AMD's new Ryzen 7 9850X3D is up to 60% faster in gaming than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K

AMD has just introduced its new Ryzen 7 9850X3D processor at CES 2026, offering up to 60% more gaming performance than Intel's far more power-hungry Core Ultra 9 285K.

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The new Ryzen 7 9850X3D is now the (new) fastest gaming processor on the planet, with AMD also announcing the best gaming and creation processor -- the new Ryzen 9 9950X3D. AMD provided some in-house benchmarking comparing its new Ryzen 7 9850X3D against the Core Ultra 9 285K, where it comes out on top across the board.

The 8 cores and 16 threads of Zen 5 processing power comes with a beefier 5.6GHz CPU boost clock speed, the same 104MB of L2+L3 cache and 120W TDP, and on the current AM5 socket. The biggest difference between the 9800X3D and 9850X3D is the clock speed increase (5.2GHz versus 5.6GHz) giving it an even bigger edge over the 285K.

Starting with Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, the new 9850X3D is just 5% faster than the 285K, while there's a 12% improvement in Battlefield 6 performance over the 285K. Moving up to Cyberpunk 2077, the new 9850X3D is a more impressive 32% faster than the 285K, and Hogwarts Legacy is 46% faster.

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If you're pushing 600FPS or even pushing up to a new 1000Hz+ gaming monitor in the near future (there are some new ones unveiled at CES 2026 this week) then the 9850X3D running Counter-Strike 2 is a chunky 48% faster than the 285K, while lastly, Baldur's Gate 3 fans will be glad to hear you'll see a huge 60% more performance on the 9850X3D over the 285K.

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AMD also compares the 9800X3D and 9850X3D against the 285K, giving you a greater look at the performance difference the world's best gaming processors against Intel's best desktop gaming CPU. If you've got the 9800X3D, there's no reason to upgrade... however, if you have the 7800X3D and wanted an upgrade, here's your CPU.

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Another great comparison between the 9800X3D and 9850X3D against the 285K is the chart above, where it comes more games, including League of Legends, Starfield, GTA V, and more. AMD continues to kick gaming CPU ass with the 9800X3D and now 9850X3D processors.

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Another comparison from AMD includes productivity performance, comparing the 9800X3D and 9850X3D versus the 285K in tests like Cinebench R24, Geekbench, VRay, PCMark, and Puget Bench for Creators Photoshop. An impressive spread, where AMD dominates in Puget Bench wiht up to 32% more performance.

AMD's new Ryzen 7 9850X3D (8C/16T) and Ryzen 9 9950X3D (16C/32T) processors launch in Q1 2026, so we shouldn't have much longer to wait.