Of course, before you decide if the extra $500 over MSRP for a delidded Dual Edition is worth it, you need to figure out why you'd want a Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 in the first place. Our own coverage of AMD's dual-CCD X3D processor found that it is by and large a halo product . The extra 3D V-Cache can provide meaningful benefits in certain workloads that can take advantage of the enormous amount of cache across both CCDs, but the gains aren't remotely proportional to the price premium over a Ryzen 9 9950X3D. Gaming performance, in particular, is generally exactly in line with the cheaper chip, and both typically run behind the Ryzen 9 9850X3D.
That's not to say the 9950X3D2 is a bad processor. Quite the opposite; rather, it's an extremely impressive stack of silicon, and AMD's decision to put 3D V-Cache on both CCDs makes it arguably the most exotic desktop processor the company has ever produced. It's just also very much a "because we can" product for people who want the best and don't particularly care what it costs. If you're one of the relatively small number of people whose workload genuinely benefits from having that much cache across 16 cores, there's a good chance you're doing that work on a workstation or EPYC system rather than spending your days trying to justify a $1,400 delidded AM5 CPU.
Still, if you've got the money to build a machine around the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition, the extra $500 might not be a deal-breaker. For the price, you get a cooler-running, quieter system, and as long as you don't go ham on the overclocking, Thermal Grizzly has your back for 2 years. Just make sure you also buy your cooling equipment from Thermal Grizzly, because regular Socket AM5 cooling hardware may not mount up correctly to a delidded CPU.
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Zak is a freelance contributor to Tom's Hardware with decades of PC benchmarking experience who has also written for HotHardware and The Tech Report. A modern-day Renaissance man, he may not be an expert on anything, but he knows just a little about nearly everything. ","collapsible":{"enabled":true,"maxHeight":250,"readMoreText":"Read more","readLessText":"Read less"}}), "https://slice.vanilla.futurecdn.net/13-4-25/js/authorBio.js"); } else { console.error('%c FTE ','background: #9306F9; color: #ffffff','no lazy slice hydration function available'); } Zak Killian Contributor Zak is a freelance contributor to Tom's Hardware with decades of PC benchmarking experience who has also written for HotHardware and The Tech Report. A modern-day Renaissance man, he may not be an expert on anything, but he knows just a little about nearly everything.
COLGeek "Almost" worth it? No. The juice isn't worth the squeeze (cost). Pretty darn expensive thing for a couple FPS gained. Reply
hotaru251 COLGeek said: "Almost" worth it? No. The juice isn't worth the squeeze (cost). Pretty darn expensive thing for a couple FPS gained. i mean delidding was always the realm of the OC'er/tinkerers not the average consumer. extra $500 to raise your position on a OC leaderboard? to them tis well worth cost. Reply
COLGeek hotaru251 said: i mean delidding was always the realm of the OC'er/tinkerers not the average consumer. extra $500 to raise your position on a OC leaderboard? to them tis well worth cost. I do admit, the product comes in a pretty box and looks cool. :rolleyes: Reply
Rand0m_Guy This is cool, only problem I see is that the majority of people reviewing, writing, and reading this article are not the targeted audience for this processor. So there is a lot of, "not worth it…" being tossed around, "not worth it" for you! The concept of "worth" is an opinion, not an objective fact. It fundamentally depends on an individual's disposable income and the economic law of diminishing returns. Getting the absolute best—that final 10% of quality—requires an exponential price increase rather than a linear one. For someone with limitless funds, paying that premium makes sense; for the average consumer, it simply doesn't. Reply
teeejay94 A lot of you would never offer a two year warranty on something like this Reply
Key considerations
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Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/overclocking/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/overclocking/you-can-now-buy-a-delidded-ryzen-9-9950x3d2-dual-edition-for-usd1-403-stripped-dual-cache-offering-is-usd500-more-expensive-than-regular-version#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com/membership
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Informational only. No financial advice. Do your own research.