Major motherboard brands are gearing up for the release of AMD’s upcoming Ryzen 9000X3D processors with BIOS updates that add support for the new CPUs. Alongside support, some brands, such as Gigabyte and Asus, have added an “X3D Turbo Mode,” which is said to boost performance by up to 35%.
The update is targeting some of the best processors packing AMD’s 3D V-Cache tech, but it might give other AMD processors a boost, too. One user on X (formerly Twitter) took the update out for a spin in Forza Horizon 5 and found a 5% uplift on the Ryzen 7 9700X. That’s a far cry from the 35% we’ve seen quoted by Gigabyte, but it’s a promising performance improvement nonetheless considering that this CPU doesn’t come with 3D V-Cache.
GIGABYTE X3D Turbo Mode
めっちゃ軽~く触ってみたSandraとForzaで検証(9700X, D5-6000 16Gx2)
・SMTが切られた
・メモリ帯域も若干太くなった(約55GB/s→約61GB/s)
・PPTは変更なし (CB R23で88W)
・CPUシミュレーション、レンダリングのFPSがかなり上昇している… pic.twitter.com/kpal0wU2A6— York (@Yorkfield_XE) October 20, 2024
X3D Turbo Mode reportedly does a few things to improve performance on 3D V-Cache CPUs. First and most obviously, it limits operations to a single core complex die (CCD). CPUs like the Ryzen 9 7950X3D feature two CCDs, but only one of them has access to the additional cache. By limiting tasks to a single CCD, the idea would be to reduce latency in games, thereby improving performance.
In addition, the X3D Turbo Mode is said to disable simultaneous multi-threading, or SMT. In short, 3D V-Cache CPUs can run into issues with core parking on Windows, so disabling SMT could improve performance by limiting the threads to those that have close access to the additional cache. AMD hasn’t confirmed that these are the changes that the X3D Turbo Mode brings, nor that it’s even an official AMD spec. It’s possible Asus and Gigabyte are using the same name for different features.
We’ve seen updates for X670 and X870 motherboards, suggesting a range of performance improvements across Zen 4 and Zen 5 CPUs. Motherboard brands are clearly laying the foundation for next-gen 3D V-Cache CPUs, which AMD itself has said will be revealed on November 7. However, the updates also bring some performance improvements for other CPUs, as showcased by the Forza Horizon 5 test above.
The largest improvements should still come with X3D processors, however. If AMD is indeed disabling SMT and limiting games to a single CCD, that could have major performance implications for any dual-CCD processors packing 3D V-Cache.
Jacob Roach is the lead reporter for PC hardware at Digital Trends. In addition to covering the latest PC components, from…
AMD’s Ryzen 9000 CPUs just got a lot faster
AMD just announced that some of its best processors are about to become even better. The company unveiled a number of Ryzen 9000 improvements, ranging from a much higher TDP for some of the CPUs to the core-to-core latency improvements we’ve already heard about. AMD is also now supporting higher-clocked DDR5 RAM, and that’s not even all of today’s announcements.
The latest BIOS update, named AGESA PI 1.2.0.2, brings a few things, but if you ask me, the biggest change is that AMD is increasing the thermal design power (TDP) of two of its CPUs.
AMD’s Ryzen 7 9800X3D might show up sooner than expected
AMD might be moving on 3D V-Cache versions of its Ryzen 9000 CPUs faster than expected. According to a leaker on the Chiphell forums, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, which could be among the best processors when it releases, might arrive as soon as next month.
VideoCardz dug up the news, which started on the Chiphell forums. The leaker goes by the name zhangzhonhao, but VideoCardz notes that they went under a different alias previously, and that they have a long history of leaking company road maps. The forum post claims AMD will release the Ryzen 7 9800X3D at the end of October, while the Ryzen 9 9900X3D and Ryzen 9 9950X3D will arrive later. The leaker suspects they’ll show up in early 2025 with “some new features.”
AMD Strix Halo might give gaming handhelds a major boost
It looks like future gaming handhelds might have quite a lot of GPU power — at least if this new AMD Strix Halo leak is to be believed. The upcoming APU lineup is said to come with up to 40 RDNA 3.5 compute units (CUs), which marks a massive upgrade from the last-gen Strix Point. They’re also said to support up to 96GB of video memory.
By the looks of it, the Strix Halo might be more of a mobile workstation solution than a gaming product — but with these specs, gaming on laptops equipped with these APUs should be entirely possible even without a dedicated graphics card. The specs sound really promising for gaming handhelds, though, including next-gen versions of the Asus ROG Ally X or the Steam Deck. Let’s dig into what’s said to be coming in 2025, as per the latest leak from Weibo.
[ For more curated Computing news, check out the main news page here]
The post AMD CPUs just got a major performance update for games | Digital Trends first appeared on www.digitaltrends.com