AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D CPU Review

This test is a full-load Cinebench 2026 power test, running all cores at full load at the same time. Basically, each CPU is hitting its Package Power Tracking (PPT) in this test. The 12-Core CPUs are maxing out at 162W, and the 16-Core CPUs max out at 200W. Looking at it another way, the two 12-Core CPUs consume 19% less power than the 16-Core CPUs. Or, the 16-Core CPUs consume 23% more power than the 12-Core CPUs.

This power test is much different from the one above; it shows the maximum power consumed WHILE GAMING. The CPUs are never going to reach their full PPT here, so this shows us the real difference between them that you’d experience while playing games. Firstly, the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and AMD Ryzen 9 9900X consume about the same power level, so the X3D variant of this CPU does not consume more power while gaming. They both pull 139 Watts.

Interestingly, the Ryzen 9 9950X does consume more power than the Ryzen 9 9950X3D. The Ryzen 9 9950X3D actually uses 4% less power than the Ryzen 9 9950X. If we compare X3D to X3D, then the Ryzen 9 9900X3D consumes 10% less power than the Ryzen 9 9950X3D, yet they perform the same in games! So that is an important point indeed for gaming purposes and power efficiency.

In this test, we are once again looking at the full-load temperatures running the CPUs full-on in Cinebench 2026 for 20 minutes. It is no surprise that the 16-Core CPUs do run hotter, but not by much. Except in the case of the Ryzen 9 9950X, which runs above 80c. What is most notable is that the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D runs at about the same temperature as the Ryzen 9 9900X; no real difference. The Ryzen 9 9950X3D runs slightly cooler than the Ryzen 9 9950X, and again it does use slightly less power. The difference in temp between the 12-Core and 16-Core CPUs is about 7-10 degrees.

Now for some real-world gaming temperatures in Cyberpunk 2077. When gaming, the results shift somewhat interestingly. The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D actually warms up quite a bit more, about 6 degrees over the Cinebench 2026 testing, now up to 78c. At 78c it matches the Ryzen 9 9950X. This is most likely due to the fact that the core frequency can run higher while gaming on the Ryzen 9 9900X3D, since it is running at lower power while gaming. In Cinebench 2026, it isn’t going to be able to boost to as high a frequency. The Ryzen 9 9900X3D, therefore, is 7% warmer than the Ryzen 9 9900X while gaming. The Ryzen 9 9950X3D runs cooler, actually, though it consumes more power.

In the two HWiNFO64 screenshots above, you can see what we mean regarding the frequency of the Ryzen 9 9900X3D between full-load usage and gaming. In the first screenshot, Cinebench 2026 full-load multi-core, the average frequency is around 4.9GHz-5.0GHz while running. However, in the gaming screenshot to the right, it increases to around an average of up to 5.3GHz; the current frequency while the game was running in the Current column shows 5.2GHz-5.3GHz while the game is running. This is the frequency you can expect from the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D while gaming.