AMD Announces New CPUs for Gamers, Creators, and Beyond

mmorpg.com:

During its keynote address at CES this morning, AMD announced a number of new processors and — spoiler alert — many of them seem to directly target gamers. In addition to new GPUs and gaming technologies, which were also announced at the keynote, the company also announced the Ryzen Z2 processor line-up for PC gaming handhelds, bringing RDNA 3.5 performance to a new generation of portable gaming PCs.

Starting with the desktop world, the company is bringing a number of exciting processors for gamers, and you won't have long to wait if you're looking to pick up one for yourself. The 9950X3D and 9900X3D soupe up the original versions of these chips with the company's vertical cache design, decreasing latency and improving cooling for higher in-game frame rates. 

Compared to last generation's 7750X3D, AMD described an average improvement of 8% but with a span that ranged for identical performance to a massive 58% boost in Counter Strike 2. Compared to Intel's latest desktop CPU, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, that average jumps to an impressive 20% with an upper-range of 64% more FPS in Watch Dogs: Legion.

If you're more of a laptop gamer, there's something for you too. Coming in the first-half of 2025, the Ryzen 9 9955HX3D line will be debuting, followed by the Ryzen 9 9955HX and Ryzen 9 9850HX. The firm was mum on performance numbers, but we expect each to deliver impressive performance for gamers and content creators. 

Handhelds will also be getting a performance boost thanks to the new Ryzen Z2 line of processors. The top of the stack this generation is the Z2 Extreme, which will feature RDNA 3.5 graphics, eight cores and 16 threads, and 16  graphics cores. It will be accompanied by the Z2  and Z2 Go, which use RDNA 3. Having tested RDNA 3 in other handheld gaming PCs and RDNA 3.5 in laptop form with the company's Ryzen 9 AI HX370, these systems should allow for impressive native frame rates that get even more so with FSR and AFMF frame-generation.

CES has been packed