AMD pitches Ryzen 7 9850X3D as less reliant on expensive DDR5 RAM for gaming

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D is set to start shipping soon, and it's positioned as a better-binned option than the 98000X3D. Beyond the spec sheet, the new X3D processor is also being claimed to be a better fit for the current RAM crisis.

As spotted by VideoCardz, AMD is claiming that the new Ryzen 7 9850X3D doesn't see a notable performance drop when paired with a relatively slow DDR5 RAM. More specifically, the updated presentation slide compares the performance between setups with DDR5-4800 and DDR5-6000 memory.

AMD says that the performance difference is around 1% for over 30 games tested, with titles like Far Cry 6 and Cyberpunk 2077 benefiting more from the speedier RAM. Even so, the slide shares that the performance difference doesn't cross 2%, which is rather impressive.

In the slide, AMD notes that the average retail price of DDR5-4800 memory is around $400, while the 2x16GB DDR5-6000 kits are noted to retail for around $470. These numbers originate from PCPartPicker's database, captured on January 09, 2026. Since then, the average price has risen to around $420 and $500, respectively.

As for the CPU itself, AMD claims that the Ryzen 7 9850X3D can deliver anywhere between 3% to 7% performance difference when compared to the Ryzen 7 9800X3D. While it's a notable difference, these numbers should be taken with a grain of salt as they are coming from the company. The review embargo for the processor is set to lift on January 28, 2026, one day before the CPU is available for purchase, and independent tests can draw a better picture of what the processor brings to the table.