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At CES 2025, AMD executives said demand for the Ryzen 7 9800X3D had exceeded expectations, with Frank Azor pointing to Intel’s Arrow Lake CPUs as part of the competitive backdrop. AMD also said the processor’s multi-stage 3D V-Cache manufacturing process made a quick supply ramp difficult. Those comments explain AMD’s view of the shortage reported in January 2025; they do not establish that Arrow Lake caused it or that a shortage persists today.
What AMD said about Arrow Lake and demand
During a CES 2025 roundtable in Las Vegas, a reporter asked AMD executives about continuing shortages of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D and when supply might improve. Tom’s Hardware reported the exchange on January 9, 2025. AMD said demand had run ahead of its forecast, and Azor connected that surprise in part to the competing Intel product.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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AMD RYZEN 7 9800X3D 8-Core, 16-Thread Desktop Processor | $411.00 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D 16-Core Processor | $689.43 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 8-Core, 16-Thread Desktop Processor | $359.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
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AMD Ryzen™ 7 9850X3D Desktop Processor | $484.00 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
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AMD Ryzen™ 7 9700X 8-Core, 16-Thread Unlocked Desktop Processor | $289.99 | Buy on Amazon |
Azor quipped: “We knew we built a great part. We didn’t know the competitor [Intel] had built a horrible one.” He added, “So the demand has been a little higher than we forecasted.” The bracketed identification of Intel appeared in the published quotation. “Horrible” was Azor’s competitive jab, not an independent technical assessment of Arrow Lake.
AMD executive David McAfee separately called demand for the 9800X3D and 7800X3D “unprecedented.” These are AMD executives’ accounts of demand, not published market-wide sales figures or proof that Intel’s launch caused the supply constraint. Tom’s Hardware’s CES 2025 report and PCWorld’s January 9, 2025 coverage reported the remarks.
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- The world’s fastest gaming processor, built on AMD ‘Zen5’ technology and Next Gen 3D V-Cache.
- 8 cores and 16 threads, delivering +~16% IPC uplift and great power efficiency
- 96MB L3 cache with better thermal performance vs. previous gen and allowing higher clock speeds, up to 5.2GHz
- Drop-in ready for proven Socket AM5 infrastructure
- Cooler not included
Why AMD said supply could not ramp quickly
McAfee described a production chain involving separate compute-die and cache-wafer work, followed by stacking to add 3D V-Cache. He said AMD had increased monthly and quarterly output of Ryzen 7000X3D and 9000X3D processors, but that the combined manufacturing lead time made a fast increase difficult.
“Building a traditional semiconductor, it’s basically 12 to 13 weeks from when you start a wafer to when you get a product out the other end of the machine,” McAfee said, as quoted by Tom’s Hardware. He said the 3D V-Cache stacking step adds time, leaving the X3D ramp longer than a quarter. He did not identify one component or production stage as the bottleneck; his explanation was the cumulative time required to make the dies and complete stacking.
Rank #2
- AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D Gaming and Content Creation Processor
- Max. Boost Clock : Up to 5.7 GHz; Base Clock: 4.3 GHz
- Form Factor: Desktops , Boxed Processor
- Architecture: Zen 5; Former Codename: Granite Ridge AM5
McAfee also said demand for eight-core X3D processors was much stronger than for higher-core-count X3D models, describing the preference as “10-to-1.” That was his qualitative comparison in the interview, not a disclosed audited sales ratio.
What the shortage report does—and does not—establish
The 9800X3D is an eight-core, 16-thread desktop CPU with a 120W TDP. Tom’s Hardware listed its launch MSRP as $479 in the US and £449 in the UK; those are launch-era figures, not current prices. Its January 2025 availability report also showed Amazon as unavailable in a retailer table last checked January 14, 2025. That dated listing is not evidence of present stock, price, seller, or delivery time. Tom’s Hardware’s availability report provides that historical context.
Rank #3
- Processor provides dependable and fast execution of tasks with maximum efficiency.Graphics Frequency : 2200 MHZ.Number of CPU Cores : 8. Maximum Operating Temperature (Tjmax) : 89°C.
- Ryzen 7 product line processor for better usability and increased efficiency
- 5 nm process technology for reliable performance with maximum productivity
- Octa-core (8 Core) processor core allows multitasking with great reliability and fast processing speed
- 8 MB L2 plus 96 MB L3 cache memory provides excellent hit rate in short access time enabling improved system performance
The evidence supports a narrow conclusion: in January 2025, AMD attributed unexpectedly strong demand partly to Intel’s competing Arrow Lake generation and said X3D manufacturing lead times slowed the supply response. It does not show how much Arrow Lake contributed, quantify a market-wide shortage, or establish whether the 9800X3D is scarce now. A buyer comparing the processors should use current independent reviews that identify games and workloads, test systems, software versions, prices, and platform requirements rather than treating Azor’s remark as a benchmark result.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to read AMD’s performance comparison
AMD also published a partner comparison positioning the 9800X3D against Intel Core Ultra 9 285K. Because it is vendor-authored material, it is not an independent resolution of the gaming-performance debate. Any performance figure should be read with its specific games, resolution, graphics card, memory, power settings, BIOS and software versions, and test date. AMD’s comparison document is the source for that vendor material.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- This dominant gaming processor can deliver fast 100+ FPS performance in the world's most popular games
- 8 Cores and 16 processing threads, based on AMD "Zen 5" architecture
- 5.5 GHz Max Boost, unlocked for overclocking, 40 MB cache, DDR5-5600 support
- For the state-of-the-art Socket AM5 platform, can support PCIe 5.0 on select motherboards
- Cooler not included
Rank #4
- AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D Desktop Processor
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