- AMD’s David McAfee has hinted that a Ryzen 5 9600X3D could be due later this year.
- This follows the launch of the Ryzen 7 7700X3D in response to pricing pressures.
- McAfee said: “We know the pressures on building systems are not going away anytime soon”
AMD appears to be planning a new addition to the current generation Zen 5 processor family in the form of a user-friendly 3D V-Cache (X3D) processor.
Tom’s Hardware spoke with AMD Vice President and General Manager of Ryzen CPU and Radeon Graphics, David McAfee, at Computex, and asked the executive why the company decided to launch a latest generation X3D chip rather than one from the Zen 5 line (Ryzen 9000).
The backdrop here is the Ryzen 7 7700X3D launch, which just happened, and Tom is basically wondering why Team Red didn’t go with a Ryzen 5 9600X3D.
McAfee responded that launching such a contemporary processor “could be something we look at doing…later this year.”
The exec explained: “I think for the rest of this year, I mean we’re still looking at ways to, you know, create as many options as possible, and that could become… maybe something that we’re looking at doing as a runway product later this year, just because you know we know that the pressures that exist in building systems are not going away anytime soon.”
Analysis: under pressure
Obviously, this is far from confirmation that AMD will produce a new, budget-friendly X3D chip for Zen 5, but the admission that it’s possible the CPU maker could start rolling such a product off the assembly lines is a nugget of hope that Team Red is still looking to ease further pressure on PC builders.
These days, building a new computer is a depressing task that involves purchasing various components, most of which have seen substantial price increases. (And the price increases for certain parts, notably RAM and storage, are astronomical in some cases). A wider choice of more affordable processors obviously won’t hurt those doing a DIY build, and besides, it will also help with pre-built computers, as another option for PC makers looking to build cheaper gaming rigs.
Of course, McAfee’s comments are not without concern, namely the occasional acknowledgment that “we know the pressures on building systems are not going away any time soon.” In other words, don’t expect PC component pricing pressures to ease for some time, and that’s a prediction that has been widely made elsewhere. Particularly recently by the major RAM chip manufacturers – with a particularly gloomy forecast.
Indeed, AMD CEO Lisa Su recently predicted that demand would decline on the consumer and gaming side for Team Red due to “higher memory and component costs” in the second half of 2026. Added to this is additional uncertainty around the global shipping situation, as continued disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz are now affecting the RAM supply chain in other ways.
Overall, the picture isn’t pretty, and we’ll take whatever relief we can get in terms of the prospect of more affordable components.
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