The AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX3D: A Sneak Peek

The AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX3D is an upcoming laptop CPU that boasts 64 MB of L3 3D V-Cache and is equipped with 16 Zen 5 cores that can reach speeds of up to 5.4 GHz. Although an official retail launch date for the 995HX3D has not been announced, tech publication Hot Hardware has released some early benchmarks of this new Ryzen 9 CPU, showcasing impressive performance capabilities that are expected to deliver excellent gaming experiences.

The test system used by Hot Hardware was the MSI Raider A18HX, which pairs the AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX3D with up to 64 GB of RAM and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 or 5090. According to CPU-Z screenshots provided by Hot Hardware, the 9955HX3D is set to run at 55 W, although it has the potential to reach up to 75 W TDP. Hot Hardware observed that the 9955HX3D achieved clock speeds of up to 5194.88 MHz on two cores, with one core reaching 5139.98 MHz, while the remaining cores operated below the 2 GHz mark when not under load.

Although direct gaming benchmarks were not possible due to release embargoes, Hot Hardware conducted tests using Cinebench, PCMark 10, and Geekbench, including Geekbench AI. The results were impressive, with the 9955HX3D scoring a remarkable 2094 in Cinebench 2024 multicore, surpassing the AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX from the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 by 20% according to Hot Hardware's benchmark charts. However, in Geekbench 6 and UL PCMark 10, the 9955HX3D fell slightly behind the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 in both benchmarks. Notably, the Ryzen AI Max+ 395 outperformed the 9955HX3D by as much as 48% in Geekbench 6.

Despite some variations in multicore benchmark results, the AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX3D excelled in tests focusing on single-core performance. In Cinebench 2024, the 9955HX3D achieved an impressive single-core score of 129 points, second only to Apple's M3 Max SoC in the MacBook Pro 16. In Geekbench 6, the 9955HX3D scored 3165 points, narrowly edging out the trailing Apple M3 Max, which scored 3161 points in the same test. The combination of strong single- and multi-core performance indicates that the AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX3D is poised to be a high-performing gaming CPU when it becomes available in gaming notebooks later this year.

Furthermore, the outlook for regular productivity workflows appears promising, as X3D CPUs like the 9955HX3D have historically faced challenges due to lower core clocks compared to their non-X3D counterparts.