SSD (normally $80) thrown in for good measure. That's only about $23 more than the cheapest price I've ever seen, not counting the free SSD.

Need more power? The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X is down to $323 at Newegg after all promo codes are applied; that's about $48 more than the lowest price in its history. These deals both disappear at the end of the day, so don't miss out if these chips are what you need in your PC.

🔥The hottest post-Cyber Monday deals🔥

• 💻HP EliteBook 14 (Ryzen 7 PRO) | $899 at HP (Save $2,023!)
• 🎮Xbox Series X Digital Edition (1TB) | $398 at Walmart (Save $52!)
• 🕹️Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (3-months) | $29.29 at CDKeys (Save $11!)
• 🎮Lenovo Legion Go (Z1 Extreme) | $534.44 at Amazon (Save $166!)
• 💻Surface Pro 11 w/ keyboard (X Plus) | $999.99 at Best Buy (Save $350!)
• 💽Seagate Xbox Series X|S Card (2TB) | $199.99 at Best Buy (Save $160!)

Why you should consider AMD's other CPUs on Cyber Monday

AMD's Ryzen 7 7800X3D and Ryzen 7 9800X3D are hogging a lot of attention. Both chips are regarded as the absolute best options for PC gamers, and this popularity has caused stock shortages. The 9800X3D is sold out practically everywhere, and I don't expect to see any sales pop up even if stock does refresh in the next few days.

In the case of the 7800X3D, the best deal you can find right now is a regular MSRP, never mind a sale price. I don't expect that to change in the near future, but I've been surprised by Cyber Monday sales in the past. The best 7800X3D price available right now is $599.99 at Newegg. The chip dropped to $320 at its cheapest point in history, so that's a big difference that you'll want to avoid.

What makes the X3D chips so attractive is the inclusion of AMD's 3D V-Cache, which relocates and expands the L3 cache to be more efficient when gaming. This improvement doesn't really show in productivity work, but it can significantly boost frame rates in demanding games.

Is AMD's 3D V-Cache absolutely necessary to have a good time? Definitely not. I've used an AMD Ryzen 7 5800X CPU without the extra cache magic for years, and it has never failed to keep up with the latest games on my ultrawide 1440p monitor.

Considering even the affordable Ryzen 5 7600X that I'm highlighting here beats the Ryzen 7 5800X in most benchmark tests, you can spend small and still get an awesome CPU for PC gaming. Here's a look at the performance metrics as noted in our Ryzen 5 7600X review:

I recommend anyone who wants a strong CPU for gaming to check out the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X, especially now that it's down to $195.99 at Newegg with a 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD thrown in for free.

Doesn't seem like the Ryzen 5 7600X has enough power? My alternate recommendation is the Ryzen 9 7900X, a monster chip that's now 40% cheaper than MSRP with Cyber Monday savings. I have seen this chip drop as low as $281 in the past, so the current discounted $326.75 price at Newegg isn't too far off.

The Ryzen 9 7900X pulls a lot more power at 170W compared to 105W, but it doubles the core and thread count, bolsters the L3 cache to 64MB, and ups the boost clock speed. Not only is it a monster chip for PC gaming, but it can also handle a heavy productivity workload. Here's a look at some benchmarks pulled from our AMD Ryzen 9 7900X review:

Why not wait for a sale on AMD's Ryzen X3D chips?

There's no reason you can't wait to find a better deal on a Ryzen X3D CPU; you could also buy the 7800X3D now at its full price and be done with it. I picked up a Ryzen 7 9800X3D on launch day, and if I hadn't I'd probably be considering buying one of the older X3D chips instead.

AMD's CPUs with 3D V-Cache definitely provide a huge boost to gaming performance, but it's not absolutely necessary. As I mentioned, I gamed on a non-X3D chip for years without issue.

Considering the Ryzen 5 7600X is more powerful than my old 5800X and is now less than $200, you might be tempted to spend less on a CPU and put the money into your PC elsewhere. Craving strong productivity performance on top of stellar gaming power? The Ryzen 9 7900X at about $327 is also a great option if you don't mind spending more.

Be sure to check out my favorite Ryzen 7000 AM5 motherboards if you don't already have an AM5 board. In the same vein, you might spot the right DDR5 memory in my list of favorite RAM for Ryzen 7000 CPUs.

💽More Cyber Monday deals that won't quit💾

• Dell: Lowest PC prices of the year for a little longer after Cyber Monday
• HP: Aggressive "Cyber Week" deals on laptops while supplies last
• Lenovo: Still save up to 68% on laptops, desktops, and select doorbusters
• Samsung: Week-long holiday deals on laptops, TVs, phones, and more

The Ryzen 7 9800X3D and Ryzen 7 7800X3D are AMD's flagship gaming processors (CPU), and though the former was released far more recently, both remain top options for PC builders.

They're so popular that you might have a hard time finding them for a reasonable price, whether due to private scalping of the 9800X3D or third-party retailers jacking up the price of the 7800X3D.

Both of these chips are absolutely worth buying in 2024, but choosing the right one for your build can be tough. I'm looking at price, availability, performance, and a few other metrics to help you decide between the Ryzen 7 9800X3D and 7800X3D.

Ryzen 7 9800X3D vs. 7800X3D: Price, availability, and specs

The Ryzen 7 9800X3D launched on November 7, 2024 at a $479 MSRP. It only took a few minutes for major retailers to sell out, and the chips are now showing up for private sale at an astronomical price, thanks to scalpers. Unless money is no issue, I recommend either waiting for a restock at retailers or buying a pre-built system with the 9800X3D.

Best Buy, Newegg, Amazon, and B&H all have listings for the 9800X3D, but only Amazon seems to be offering third-party options. At the time of writing this guide, I spotted a 9800X3D going for $399 on Amazon (considerably lower than MSRP), though it was from a random retailer that only had one chip for sale. Seems suspicious.

The Ryzen 7 7800X3D launched on April 6, 2023, at a $449 MSRP, $30 lower than the 9800X3D. The 7800X3D remains very popular, and it too can be hard to find at the major online retailers. Amazon seems to be the best place to buy at the time of writing, with prices still within the range of MSRP. Newegg also sells the chip for about $479, though it's almost constantly back-ordered. Best Buy and B&H have listings, though the stock has been unreliable at best.

Here's a look at the specs that make up these two AMD CPUs.

The raw specs are quite similar, with both chips delivering 8 cores, 16 threads, and a 120W base TDP. Big changes are on the inside for the 9800X3D, which had its second-gen 3D V-Cache relocated below the cores for better thermal management and overall better performance. Only the 9800X3D picks up some efficiency boosts from the newer Zen 5 architecture.

Both Ryzen CPUs work on the AM5 socket, allowing for easy upgrades in the future. AMD says it's keeping AM5 support going until 2027, so no worries there with either CPU.

This is evident in the fact that the 9800X3D is unlocked for overclocking, whereas the 7800X3D is not. It also helps propel the base and boost clocks of the 9800X3D ahead of the 7800X3D. AMD buffed the L1 cache on the 9800X3D, otherwise keeping L2 and L3 the same.

As mentioned, both the Ryzen 7 9800X3D and 7800X3D are available in pre-built systems. This gives you a second way to get your hands on a new CPU, but it does come with the elevated cost associated with a pre-built gaming PC.

Newegg has a collection of pre-built PCs with the 7800X3D, with prices starting at about $1,386. Likewise, Amazon's Ryzen 7 7800X3D pre-builts start at about $1,499 at the time of writing. Best Buy has fewer pre-built models, but there are a couple of models starting at about $1,650.

Boutique custom builders like Maingear and iBuyPower are likely the best place to shop if you want to customize everything about your PC. Maingear has many pre-built 7800X3D PCs starting at about $1,877. It also has a collection of pre-built 9800X3D PCs starting at about $2,749.

On iBuyPower's side, there are deep customization options for a couple of 7800X3D pre-builts starting as low as $1,600 depending on your config choices. It, too, has 9800X3D pre-builts, and prices again start at around $1,600.

AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D vs. 7800X3D: Performance and efficiency

AMD introduced the 9800X3D following the launch of its standard Ryzen 9000 chips. Like the 7800X3D, the 9800X3D's 3D V-Cache is designed specifically to boost performance in games. The 9800X3D moved to a second-gen vertical cache setup that allows for better efficiency and performance compared to the 7800X3D, which can boost frame rates significantly.

Windows Central Senior Editor Ben Wilson reviewed the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, stating:

"Make no mistake: the Ryzen 7 9800X3D is the best gaming CPU, politely dethroning its predecessor as the new king of the hill as a cache-heavy monster. However, it's not winning any awards for productivity."

The graphs below highlight productivity performance, and you'll notice the 7800X3D coming in behind the 9800X3D in all tests. Both chips fall behind AMD's non-X3D and Intel's Core Ultra chips, and I recommend you check out these alternatives if you're focusing on productivity.

AMD's X3D chips are not intended to be used for productivity purposes, but it's clear that AMD has significantly boosted performance in 9800X3D.

Gaming is where the 7800X3D and 9800X3D excel. AMD's press slide shows off an average 8% performance gain with the newer CPU, and as expected, your experience will differ based on the game you're playing. You might see no improvement at all, or you might see anywhere up to about a 21% improvement.

In our own testing with Cyberpunk 2077 at 1080p, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D managed an average of 266.57 FPS, with a 202.41 FPS low. The 7800X3D hit a 251.52 FPS average, with a 113.2 FPS low. That's a huge difference on the low end, which translates to an overall smoother experience. Wilson also remarked in his Ryzen 7 7800X3D review:

"If you're solely looking to build a gaming powerhouse rig, the value for money on offer here is outstanding."

Efficiency will also play a part in your final decision. AMD's X3D chips are not nearly as demanding as Intel's latest flagships, though the 9800X3D does draw more power than its predecessor (especially in some productivity tasks).

Nevertheless, the X3D chips are designed for efficiency while gaming and you should have no problems keeping either chip cool with a quality AiO cooler.

AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D vs. 7800X3D: Which should you buy?

It's easy to get lost while analyzing benchmarks for small performance differences, and you can easily agonize over your final decision. For most people, however, either of these CPUs will deliver mind-blowing gaming performance with even the most demanding games in 2024. That places the final decision more on what you currently have in your system as well as what you can find in stock.

Both CPUs support DDR5 RAM and PCIe 5.0, and both chips use the same motherboards with an AM5 socket. That means the future upgrade path doesn't really change based on the CPU. That also means those coming from an AM4 chip will need to spend extra on a new motherboard and RAM.

👉 See the best motherboards for Ryzen X3D CPUs

👉 See the best RAM for Ryzen X3D CPUs

If you're already using a 7800X3D in your system, an upgrade to the 9800X3D doesn't make much sense for most people. If you're a casual gamer or focus more on productivity work, neither of the X3D chips should be considered.

However, those working with a Ryzen 5000 CPU (or older) should see massive gains with either CPU. As for Intel, both of the Ryzen 7 X3D chips beat anything it has in terms of gaming performance.

I made the upgrade from a Ryzen 7 5800X to a Ryzen 7 9800X3D when it launched, and the difference is honestly astounding. I would have upgraded to a 7800X3D to save some money, but it was not available when I was shopping.

That will likely be the case for a lot of buyers, especially as we head into Black Friday and Cyber Monday territory. Both the Ryzen 7 7800X3D and 9800X3D remain extremely popular, and there's no telling when and where the chips will be back in stock. If you find one or the other for sale at a reasonable price, I recommend you grab it. I'd definitely lean toward the 9800X3D if prices aren't too far apart, but the 7800X3D will still deliver incredible performance for years to come.

Custom PC enthusiasts should be contemplating an upgrade path for their gaming rig around AMD's new "slam dunk" Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor as it blew away Intel's high-end Core Ultra 9 285K in PC gaming benchmarks. These X3D variants of Ryzen desktop chips sport AMD's massive 3D V-Cache that benefits real-time game engines more than productivity apps, which is hardly a difficult choice for gamers, and the 9800X3D is the latest and greatest revision of the reigning champion.

It adopted its title as the best gaming CPU by politely replacing its predecessor, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D, and marks a point where entirely overhauling an older system to the new AM5 socket is worth it, at least to those on AMD's Ryzen 5000 Series or anything from Intel's 13th and 14th Gen blighted by an unfortunate microcode bug. There is a generational improvement from the 7800X3D, but you wouldn't notice much difference if you only upgraded from the last-gen equivalent.

So, what's the hold-up? If the 9800X3D already launched on November 7, why is it trending for the worst reasons with stock outages and retailer strongarm tactics otherwise souring what should be an exciting time? Anyone following PC components for a while has likely already guessed, but the same culprits who ruin most launch day thrills are back again: scalpers.

Checking the usual suspects around second-hand marketplaces shows them out in full force, driving up the 9800X3D prices, and, sadly, it's working for them. Protesting with your wallet is a common theme in the gaming community, but some are in danger of being duped into buying from what seems like reputable sellers with risk-free listings — and I feel your painful resistance to patience, but hear me out.

What's with all the 9800X3D scalpers?

It's similar to a situation that expectant Xbox Series X buyers faced during its 2020 launch when scalpers caught onto the excitement and decided to force gamers to pay exorbitant amounts if they wanted it right away. The double-edged sword that tends to cut desperate buyers is seller ratings on marketplaces like eBay, with up to 100% favorable reviews making a scalper seem like a helpful middleman just looking to hook you up with your new favorite tech.

However, the ominous small print that often lurks underneath these apparent saviors comes in phrases like "this seller does not accept returns."

There are hints of listings being from obvious scalpers, like someone buying at least four duplicates of the same, highly-anticipated gaming CPU to sell for almost a $200 profit and gouging AMD's intended $479 MSRP. Sure enough, multiple entries asking for $630, $640, and even $700 are an insult to enthusiasts everywhere. Scalper listings should be avoided at all costs to at least teach them a lesson, but gamers are excited and want their tech.

Is it worth waiting or should we find alternatives?

So, if you can't head over to Best Buy, Newegg, Amazon, or absolutely any respectable third-party retailer to buy the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, what are your options for building a modern gaming PC in the meantime? It's especially tricky if you're upgrading from AMD's Zen 3 processors or are migrating from absolutely anything on Intel's side since you'll need a total motherboard overhaul to support the new AM5 socket.

At the very least, you could buy a suitable motherboard for the 9800X3D to pair it with a set of DDR5 RAM modules clocked around the 6000MHz "sweet spot" and substitute a previously-released Ryzen CPU that fits the socket in the meantime. You could even rightfully sell this theoretical stand-in processor as a second-hand unit with impunity or hold onto it as a backup just in case, as long as you sell it for less than MSRP to maintain your PC building karma.

For example, AMD's Ryzen 5 8600G launched with an MSRP as low as $229 and currently sells even lower, with listings for the 8600G hitting $170 at Amazon.com. It's a 6-core, 12-thread APU (SoC) running up to 5GHz with a modest 22MB of L3 cache, so it's comparatively wimpy against the gaming powerhouse specs in the Ryzen 7 9800X3D. Still, it's several hundred dollars cheaper and gives you a working machine that you can use to feverishly check for restock notifications.

I can tell you that extra cores and threads benefit raw productivity performance, but I'll always feel the temptation of a gaming-centric CPU that delivers boosted framerates, something AMD has repeatedly delivered with its -X3D chips.

It's a simple fact that consistently proves itself with each processor generation: gamers want the best performance for their money and will take any desktop boosts as a convenient side effect.

AMD has remained in the top-seller spot for most CPU retailers, with the previous-generation Ryzen 7 7800X3D sitting pretty as the gaming champion since its release.

If that were ever to change, it'd be with a direct successor, and that's the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, here at last.

Ryzen 7 9800X3D: Price, availability, and specs

At its launch, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D is the only Zen 5 processor in AMD's Ryzen 9000X3D range. More variants, presumably (but so far unconfirmed) a 9900X3D and 9950X3D, are expected to follow.

The Ryzen 7 9800X3D is an 8-core, 16-thread APU (SoC) running at a 120W base TDP like its predecessor, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D. Its specs are also similar to AMD's Ryzen 7 9700X chip, which runs at a lower TDP with a reduced L3 cache, focused on productivity rather than gaming.

Officially launching with a $479 MSRP, which is $30 more expensive than the $449 Ryzen 7 7800X3D it replaces, actual store listings come relatively close with some minor inflation.

AMD has moved from a 4nm process to 5nm via TSMC's foundry but remains on the same AM5 socket with compatible 9000X3D motherboards and supports the same CPU coolers as its previous-gen Zen 4 (7000 Series) chips.

Upgrading from a Ryzen 7000X3D chip would be a straightforward process for enthusiasts. Still, it wouldn't provide as much of a performance leap as it would for those using a Ryzen 7 5800X3D or similar AM4 variants using now-incompatible DDR4 memory modules (RAM) as AM5 requires DDR5.

Having previously tested AMD's Ryzen 7 7800X3D and Ryzen 8000 Series processors like the Ryzen 5 8600G and Ryzen 7 8700G, I already had access to a compatible AM5-socket motherboard with the ASUS ROG STRIX B650-A Gaming WiFi. However, AMD provided all-new samples to ensure compatibility with the latest BIOS software and EXPO-compatible RAM running at 6000MHz. Arctic sent its Liquid Freezer III 360mm AIO to help test a separate processor, but it still offers the best cooling performance here.

Testing hardware

This review was made possible with review samples provided by G.SKILL, Samsung, and MSI via AMD alongside Arctic. The companies did not see the contents of the review before publishing.

• Back to the top ⤴

Ryzen 7 9800X3D: CPU benchmarks

No matter what a processor was designed for, it always passes my usual gamut of synthetic benchmarks that test single-core and multi-core performance in various productivity tasks. As fun as it would be to skip right to the gaming tests, it's important to see where the Ryzen 7 9800X3D ranks among its peers in burst processing and longer, sustained stress tests.

For burst processing tests in Geekbench 6, the 9800X3D scores above its lower-powered non-X3D sibling, the $359 Ryzen 7 9700X, in multi-core performance but below in single-core equivalents.

Of particular note is how far ahead Intel's $589 Core Ultra 9 285K pulls in multi-core tests, as by design, but there isn't much of a gap in the single-core category — remember this when I compare gaming performance next. Otherwise, there's about a 22% generational burst performance improvement over AMD's predecessor, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D.

Sustained stress tests with Cinebench 2024 show a similar story, with the 9800X3D scoring slightly ahead of the Ryzen 7 9700X as before while creeping on the heels of Intel's $309 Core Ultra 5 245K. In the long run, single-core performance falls in favor of Intel, with more of a lead gained by the Core Ultra 9 285K as it once again places miles ahead in multi-core equivalents, dominating productivity by a colossal degree. Again, a 21% generational sustained performance over the 7800X3D matches the burst tests.

Ryzen 7 9800X3D: Gaming benchmarks

In its official documentation for the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, AMD touts an average 8% performance improvement in gaming compared to the previous-gen Ryzen 7 7800X3D. The amount depends on a range of engine-specific quirks that determine how CPU-bound or GPU-bound a title can be, though the percentage gap usually increases over time with post-launch driver updates. Nevertheless, the 7800X3D, until now, was the best gaming CPU available, so these improvements are no real surprise — so, it's far more interesting to compare the 9800X3D against Intel's top-end CPU: the Core Ultra 9 285K.

While writing my Intel Core Ultra 9 285K review, no graphical setting changes would significantly increase my FPS in Forza Horizon 5. While it's likely a bug, this chart accurately represents the best framerate I can achieve at this time with the 'High' preset at 1080p.

Matching estimations, Black Myth: Wukong scores almost identically on AMD's Ryzen 7 9800X3D and Intel's Core Ultra 9 285K, while the "121.9%" gains promised in the CPU-centric title Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation didn't manifest in my testing, sticking around 6% instead. While not much of a surprise given its excellent performance on practically any hardware, Forza Horizon 5 scores an outrageous average of 387 FPS, which is perfect for anyone who uses those 360Hz 1080p gaming monitors. However, something clearly is bugged on Intel's side, so I'm skipping the implied percentage gain for Forza.

Moving from a disastrous launch to a patched-up marvel, Cyberpunk 2077 sees a 52% performance increase on the 9800X3D over Intel's Core Ultra 9 285K, proving far better of a pairing to NVIDIA's current high-end GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card. Far Cry 6 bumps up performance by 43% with the same GPU and DDR5-6000 RAM pairing, and the latest blockbuster Call of Duty entry enjoys a 41% lead as the 9800X3D earns extra frames in Black Ops 6.

So, while I'm testing a tighter scope of popular AAA titles on PC, I still saw around a 36% performance increase in gaming with the Ryzen 7 9800X3D. Naturally, my number would be lower if I only tested games closer to the 100% to 110% range of AMD's generational game performance chart, but seeing visually-rich megahits like Call of Duty and Cyberpunk 2077 score such significant increases is reassuring for the performance of a brand-new processor at day one.

Is the Ryzen 7 9800X3D good for gaming?

Yes, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D is the best gaming CPU you can buy, taking over from its predecessor, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D. 96MB of second-generation 3D V-Cache in the Zen 5 architecture helps push for higher FPS (frames per second) in games than Intel's top-end Core Ultra 9 285K, a rival processor that features more cores and threads, a higher clock speed, and slightly higher TDP. Ultimately, Intel's more expensive CPU offers better multi-core performance in productivity tasks and synthetic benchmarks, but AMD wins in gaming performance.

• Back to the top ⤴

Ryzen 7 9800X3D: Competition

The Ryzen 7 9800X3D has three significant competitors, though only two would be taken seriously by anyone on a budget. Internally, Intel's Core Ultra 9 285K stands against AMD's gaming CPU simply because it's the most powerful chip in the latest Core Ultra Series 200S range. However, this 24-core, 24-thread carries a price tag of around $589 to $630 and targets an entirely different audience who prioritizes energy efficiency within a productivity-centric software suite.

Gaming performance on Intel's side remains relatively unchanged from its last-gen Core i9-14900K, which offered similar performance to its i9-13900K predecessor and suffered from an overarching microcode launch bug that was later fixed for the continued manufacturing of 14th Gen chips.

Still, listings for the Core i9-14900K sit around $440 as AMD's Ryzen 9800X3D is ready to launch, making it an attractive option since some of its best motherboards support an established LGA 1700 socket with wide DDR4 and DDR5 RAM support, bringing down the overall cost of a custom build.

The other major competitor is a call from inside Team Red's house, as the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D doesn't fall far enough behind the new 9800X3D to warrant an upgrade from anyone who already has one. On the other hand, those who already adopted the AM5 socket with all-new motherboards and DDR5 RAM could happily swap out their processor for this new replacement without buying any extra components, but dropping almost $500 on an 8-22% potential performance gain isn't so tempting.

So, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D stands as a more logical upgrade path for those using a Ryzen 7 5800X3D from 2022. Still, this lumps users with the mandatory motherboard and RAM upgrades, though most AM4-compatible CPU coolers will work with AM5 replacements, so it's not entirely damaging to your budget.

The bright side is that you'll feel a more significant boost if you upgrade from the 5800X3D, with compatibility for PCIe 5.0 (Gen 5), unlocking faster storage options with the CPU bump. Overall, it's a sticky situation because the only people who will see the most significant benefits are the ones doomed to spend extra cash on a total rig overhaul.

• Back to the top ⤴

Ryzen 7 9800X3D: Should you buy?

You should buy this if ...

✅ You want the absolute best gaming CPU on the market.

✅ You crave the highest framerate count possible for high-FPS gameplay.

You should not buy this if ...

❌ You're already using a Ryzen 7 7800X3D or high-end 14th Gen Core i9.

❌ You rely on productivity apps that demand the best multi-core performance.

Make no mistake: the Ryzen 7 9800X3D is the best gaming CPU, politely dethroning its predecessor as the new king of the hill as a cache-heavy monster. However, it's not winning any awards for productivity. It isn't worth installing into a PC that spends most of its time crunching numbers in Microsoft Office and Teams since the 9900X and 9950X dominate that category, but it's a far better pick for gamers than anything from Intel's modern productivity-centric offerings.

Unfortunately, those who'll benefit most will need to spend a sizeable amount of cash on a new motherboard and RAM upgrades, making the 9800X3D MSRP hike sting a little more than a cute $30. Nevertheless, this is the new meta for PC gaming, and nothing else can challenge its ability to deliver monstrous FPS counts if you can pair it with a capable GPU to enjoy the latest AAA titles loaded with visual luxuries.

• Back to the top ⤴

AMD's Ryzen 9000X3D desktop processors (CPU) are built to specifically boost gaming performance thanks to a specialized 3D vertical cache. They're expected to launch on November 7, 2024 following the release of the standard Ryzen 9000 desktop chips in August.

Like their Ryzen 7000X3D counterparts, the new 9000X3D chips are expected to be the premier option for PC gamers looking to boost framerates and overall performance compared to even the best chips currently offered by AMD and Intel.

AMD's new X870 and X870E motherboards are now available from various brands, and the older X670 and X670E boards are still available as a cheaper (though usually less feature-laden) alternative. I've put together this list of the best motherboards for AMD Ryzen 9000X3D to help you plan and begin building a proper system for the new CPUs.

Getting the best motherboard for AMD's Ryzen 9000X3D processors

AMD's new Zen 5 Ryzen 9000X3D CPUs are expected to be the best chips for gaming for years to come. That's based on the reputation that the Ryzen 5000X3D and 7000X3D chips have forged over the years, with countless gamers swearing that they'll never go back to Intel (or even non-X3D chips) after seeing what AMD's 3D V-Cache can do.

If you already have a Ryzen 7000X3D chip using the AM5 platform (also in use by Ryzen 9000 chips), chances are you won't see a need to upgrade to Ryzen 9000X3D. However, the change will be much easier if you do want to remain on the bleeding edge, as you won't be forced to swap motherboards. A BIOS update might be necessary, but you should be able to simply swap out the CPUs.

If, on the other hand, you're still working with a Ryzen 5000 chip (like me) using the AM4 platform, you'll need to upgrade your motherboard to AM5. I've been tempted to switch to a Ryzen 7000X3D chip for some time, but I'm now glad that I waited for Ryzen 9000X3D — if the chips are anything like previous generations, they should remain relevant for years to come.

AMD's X870/X870E motherboards are quite expensive due to their recent launch, and prices should slowly come down over time. We're still waiting on the more affordable B850/B840 boards to launch (expected in early 2025), so until then, you'll have to stick with the more expensive boards if you want 800-series chipsets.

Because of the lasting power of AMD's X3D CPUs, I plan on spending a bit more on my next PC upgrade. I'm seriously considering the ASUS ROG Strix X870E-E Gaming WiFi thanks to its impressive list of high-end features, wide selection of ports, and slick look, but at about $500 I might see if I can spend some of that money elsewhere in my build.

In that case, the MSI MAG X870 Tomahawk WiFi is quite attractive. It comes in at about $290, with a feature set that's more than enough for my needs. It can overclock, it has lots of ports, Wi-Fi 7 support sets me up nicely for the future, and it looks quite sharp.

Are these motherboards compatible with non-X3D Ryzen 9000 CPUs?

These motherboards are all compatible with any of AMD's AM5 processors, including the new non-X3D Ryzen 9000 CPUs. While the chips don't include AMD's 3D V-Cache, they're still impressive chips that received Windows Central Best Awards after testing.

👀 See our full AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and 9950X review
👀 See our full AMD Ryzen 7 9700X review

I've also put together some buying guides specifically to help you find the right motherboard for AMD's Ryzen 9000 CPU.

🔎 Best motherboard for AMD Ryzen 9 9950X
🔎 Best motherboard for AMD Ryzen 9 9700X

Are AMD Ryzen 9000X3D CPUs good for gaming?

AMD's Ryzen processors with 3D V-Cache are made specifically for gaming. The tech allows AMD to stack up more L3 cache space on the CPU die, allowing the chip to rely less on slower system memory. Cache memory is much faster, effectively boosting performance in games.

For example, the Ryzen 7 7700X has 512KB of L1 cache, 8MB of L2 cache, and 32MB of L3 cache. The Ryzen 7 7800X3D, on the other hand, bumps the L3 cache up to 96MB. It's still unclear how much L3 cache the 9000X3D chips will have, but it's expected to be significantly more than the 64MB found in even the top-tier Ryzen 9 9950X.

I'm preparing to finish my review of the HP OmniBook Ultra 14 (2024), but I have to admit that it's not the most exciting laptop I've tested. You'll have to wait a little longer for that full review, but HP did send me a (very) early pre-production sample of its upcoming EliteBook X 14, and it feels like what happens when you take the excellent core of the OmniBook Ultra and combine it with better security, better AI performance, and a more attractive design.

HP is dubbing the EliteBook X as "the world's most powerful next-gen AI PC" thanks to its (for now) exclusive AMD Ryzen AI PRO 9 HX 375 chipset and the 55 TOPS NPU inside of it, but there's a lot more about this laptop that makes it worthy of attention. It's not just the performance, or the keyboard, or the Thunderbolt 4 ports (yes, you read that right) — it's also because HP has one of the most comprehensive visions for what an AI PC can be that I've seen so far, and I think the company may be winning me over with it.

I actually already had some hands-on time with the HP EliteBook X 14 (G1a) during HP Imagine 2024 in San Francisco, CA, but it was very limited. With the EliteBook X not planned to be fully released until December, I wasn't expecting to get another opportunity to use this laptop in the comfort of my own home, but here we are.

This hands-on was made possible thanks to a pre-production sample provided by HP. The company had no input nor saw the contents of this article prior to publication.

Impressive hardware with justified 'chonk'

The HP OmniBook Ultra 14 takes design cues from the previous HP Spectre generation but is a fairly bland laptop aesthetically. Despite sharing many of the same features or components, the EliteBook X manages to dodge the curse of "boring-ness" with a design that feels modern while still retaining every drop of practicality you expect from an enterprise laptop.

For one, despite being noticeably thicker than its consumer compatriot (18.1 vs 16.5mm), the EliteBook X is actually smaller in every other dimension and is a fair bit lighter, too. Here, HP found the ideal blend: a beautiful and prominent display with thin bezels, compact dimensions, and yet still enough 'chonk' for the upgraded cooling system and legacy ports that you won't find in the OmniBook Ultra. That means improved performance and fewer dongles, and that's great for enterprise.

I didn't expect to appreciate this design as much as I do, but the added hands-on time I've had at home has really smoothed over any rough impressions I gathered during my limited preview during HP Imagine. The all-aluminum chassis continues HP's efforts to use as much sustainably sourced and post-consumer recycled metal and plastic materials as possible, the display is coated in durable glass, and the two-tone keyboard design carries over from past EliteBooks (and I quite like it).

While we're on it, this keyboard isn't quite my absolute favorite (something about its bounce-back behavior), but it's certainly among the best laptop keyboards I've personally tested. The layout is excellent, the keys are large and properly spaced out, the font is clear and easy to read, and each individual key has a consistent, responsive, and suitably tactile action. It's a great keyboard, and at this level improvements will largely come down to subjective opinion.

This touch-enabled display is also great in my limited testing. It's a familiar 2.8K, 16:10 OLED panel we've seen in many other 14-inch laptops, but I'm not complaining. This display has been reliably gorgeous, and HP actually takes advantage of the Windows Dynamic Refresh Rate with a 48-120Hz refresh rate, which should noticeably improve endurance over a laptop with a locked display refresh rate. It's a huge departure from the boring, flat IPS LCD panel in the OmniBook Ultra, and I love it.

Poly Studios returns to tune the webcam and quad-speaker system, too; even with early drivers, these speakers do sound loud and full, so I'll be interested in testing them more when the EliteBook X releases.

Unique features to help this AMD machine stand out

There is purpose behind the HP EliteBook X 14's chunkier design beyond giving HP more internal volume (and more room to play with curves in the design). For one, you get a full suite of ports here, including an HDMI display output, a USB Type-A 3.2 Gen 2 port, a USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 2 port, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a Kensington Nano Security Slot. Am I missing anything? Oh yeah, the two USB Type-C Thunderbolt 4 ports, one on each side of the laptop.

To be clear, it's not impossible to see Thunderbolt 4 on non-Intel devices despite the globally recognized standard being owned and maintained by the semiconductor goliath, but it's absolutely uncommon. The HP OmniBook Ultra 14 (2024) and HP EliteBook X 14 (G1a) are the first AMD-powered laptops rocking Thunderbolt ports that we've seen in a while, and they're actually the first ever to boast two T4 ports, according to HP.

The newer USB4 standard can accomplish a lot of what Thunderbolt 4 can do, so most consumers don't need to worry about this, but the Thunderbolt standard comes with additional guarantees earned through strict, standardized testing that are a boon to enterprises and businesses. When you need to be confident the equipment you're purchasing will do exactly what you need it to do, standards like Thunderbolt are a huge value addition and will certainly make the EliteBook X stand out for AMD and HP.

Beyond the ports, that beefier chassis also makes room for HP's upgraded cooling system, which combines dual fans with a "hybrid hyperbaric cooling chamber" that will be able to squeeze more out of its internals than other similarly sized laptops. That matters, too, because the HP EliteBook X is actually rocking an exclusive (at least for now) version of the most powerful AMD Ryzen AI PRO chipset, the 9 HX 375, which features an even more capable Neural Processing Unit (NPU) for AI tasks.

Compared to the normal, non-PRO Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 in the OmniBook Ultra, the EliteBook X has an extra 5 TOPS of computational power, which should make this device a little more future-proofed. Now, this is an early pre-production sample with incomplete drivers and firmware, so I can't give you benchmark scores or make direct number comparisons to other devices. What I can say is that the EliteBook X runs exactly as smoothly and effortlessly as I'd expect from any modern flagship Windows laptop, and there's certainly a lot of headroom to do much more.

I can also tell you that, even this far ahead of release, the HP EliteBook X 14 seems to slightly outperform the HP OmniBook Ultra with its very similar non-PRO Ryzen AI chipset. The EliteBook X should also be more competent at handling a sustained workload, and seems a little more hesitant to spin up its fans in the first place. So far, I'm not inclined to refuse HP's claim that this is the "world's most powerful next-gen AI PC," as long as we're not talking about anything with an NVIDIA GPU inside it.

AI plays a huge role in squeezing more performance out of this PC and keeping it fast and secure into the future, too, playing into HP's cohesive vision for what an AI PC is.

A cohesive vision for an AI future that might actually make sense

When the HP EliteBook X 14 (G1a) releases, it'll be one among the new generation of Copilot+ PCs thanks to the improved capabilities of AMD's Ryzen AI and Intel's Core Ultra (Series 2), and that will include all the new AI features being added to Windows. HP isn't just relying on Copilot or third-party software to take advantage of the EliteBook X's class-leading NPU, however, nor is it throwing in the same half-baked features and promises we've seen in other laptops. HP is heavily investing in AI itself, and the EliteBook X is a showcase of those early efforts.

During HP Imagine 2024 and my time with the EliteBook X, I've been introduced to a lot of these investments, and it has actually convinced me of the potential of AI in tech products more than any other company to date. Let's get the small stuff the EliteBook X can do out of the way first, and then I'll move on to the bigger picture. For one, Poly Studios returns with an upgraded Poly Camera Pro app, which doesn't just tune the camera. This is basically a suped-up Windows Studio Effects program with a ton of options and customizations to finetune your camera experience with Auto Frame, background blur, filters, and more.

That's all boring stuff that we've seen a million times, though. What makes Poly Camera Pro interesting is that it includes all of these features in one place and does so at the camera processing level. That means it works with any camera you attach to the EliteBook X — not just the built-in webcam — and all of your settings are applied in any app that uses the camera — no official support or work from the developers needed. Because of this and the EliteBook X's NPU, Poly Camera Pro is also more efficient and performant than other similar solutions.

The HP EliteBook X also introduces a new version of HP's Smart Sense. On paper, this seems exactly like the AI-powered "optimized performance profile" we've seen every company do, but HP has now reduced your options to just Smart Sense or "Best performance," while also making Smart Sense smarter than ever. A dedicated, ultra-efficient hardware chip is constantly monitoring your laptop's thermals, resources, and even external factors like where the laptop is placed, whether it's moving, and more. Yes, there's an accelerometer inside the EliteBook X, so it knows when you're holding it and can tune itself to run cooler and quieter.

I haven't had enough time to really test Smart Sense and see if all of HP's marketing talk actually translates to real-world benefits, but the promise for Smart Sense is improved performance and efficiency that evolves around how you use your laptop.

Now on to the more important stuff, such as security. The EliteBook X, of course, includes HP's Wolf Pro Security suite, which combines layers of additional privacy and security features across hardware, firmware, and software. It's a valuable and trusted platform for enterprises (and is now coming to consumers in a slightly watered-down version with the OmniBook Ultra and Ultra Flip), but we've seen that Wolf Pro Security does decrease performance and efficiency compared to other laptops with identical internals.

With the EliteBook X, HP is moving more of what Wolf Pro does to the NPU, which is significantly more efficient and performant for AI-powered tasks than the CPU is, and promises that the performance gap has never been smaller. Seeing that the EliteBook X appears to be faster than the OmniBook Ultra gives me hope this is true. Wolf Pro is also getting smarter thanks to AI, becoming more able to dynamically respond to new threats that may impact your data. Combined with the enterprise-focused security and remote management features of AMD Ryzen AI PRO, the EliteBook X is a highly secure PC without compromise.

Most of HP's AI endeavors benefit enterprises and businesses more than consumers, but this honestly makes the most sense. Z by HP Boost allows companies to share unused GPU resources across all connected HP AI PCs — even when separated by thousands of miles. The HP Workforce Experience Platform is an all-in-one dashboard for IT departments that collects and consolidates telemetry data from across a company's fleet. The HP Remote Remediation Service is a valuable tool for HP's enterprise PCs (for Intel vPro at first, but I assume AMD Ryzen AI PRO is around the corner) that allows IT departments to offer advanced, in-depth, fully remote service like BIOS repairs and more (believe it or not, that's a first for the industry).

HP is also investing in the reliability, security, and trust of AI features with the HP Gen AI development platform, which provides valuable tools to AI developers and data scientists to reduce hallucinations in AI solutions. It's all important, it's all behind the scenes, and it's all improved by intelligent AI.

Again, though, none of that really matters to consumers. On that front, HP is developing its AI Companion and Print AI — two features that run better on the EliteBook X and actually have real-world use.

The HP AI Companion appears like any other AI large language model chatbot for queries, but it's also a secure and smart local file database. You can create libraries of files and documents and use HP AI Companion to analyze, organize, summarize, and posturize, and none of your data will ever leave your device.

HP AI Companion can also control basically every aspect of your HP device, including adjusting volume and display brightness levels, changing your performance profile, and much more. The majority of it is done locally with your device's NPU, and what needs to go to the cloud is encrypted, secure, and bereft of all your personal data. HP will progressively move more of HP AI Companion's features to your local NPU, too. It's already impressive in its beta state, and according to HP, it is meant to introduce everyday people to the benefits of natural language AIs without asking them to go and build one themselves.

The HP Print AI is similar but obviously focused on finally making printers less frustrating. With Print AI, users can configure printers and adjust settings, set up printing tasks, and even reformat and adjust files in real time before printing, all with natural language. I don't have a printer, personally, but HP's demos were fascinating, to say the least. None of this will be exclusive to the HP EliteBook X, but this laptop does serve as a flagship showcase for HP's vision, and I'm honestly interested to see more.

It'll be months before I get my hands on the finished product, though, so I'll have to make do with the (still very capable and powerful) OmniBook Ultra 14. Watch out for that review coming to Windows Central in the coming days.

What you need to know

• AMD expands its AI processor range with three Ryzen AI PRO variants for the enterprise market.
• Featuring an NPU running at up to 55 TOPS and Radeon 800M integrated graphics, all SKUs support local Copilot AI tasks.
• Ryzen AI PRO 300 chips are mostly compared against Intel Core Ultra 7 vPro devices, boasting a productivity performance lead.

AMD is once again leveling up its processor offerings in the enterprise market as it launches the Ryzen AI PRO 300 Series with, among the usual focus on enhanced security and data privacy, a return to hardware-enabled AI computing following its commercial Ryzen AI 300 processors compatible with Copilot+.

It isn't AMD's first adventure into AI PC technology either, already having launched the Ryzen PRO 7000 Series and PRO 8000 Series with integrated Neural Processing Units (NPUs) before that, gradually moving its total Tera Operations per Second (TOPS) capability up from a score of 10 TOPS to 50-55 TOPS.

Ryzen PRO remains an enterprise-centric platform powering laptops like HP's new EliteBook X, but AMD still aims to provide top-tier performance and the kind of true all-day battery life I saw in devices running its Ryzen AI 300 chips, like in my ASUS Zenbook S 16 review.

Extra layers of security and simplified development environments for developers working with AI models on the traditional x86-64 platform come with the rest of the Ryzen PRO namesake, as AMD labels it "the world's best processor for next-gen AI enterprise PCs."

What's new in Ryzen PRO for enterprise?

Ryzen AI PRO 300 benefits from the same upgrades as its non-PRO counterparts in that these Zen 5 CPUs feature alongside the latest versions of each chiplet inside AMD's System on Chip (SoC.) Adopters will get access to its XDNA 2 NPU, which currently boasts the highest TOPS count in the market, now up from 50 to 55 TOPS and more than capable of running local AI computing tasks used by Microsoft Copilot, like Windows Recall.

Integrated RDNA 3.5 graphics also see a bump to AMD's Radeon 800M Series with support for AI-powered graphical enhancements running with increased power efficiency than its previous-gen Radeon 700M solution. However, not everything relies solely on the NPU, and AMD is confident that the Ryzen PRO 300 CPU, GPU, and NPU combinations in each SKU will intelligently handle each AI task it can complete most efficiently.

Nevertheless, AMD has a clear lead on raw performance in the NPU category, which helps it introduce the "world's first Copilot+ PCs designed for enterprise," given the fulfillment (and beyond) of Copilot's 40 TOPS requirement. Local AI computing hardware unlocks access to Live captions and real-time translation for obvious uses in a professional environment like video calls, but also more specific control over image generation with Cocreator.

Compared to its competitors, Intel's latest Core Ultra 200V mobile processors, codenamed Lunar Lake, feature a 48 TOPS NPU, while the NPU in Qualcomm's high-end Snapdragon X Elite maxes out at 45 TOPS. However, as AI computing advances and developers refine models to improve efficiency, the need to chase an ever-higher TOPS count might not prove as important. Still, if AMD isn't compromising CPU and GPU performance to include the XDNA 2 tile, it couldn't hurt.

I'm seeing Amazon's October Prime Day be overshadowed by competing events, including Newegg's FantasTech II deals. While Amazon was originally also offering this Ryzen 9 7900X deal, it has since sold out. No problem, as Newegg has it down to the same $320 discount price. Even better, buying the AMD chip will also land you a free copy of Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2.

All you need to do is punch in the FTT224DX764 promo code at Newegg checkout to get the deal. If you've been looking for the right PC upgrade to unlock overclocked gaming and creative performance, this is the way to go.

• Shop all of Amazon's October Prime Day deals

🎃The best early Black Friday deals🦃

• 🎮Xbox Series S (512 GB) | $284.99 at Amazon (Save $15!)
• 📺xScreen for Xbox Series S (11.6-inches) | $159.99 at Amazon (Save $90!)
• 🔊2.1ch Soundbar for TVs & Monitors | $36.99 at Walmart (Save $63!)
• 💾Seagate Expansion Card (1TB) | $129.99 at Best Buy (Save $70!)
• 🎧HyperX Cloud III Wired Headset | $69.95 at Amazon (Save $30!)
• 🎮Xbox Wireless Controller | $43.93 at Walmart (Save $16!)
• 📺LG C4 OLED 4K TV (42-inches) | $899.99 at Best Buy (Save $500!)

One of the most powerful Ryzen CPUs even today

Amazon's October Prime Day, as well as competing anti-Prime Day events from Walmart, Newegg, Target, and Best Buy, are proving to be a great time to shop for new laptops, PCs, and upgrade components.

My former colleague and Windows Central Senior Editor Rich Edmonds reviewed the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X and 7950X processors in late 2022, calling them "the most powerful Ryzen processors to date." And despite the launch of the Ryzen 9 9900X we also reviewed, it remains a popular option for PC enthusiasts, gamers, and designers who need exceptional multi-core performance from the 12 cores.

Edmonds went on to say in his Ryzen 9 7900X review:

"You won't be disappointed with buying either the Ryzen 9 7900X or 7950X. Both processors are excellent for playing the latest (and most demanding) PC games, working with creative software, and doing plenty of other tasks. In fact, you could absolutely do everything simultaneously, thanks to the generous number of CPU cores available."

There are a few caveats before I continue. It uses the AM5 motherboard socket, so those coming from the Ryzen 5000 series or older will need to upgrade some extra hardware (I've included recommendations in the next section). If you'd rather stick with AM4, I recommend you check out the Ryzen 5 5600X and Ryzen 7 5800X deals that I also wrote about. They're currently down to $112.39 at Amazon and $128 at Newegg, respectively.

If you don't mind upgrading your motherboard or already have an AM4 board, the Ryzen 9 7900X should prove to be a monster CPU for gaming and demanding workloads. It can easily be overclocked, it's compatible with PCIe 5.0, and it supports DDR5 RAM.

I've been considering an upgrade for my personal system for a while, and this is definitely one of the CPUs that's high on the list. It's a lot cheaper than the latest Ryzen 9000 chips, and it delivers performance so similar that you'd be hard-pressed to notice it in everyday use.

Recommended hardware to pair with the Ryzen 9 7900X

As I mentioned, the Ryzen 9 7900X might require some new supporting hardware if you're coming from an older Ryzen generation. Here's what I recommend picking up.

More Prime Day deals and anti-Prime Day deals

We at Windows Central are scouring the internet for the best Prime Day deals and anti-Prime Day deals, but there are plenty more discounts going on now. Here's where to find more savings:

• Xbox controller deals: Walmart | Target | Best Buy | Amazon | Newegg 
• Xbox SSD storage deals: Walmart | Target | Best Buy | Amazon | Newegg 
• Gaming headset deals: Walmart | Dell | Target | Best Buy | Amazon 
• MicroSD storage deals: Walmart | Target | Best Buy | Amazon | Newegg 
• Gaming handheld deals: Walmart | Target | Best Buy | Amazon | Newegg 
• Laptop deals: Walmart | Target | Best Buy | Amazon | Newegg 
• Copilot+ AI laptop deals: Walmart | Target | Best Buy | Amazon | Newegg 
• Monitor deals: Walmart | Target | Best Buy | Amazon | Newegg 
• Mini PC deals: Walmart | Target | Best Buy | Amazon | Newegg 
• Gaming keyboard deals: Walmart | Best Buy | Amazon | Dell | Newegg 
• Gaming mice deals: Walmart | Best Buy | Amazon | Dell | Newegg

Amazon's October Prime Day and Black Friday might be just around the bend, but Best Buy has jumped ahead of any major laptop deals with this $480 HP Envy x360 16. 

Will this AI PC get any cheaper next week when Amazon and competing retailers have their deal events? Hard to say. This is already the lowest price I've ever seen, dropping to $20 less than the previous $500 low last month. It's definitely worth taking a second look if you're in search of a versatile AMD-powered laptop with more high-end specs than the price suggests.

🔥Top October Prime Day AI PC Deals🔥

• Acer Swift Go 14 | was $999.99 now $699.99 at Amazon
• Lenovo Slim 7i 14 (Gen 9) | was $1,099.99 now $729 at Walmart
• Lenovo Yoga 9i (Gen 9) | was $1,449.99 now $1,099.99 at Best Buy
• Dell Inspiron 2-in-1 14 (7445) | was $729.99 now $499.99 at Best Buy
• Alienware m16 R2 | was $1599.99 now $1,399.99 at Dell
• Lenovo ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 (Gen 9) | was $2,979 now $1,578.87 at Lenovo
• ASUS Vivobook S 15 (S5507) | was $1,299.99 now $959 at Amazon
• Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge 14 | was $1,349.99 now $849.99 at Best Buy

Why I love this HP Envy x360 16 deal

While I haven't personally tested this latest version of the HP Envy x360 16, I did review a couple of its predecessors. Even a couple of years ago, before HP added some new hardware to this latest version, I was impressed with what the company could offer in such an affordable Windows laptop. It was so good that I've been recommending it to anyone who wants a laptop that punches far above its price tag.

Yes, Amazon's October Prime Day — otherwise known as Prime Big Deal Days — is happening next week, but you can skip the frenzy with this steep discount that's already live.

The Envy x360 16 is designed to offer versatility in everyday work, and there are a few standout features that appeal to a ton of PC users. First off, it's a convertible PC with 360-degree hinges that allow the touch display to rotate all the way around. That turns it into a tablet — albeit an oversized 16-inch tablet — with support for HP's MPP 2.0 Tilt pen for inking.

Above the 16-inch display with 1920x1200 (FHD+) resolution is a 5MP webcam with an IR sensor for Windows Hello. The picture quality is crisp thanks to the boosted resolution, and you get the added security of facial biometrics. There's enough room around the keyboard for top-firing speakers, and DTS:X Ultra tuning provides a better sound quality. The speakers on older models blew me away, and they've only gotten better over time.

Speaking from experience, HP's keyboards are some of the best on the market in terms of comfort and responsiveness. That's no different here, and there's a massive touchpad below for accurate pointing and gestures.

Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 are on board for reliable wireless connectivity, and the 16-inch chassis has lots of space for a varied selection of ports. There's no Thunderbolt due to the AMD platform, but you get dual USB-C (10Gbps) with DP1.4a and PD, two USB-A (10Gbps), HDMI 2.1, and 3.5mm audio.

Should you buy a Copilot+ PC instead?

The Envy x360 16 is considered an AI PC thanks to its Ryzen 5 8640HS processor (CPU) with an AMD Ryzen AI Boost Neural Processing Unit (NPU). However, the NPU is at the low end of TOPS performance, and you'll probably notice it most when engaging things like Windows Studio Effects for your webcam.

For many people, that's more than enough. Not everyone needs a cutting-edge AI laptop. The low TOPS performance also excludes the Envy x360 16 from Copilot+ AI tools baked into Windows 11, but again that's not a huge deal for most users. 

The biggest perks coming out of the top Copilot+ PCs turn out to be battery life and performance, afforded by Qualcomm's Snapdragon X chips as well as next-gen Intel and AMD hardware. The trade-off is a much higher price than the discounted $480 Envy x360 16. I suggest checking out the best AI PC deals if you don't want to pay full price for a Copilot+ laptop.

And just because the Envy isn't a Copilot+ PC doesn't mean it won't deliver more than enough performance for productivity work and beyond. The Ryzen 5 8640HS CPU has plenty of multitasking potential, and the 512GB SSD is enough to get you started; you can always upgrade it later. 

The biggest drawback will likely be the 8GB of RAM, and unfortunately, it comes soldered with no potential for DIY upgrades. If you're a fan of having countless browser tabs open, the laptop might leave you wishing for more memory. Finally, the 68Wh battery, paired with an FHD+ resolution and AMD CPU, should get you through most of a workday on a charge.

We're only days away from the next Amazon Prime Day (or Big Deal Days, whatever Amazon is calling it this time), but that doesn't mean you have to wait for the best deals. They're already coming in hot, and right now you can score a great entry-level Windows laptop for one of the best prices I've seen.

The Lenovo IdeaPad 1 is an AMD-powered, 15.6-inch laptop you can pick up for a limited time for just $329.99 at Best Buy, a $250 discount compared to its MSRP. It's the perfect deal for someone who really just needs a laptop for the basics or is looking for an awesome first laptop to gift to someone else.

🎃The best early Black Friday deals🦃

• 💻HP Victus 15.6 (Radeon RX 6550M) | $479.99 at Best Buy (Save $320!)
• 📺Amazon Fire TV Stick | $24.99 at Amazon (Save $25!)
• 💻Lenovo IdeaPad 1 (Ryzen 5) | $329.99 at Best Buy (Save $250!)
• 🕹️Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (3-months) | $29.49 at CDKeys (Save $21!)
• 💻Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge (X Elite) | $899.99 at Best Buy (Save $450!)
• 🕹️Starfield Premium Upgrade (Xbox & PC) | $28.29 at CDKeys (Save $7!)
• 💻ASUS Vivobook S 15 (X Elite) | $975 at Amazon (Save $325!)
• 🕹️Final Fantasy XVI (PC, Steam) | $43.49 at CDKeys (Save $7!)
• 💻Dell XPS 14 (Core Ultra 7) | $1,449.99 at Dell (Save $550!)
• 🎮 Seagate Xbox Series X|S Card (2TB) | $249.99 at Best Buy (Save $110!)
• 💻Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1 (Ryzen 5) | $499.99 at Best Buy (Save $230!)
• 🕹️Hi-Fi RUSH (PC, Steam) | $8.59 at CDKeys (Save $21!)
• 💻Lenovo Yoga 9i 14 (Core Ultra 7) | $1,099.99 at Best Buy (Save $350!)
• 🕹️Days Gone (PC, Steam) | $12.09 at CDKeys (Save $38!)

AMD power, a number pad, and Windows 11

Let's not beat around the bush: the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 is the entry level to Lenovo's Windows laptop family, and as such it's not going to amaze with sheer power or amazing features. It simply aims to be a reliable, straightforward laptop for casual use, and it achieves its goal with aplomb. It's even better when it's on sale, of course, and right now it is.

The IdeaPad 1 retails for around $580, but it pretty regularly hovers somewhere around the $400 mark thanks to post-launch sales. Any discount beyond that makes a huge difference when the laptop is already so affordable, and you really are getting a solid PC for just $329.99 at Best Buy. This laptop is powered by an AMD Ryzen 5 7520U, which is a budget CPU that is more than powerful enough for basic PC tasks like web browsing, consuming media, using Office applications, checking emails, and even (very light) gaming thanks to the Radeon mobile graphics.

Lenovo even includes a 1-month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate code so you can play some of the more casual games offered on the service. This isn't a gaming laptop by any means and you can find the limits of this 4-core CPU if you look for them, but for $330 you can't complain much. That AMD chipset is supported by 8GB of decently fast RAM and a capable 256GB SSD that you can even replace after the fact if you find yourself needing more storage.

The 15.6-inch display still rocks a comfortable 1080p resolution and supports touch input, which is always nice to see. There's even an anti-glare coating to combat reflections, making the laptop more comfortable to use in direct lighting and making up for the average max brightness. The keyboard rocks a tenkey number pad (a real boon for a lot of people) alongside the solid Microsoft Precision touchpad, although it's sadly not backlit.

Lenovo honestly didn't skimp on the necessities. Wi-Fi 6 support ensures you'll never have issues staying online and Bluetooth 5.1 keeps you connected to your accessories or phone, and you get a USB Type-C port and HDMI port alongside the two USB Type-A ports, SD card reader, and 3.5mm audio jack.

The IdeaPad 1 is a well-balanced laptop perfect for casual users or those looking for the perfect beginner laptop to gift to a child or other family member. It even rocks the latest Windows 11 operating system, so you're future-proofed for years to come and protected by the latest security measures. This laptop comes in S Mode by default, which means it's limited to officially supported (and safe) apps from the Microsoft Store, but it's easy to disable that (you can follow this Microsoft support page for a how-to) if you need to go outside the Microsoft Store for any reason.

Seriously, you don't have to wait for Amazon Prime Day to take advantage of some of the best deals. The Windows Central team is always on the lookout for the greatest ways to save money, and the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 is one of those deals. Just keep in mind this laptop's limitations, though, as you can't push the price tag this low without some compromises. This is an excellent casual or beginner laptop, especially when it only costs $329.99 at Best Buy.

What you need to know

• Motherboards supporting AMD's Ryzen 600 chipset can update their BIOS firmware to AGESA PI 1.2.0.2 and unlock 105W TDP for compatible processors.
• AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and Ryzen 7 9700X desktop chips usually run at 65W but can be pushed to 105W without voiding their warranty.
• Increasing the power profile of any processor will raise the thermal output, and users should install a capable CPU cooler before increasing the TDP.

It's been a little over a month since AMD released its Ryzen 5 9600X and Ryzen 7 9700X desktop processors, promising ultra-efficiency for gamers targeting entry-level and mid-range custom gaming PC builds. After a short initial launch delay, both chips were well received in my 9600X and 9700X reviews. Each scored well in synthetic benchmarks, with single-core performance moving significantly ahead of its competitors despite a conservative 65W Thermal Design Power (TDP) draw.