AMD loves to build to a crescendo. As it’s shown since 2016, when its first Ryzen CPUs launched, the company progresses incrementally but steadily—until Team Red sits all the way at the top. That time has come for its 3D V-Cache processors,

Despite having a higher TDP (120W vs 105W), the 9800X3D is far more efficient than the 9700X. In Alan Wake 2, for example, the 9800X3D only hit a max of 77W to the 9700X's 98W.