Ryzen 9950X or 9950X3D?

[Templar560]

Hi I've just ordered a 9950X Ryzen 9 for DCS I've seen mixed reports about X3D causing problems. I Currently have a Ryzen 7 5000 series so either will be a big boost. but that's not the issue. It's which of these will be the best as the price difference isn't enough to stop either.

Info welcome thanks!

[speed-of-heat]

the x3d only causes problems if you are not using the correct CCD for games, usually this is solved by installing the recommended software ;in this case making sure gamebar is installed... or you can use can use process lasso to manually make sure that DCS is using the right CCD.. e.g. the ones with the 3dvcache 

[Templar560]

Thanks for the reply, I don't what game bar or CCD is though. I have no idea how I'd know how to make DCS use the right 3dvcache.... I've never gone down that particular rebbit hole..

 

[speed-of-heat]

Windows Game Bar , helps assign games to the correct CCD , on the X3d there are two CCD (think of the as chips, each with 8 physical cores each capable of running a physical and virtual core for a total of 16 cores on each chip .... so an available 32 cores in total in this your two CPU's are identical, the x3D on the first chip has a 3d vcache this essentially is superfast memory that helps with processor operations. that makes the performance difference between the two processors.  If you dont use windows game bar and windows doesn't recognise the application as a game , it can end up using the wrong CCD and you wont get the performance you paid for ... 

Edited October 4 by speed-of-heat

[Templar560]

Oh I see that makes perfect sense thank you! I don't use MS gamebar. So the big question I face is: Do I cancel very quickly the 9950X I've ordered and grab the 9950X3D? 

[speed-of-heat]

gamebar is installed by default in windows from memory and is trivial to install if not...  the x3d is significantly faster ... 

https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=681cc0e6852335654fa21317524af951debb717139000fa6816e70f89715cdebJmltdHM9MTc1OTUzNjAwMA&ptn=3&ver=2&hsh=4&fclid=20fa17ed-2fca-61c7-19e9-01b12bca63c4&u=a1L3ZpZGVvcy9yaXZlcnZpZXcvcmVsYXRlZHZpZGVvP3E9OTk1MHgrdnMrOTk1MHgzZCZtaWQ9NTA0NkVFMEEyMUU1RDBDQ0RFRUY1MDQ2RUUwQTIxRTVEMENDREVFRiZGT1JNPVZJUkU

[Templar560]

6 minutes ago, speed-of-heat said:

gamebar is installed by default in windows from memory and is trivial to install if not...  the x3d is significantly faster ... 

https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=681cc0e6852335654fa21317524af951debb717139000fa6816e70f89715cdebJmltdHM9MTc1OTUzNjAwMA&ptn=3&ver=2&hsh=4&fclid=20fa17ed-2fca-61c7-19e9-01b12bca63c4&u=a1L3ZpZGVvcy9yaXZlcnZpZXcvcmVsYXRlZHZpZGVvP3E9OTk1MHgrdnMrOTk1MHgzZCZtaWQ9NTA0NkVFMEEyMUU1RDBDQ0RFRUY1MDQ2RUUwQTIxRTVEMENDREVFRiZGT1JNPVZJUkU

Ok cool. I asked around on the ED discord and seemingly DCS tends to look afteritself pretty well. I'm going to try and change my order.... Thanks so much for the advice man!

[PacFlyer23]

Also this short YT on how to enable it...

 

[speed-of-heat]

5 minutes ago, Templar560 said:

Ok cool. I asked around on the ED discord and seemingly DCS tends to look afteritself pretty well. I'm going to try and change my order.... Thanks so much for the advice man!

de nada

[Templar560]

Thanks Pac!

[Aapje]

21 hours ago, Templar560 said:

Hi I've just ordered a 9950X Ryzen 9 for DCS I've seen mixed reports about X3D causing problems. I Currently have a Ryzen 7 5000 series so either will be a big boost. but that's not the issue. It's which of these will be the best as the price difference isn't enough to stop either.

If the only heavy thing with the PC you do is gaming, then neither of the 9950X or 9950X3D are the best choice. You are better off with the 9800X3D.

 

[Dogmanbird]

I have a 9950x3d. There's a notable difference in performance between forcing DCS onto the cached cores versus the regular cores, using Process Lasso,. If this is an indication of the difference between the x3d v non x3d cpu, I'd certainly go the x3d version  

If you run simhub, streaming software or other apps in the background, I think you'll see the benefit of the 9950x3d versus the 9800x3d, if you use process lasso to assign the various processes accordingly. Process Lasso can be configured to auto detect the games so it's all automatic.

p.s.  9950x3d came down to $969 aud delivered, recently in Australia. It might have just gone back up in price a bit.

Edited October 7 by Dogmanbird

[Rockett]

On 10/5/2025 at 12:39 PM, Aapje said:

If the only heavy thing with the PC you do is gaming, then neither of the 9950X or 9950X3D are the best choice. You are better off with the 9800X3D.

 

I'm looking at system upgrade for DCS too. I'm not especially budget limited, so I was also eyeing up the 9950X3D. Are there any disadvantages to running this over say the 9800X3D in DCS? (don't do a great deal of other gaming at the moment other than MSFS2020 & MSFS2024).

[Dogmanbird]

https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/927060      Currently $948 if you use the code at checkout

I don't believe there is any disadvantage over the 9800x3d (except price difference) 

[Dogmanbird]

The second half of this video shows how to create affinity profiles that load automatically when the game is started

 

[Aapje]

12 hours ago, Rockett said:

I'm looking at system upgrade for DCS too. I'm not especially budget limited, so I was also eyeing up the 9950X3D. Are there any disadvantages to running this over say the 9800X3D in DCS? (don't do a great deal of other gaming at the moment other than MSFS2020 & MSFS2024).

The disadvantage of the 9950X3D is that is has two compute-chiplets, and one of them is not suitable for gaming. So you can have issues if the game decides to run (partially) on the wrong chiplet. That is why you see people messing about with Process Lasso, to manually decide what runs where. With the 9800X3D, you don't have these issues.

The downside is that you have fewer cores, but almost no games use that many cores, so this is more an issue when you also want to use the CPU for heavy video/image editing and such. So the 9950X3D is more of a hybrid CPU, whose primary value is that it is both good for gaming, but also for heavy video/image editing, etc.

If money is no object, I would still get the 9800X3D, so you don't have any hassle, and then save your money for a CPU upgrade later on. Rumor has it that the next generation of AMD CPUs may see much reduced memory latency due to a much better connection between the compute-chiplet(s) and the IO-chiplet. And each compute chiplet is rumored to go to 12 cores.

[Dogmanbird]

If you run apps in the background (streaming, screen recording, simhub) and if money is no object, you could get the 9950x3d and turn on "X3d Gaming Mode" within your bios and this essentially makes it a 9800x3d by disabling the non cached cores. Then when you're ready to brave process lassso, you can turn it back into a 9950x3d via the bios and get the best of everything 

Otherwise, I agree with Aapje and get the 9800x3d

[PacFlyer23]

Tom's Hardware did a deep dive comparison of the two chips last month. Their bottomline conclusion echos Aapje and Dogmanbird...

"The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and Ryzen 7 9800X3D both bring impressive strengths to the table, ultimately leaving us with a 4-4 tie, but the winner for you will be clear based on your target workloads and budget.

The Ryzen 7 9800X3D is the clear champion for most users, particularly those prioritizing gaming performance and value. Its dominance in gaming performance, power efficiency, and pricing creates a compelling package that delivers exceptional results without unnecessary complexity. The single-CCD design eliminates the scheduling challenges that can plague dual-CCD configurations, making it the ideal choice for gamers who want maximum performance with minimal fuss.

On the other hand, the Ryzen 9 9950X3D remains the superior choice for a specific audience: professionals and content creators who demand both exceptional gaming performance and serious productivity capabilities. Its 16-core, 32-thread configuration provides superb multi-core performance that makes it the ultimate all-round CPU for users who refuse to compromise between gaming and professional workloads.

For the vast majority of gaming enthusiasts and high-performance PC builders, the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is the unequivocal recommendation and king of gaming value. It delivers virtually identical top-tier gaming performance to the 9950X3D while being significantly cheaper, more power-efficient, easier to cool, and less demanding on the supporting platform.

The Ryzen 9 9950X3D remains a formidable, niche processor, but its considerable price premium and higher platform costs are only justifiable for users who simultaneously require maximum gaming performance and very high levels of multi-threaded productivity performance on a daily basis."

https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/cpus/amd-ryzen-9-9950x3d-vs-amd-ryzen-7-9800x3d-faceoff

[Templar560]

Well thanks guys, I ended up going with the 99503XD as it will be a huge boost compared to my Ryzen 5. Loads of people said DCS runs fine and can decide which cores to use. As This is to futre proof things somewhat and also to make it Pimax Crystal Super ready, I think hopefully it will be the one to go for. I found a youtube vid on a big deep dive and it came out on top in every test. I'm sure there's good tutorials on Process Lasso if I need it and as someone said above, you can disable the function of it and stick it in Gaming Mode which will probably be fine. I do video editing and making for my team I'm in and sometimes I need multiple processes going on for that. So I rolled the dicve and we can see what happens! Thanks for all your input!