AMD confirms that a Ryzen 9000X3D CPU will arrive on November 7

What just happened? AMD just “announced” that at least one Ryzen 9000X3D processor will be available in a few weeks on November 7. This is more of a teaser though, likely aimed at stealing some of the thunder from Intel’s Arrow Lake launch this week, as AMD didn’t provide any specs, pricing, performance claims or even confirm the name or model of the CPU.

If you were hoping to learn more about Zen 5 X3D parts, I’m sorry to disappoint you. But we will walk you through the few details we have and the possible reasons for these types of soft announcements.

AMD shared a single slide about this launch, as shown above. That’s it – everything we know is on this one slide, which AMD described as a teaser. Other than the November release date, the slide offers no additional details.

The CPU in question is most likely the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, although we can’t be sure. It could be the 9700X3D or something completely different. However, based on various sources in recent months, the 9800X3D was expected to launch in early November, while higher-core models could arrive a few months later, possibly in early 2025. This announcement is in line with our expectations for the release of the 9800X3D. timing.

There’s no point in speculating on the specs because we simply don’t know. AMD also didn’t provide any pricing information, which I suspect will be revealed closer to the release date coincide with reviews.

One trend we’ve noticed in recent months is that the Ryzen 7 7800X3D has become more expensive and harder to find. Prices and availability were stable at around $360 to $370 until late August, but since then the price has gradually increased and is now unavailable at many retailers. In my opinion, this is a calculated move by AMD to discontinue the 7800X3D and clear the market for the 9800X3D. The last thing AMD wants is for the 7800X3D to compete with the new model, potentially offering better value and leading to negative comparisons for the Zen 5 version. If the old model is no longer available, the choice becomes easier for the consumer.

This leads us to believe that AMD will price the 9800X3D similarly to the 7800X3D, rather than following a value strategy. Again, this hasn’t been confirmed, but if it retains the title of fastest gaming processor, a launch at a lower price seems unlikely.

So why did AMD choose this announcement strategy? The first reason is obvious: to steal Intel’s thunder, and second, to avoid the pitfalls they encountered with the first wave of Zen 5 CPUs.

With Intel’s Arrow Lake desktop launch and reviews coming later this week, AMD wants to remind you that a successor to their best gaming CPU is coming soon. They want to cast some doubt when you consider Arrow Lake’s performance – whether it makes sense to buy an Intel CPU now or wait just a few weeks for AMD’s offering.

By withholding details, AMD is building up anticipation for the X3D, encouraging gamers not to jump on the Arrow Lake bandwagon. It makes sense to wait just two weeks to see what the 9800X3D brings if you’re focused on gaming performance.

Additionally, AMD likely wants to avoid the mistakes made during the Zen 5’s launch, where early information overstated the performance gains, especially for gamers. If AMD cannot achieve significant improvement, they prefer not to make misleading claims as that would only raise false expectations. In this case, letting reviews do the talking may be the best approach.

However, if the Zen 5 X3D were significantly more powerful, I’d expect AMD to hype it before Intel’s next-gen CPU launch. Based on what we’ve seen so far, I’d be surprised if the performance improvement is much different than what we saw with Zen 5 versus Zen 4 CPUs, where gaming performance only improved by a few percentage points. I hope for a bigger jump, but there are no strong indications of that so far.

AMD also announced new limited-time “early holiday promotional pricing” for existing Ryzen 9000 CPUs. This includes a discount of up to $50 on the Ryzen 9 9950X, which comes to $600, and up to $30 off other models. For example, the 9900X costs $470, the 9700X $330, and the 9600X $250. However, this is not a permanent price reduction, but a temporary promotion intended to counter the launch of Intel’s Arrow Lake.

That said, these discounts are not a drastic change from current prices in the US retail market. The Ryzen 7 9700X had already dropped to $330 by the end of September, and the 9900X has been selling below MSRP for a while, even reaching $430, which is lower than the new “discount price.” The 9600X and 9950X will likely benefit the most from these promotions.

That’s all the information we have for now, but you can look forward to our Intel Lake-S CPU test later this week.