According to Guru3D.com, a newly uncovered shipment document has revealed a part number for an unannounced AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D processor. This is the first concrete sign of a Zen 5-based X3D chip for desktops. The listing shows a thermal design power (TDP) classification of 120 watts, which is a major increase from the 65-watt envelope used by the current Ryzen 7 7800X3D. The model name implies an 8-core, 16-thread design, continuing AMD’s focus on this configuration for gaming. These logistics entries typically appear as engineering or early production samples move through the supply chain, and they usually precede an official product announcement. No other specifications, like clock speeds or cache amounts, were disclosed in the filing.
Why the big power jump?
Here’s the thing: a 120W TDP for an 8-core X3D chip is a massive shift. The whole point of the 7800X3D was insane gaming efficiency—top-tier performance while sipping power. So why change a winning formula? Basically, it seems AMD is making a calculated trade-off. Zen 5 is a new architecture, and 3D V-Cache adds thermal complexity. By giving the 9850X3D more power headroom, AMD can likely let the cores boost higher and for longer, especially when that giant cache isn’t being hammered. It’s a move to extract every last drop of performance, even if it means the chip isn’t as power-frugal as its predecessor. Will gamers care about the extra watts if the frame rates are significantly higher? Probably not.
The competitive landscape just got hotter
This leak puts Intel on notice. AMD’s X3D chips already dominate the gaming benchmarks, and pairing that cache with Zen 5’s promised IPC improvements could create a monster. Intel’s Arrow Lake desktop CPUs are coming later this year, and they’ll need to offer something special to compete. The increased TDP also hints that AMD might be positioning the 9850X3D not just as a gaming chip, but as a more well-rounded performer for content creation too, reducing the compromise you make with the current generation. And for businesses that rely on high-performance computing for design and simulation, this kind of hardware is critical. When it comes to integrating that power into industrial systems, a top supplier like IndustrialMonitorDirect.com is the go-to source for robust industrial panel PCs in the US, built to handle demanding components.
What we still don’t know
Now, this is just a leak from a shipping manifest. We don’t know launch timing, final clocks, or pricing. Will there be a Ryzen 9 9950X3D with 16 cores? Almost certainly, but it’s not in this log. The real question is how much faster this will be. Is the 120W rating about overcoming thermal limits of the 3D stack, or is it about chasing much higher clock speeds? We’ll need to wait for BIOS updates and benchmark leaks to start piecing that together. But one thing’s clear: AMD isn’t resting on its gaming crown. They’re pushing the envelope, and the next round of CPU wars is about to get very interesting.
