To make the most of AMD's 3D V-Cache technology, you'll need to play some games that can fully leverage the additional cache and other improvements over standard AMD Ryzen CPUs. I've been messing around with the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D inside my gaming rig, replacing the also brilliant Ryzen 9 9950X, to see how it impacts the games that I play. For a more in-depth look at the processor, I do highly recommend our Ryzen 9 9950X3D review, which also features some benchmarks, test runs, and plenty of graphs.

But should you simply wish to know about a few games that can fully leverage all the technologies available within the chip itself (as well as other X3D processors), here's a shortlist of PC titles you should ... shortlist yourself. I've finally got my hands on an AMD X3D processor and have been having an absolute blast.

World of Warcraft

Other MMORPGs apply

You'd think MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft would be more demanding on the GPU, but it's a mixed bag. In areas where not much is happening, you'll likely see your graphics card get hit more with the visuals, but as soon as other players are thrown into the mix and more stuff needs to be synchronized with the servers, your CPU quickly leaps into action. Having more cache at hand allows these massive multiplayer games to quickly store and access various data, allowing the game to stabilize frame rates and sort through everything that needs to be rendered on your system.

If you're planning to do some raiding and enjoy some LEEROY JEEEEENKINS moments, you'll want to ensure your CPU is up to the task, as well as the GPU. Other titles, including Guild Wars 2 and Final Fantasy XIV, will also tax your CPU hard with more populated areas.It's not for every MMORPG, however. I'm a huge fan of OldSchool RuneScape, though this old game doesn't need the advanced processing capabilities that the 9950X3D offers.

Factorio

The factory must grow

On the surface, Factorio may not seem like the type of game that requires a lot of processing power. It looks basic and is simply the player building out a bustling automated factory. But that's where you'd be mistaken. This is a colossal game, requiring the beefiest of systems to fully render later-stage factory builds. Each item you wish to build within Factorio has a recipe, which requires other parts, which in turn require other parts. I'm sure you can see where this is going. You may start small in Factorio, but things quickly escalate, and so does the demand on your CPU.

It's such an impressively addictive game, starting from scratch with nothing but a few tools and your wits. It takes a matter of minutes to get an automated mining operation up and running, but from there, the game completely opens u,p and you'll spend hours and hours perfecting your throughput. With the 9950X3D, I noticed larger save games running considerably better over the non-X3D version of the chip, which is a testament to how well AMD designed these CPUs, the binning process, and how games can leverage the additional cache.

Microsoft Flight Simulator

Take to the skies

Microsoft Flight Simulator is one of the best games to sit back, fetch your favorite HOTAS, and take to the skies in your favorite jumbo jet or small prop. Although breathtakingly stunning throughout with an accurate recreation of our humble abode, this game is also incredibly taxing on your CPU. Even if you're rocking an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090, if your CPU isn't up to the task, you'll encounter sub-par performance throughout your flight sim experience. This is where the mighty AMD X3D processors come into play, and they make a huge difference.

The latest version of Microsoft Flight Simulator is more multi-core friendly, which should unlock better performance across a wide range of chips, but you'll still notice a notable uplift in frame rates using an X3D processor.

Baldur's Gate 3

Form the ultimate party

Baldur's Gate 3 was one of the biggest game launches for 2023. It's amazing to think that almost two years have passed since this masterpiece arrived. What was also incredible was how demanding this game is on modern systems. If your CPU isn't up to scruff, you'll need to turn down some settings, even if your GPU is raring to go. The CPU is responsible for >handling all the artificial intelligence (AI) for many non-player characters (NPCs) in crowded areas, which can quickly get out of hand when multiple characters need valuable resources.

Using a mighty X3D CPU such as the 9950X3D, you'll have plenty of cache and specifically designed cores to handle intensive workloads such as advanced lighting and physics. Baldur's Gate 3 is a superb game and one that almost commands a capable setup to truly enjoy it as Larian Studios intended.

Escape From Tarkov

And escape the frames

Escape From Tarkov is a punishing and unique gameplay experience, making it one of the best multiplayer tactical first-person shooter video games of recent years. Although it came out in 2017, the game remains quite the CPU-intensive storm and can easily play havoc on more powerful systems. This is because Escape From Tarkov is notoriously difficult to run at consistently high framerates. Most modern setups can run the game at a playable level, but some maps in particular (Streets of Tarkov, specifically) can be a challenge for even high-end rigs.

The X3D platform made the game smooth as butter, and the 9950X3D (and other 9000 series X3D CPUs) blows the brakes off everything else. We've found improvements across the board when running the game on X3D CPUs compared to normal Ryzen processors. If you're a fan of the game with hundreds of hours clocked, it may be time to upgrade to take your gameplay to the next level.

X4: Foundations

Simulating a universe

This huge space trading and combat simulator from German developer Egosoft is quite the visual spectacle. If you're a fan of space games and wish for something that fuses EVE Online, Elite Dangerous, and Star Citizen into a single-player affair, look no further than X4: Foundations. The CPU has to simulate the entire universe; every ship has a purpose, from trading wares between stations to forming attack groups to regain lost territories. The large game is demanding from the outset, and the impressive cache with X3D CPUs helps immensely.

Swapping from the 9950X to 9950X3D saw a notable immediate gain in FPS both in the cockpit and in the map screen, which is used to command ships in the latter stages of the game and can grind to a almost halt. I previously saw between 70 and 100 FPS with the 9950X, dropping to around 50 in the map, to a consistently higher than 100 FPS experience, and only a slight drop with the map open. This was the first game I launched using the CPU and was my "Oh, I get it now." moment.

Plenty of other games work well, too

The best part about the 9950X3D and other X3D processors from AMD is that you can otherwise use them as normal chips. If the game you're currently running doesn't really take advantage of beefier cache or has better multi-core support, you'll still see some excellent performance, but just not quite the upgrades we've noted in these listed titles. Still, it's always worth trying, especially if the game relies on the CPU for anything. I'm a huge fan of Cyberpunk 2077 and found it enjoyable to have the extra cache available for populating Night City. Check the above chart to see the stable framerate from our testing.