AMD's next mobile chipset promises to provide faster 3D rendering than Apple's M4 Pro

AMD made a bold statement at CES 2025 by revealing the "world's best" processors in their respective categories: the Ryzen 9 9950X3D and the Ryzen AI 300 Series. Putting all hyperbole aside, these chipsets could blow users away if the preliminary test results are to be believed.

Also: CES 2025: What is it, what to expect, and how to tune in

Starting with the former, the Ryzen 9 9950X3D is the company's newest gaming processor. It has 16 "Zen 5" processing cores and 144MB total cache for top-class performance. Users can boost its clock speed up to a whopping 5.7 GHz. AMD states that the 9950X3D is, on average, 8% faster than the older Ryzen 9 7950X3D, which is already a "monster of a processor." 

Outside of gaming, the Ryzen 9 9950X3D excels in content creation, too, being reportedly 13% faster than the 7950X3D when rendering, editing, and extracting large files. AMD's hardware is set to launch in the first quarter of 2025 alongside the Ryzen 9 990X3D. This second model has similar specifications, albeit with 12 processing cores, 140MB total cache, and a max clock speed of 5.5 GHz. Pricing for both has yet to be released.

For laptops, the company has the "Fire Range" HX3D series of mobile processors. This consists of the Ryzen 9 9850HX at the low end, the mid-range Ryzen 9955HX, and the Ryzen 9 9955XH3D. That final entry is the most powerful of the trio, sporting a nearly identical spec spread as the 9950X3D, although its max clock speed peaks at 5.4 Ghz and demands less energy. The Fire Range will roll out within the first half of 2025.

Also: What is an AI PC exactly? And should you buy one in 2025?

The Ryzen AI 300 Series is more for work laptops, opting for longevity instead of sheer power. According to the test results, the Ryzen AI 7 350 consists of eight processing cores and 16 CPU threads with a maximum clock boost of up to 5.0 GHz. The Ryzen AI 7 Pro, interestingly enough, has identical specs to the base model.

We would love to know what differences the supposedly "stronger" version offers. Right now, AMD keeps things under wraps. The base AI 300 series will launch in Q1 2025, while the Pro models will roll out in Q2 2025.

Also: The best laptops for video editing: Expert tested

AMD also unveiled the Ryzen AI Max series of processors, which will power high-end laptops and mini workstations. The company says the flagship Ryzen AI Max Plus 395 chipset offers 2.2 times "faster AI performance" than the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 GPU and better 3D rendering than Apple's M4 Pro. 

To mirror what we said earlier, those are bold claims. Granted, it may be possible. The Ryzen AI Max Plus 395 has 16 processing cores, 32 threads, and 40 graphics cores. Of course, we'll have to wait until the AI Max series launches in Q2 2025 to know for sure.