After a long wait, the Ryzen 9 9950X3D has finally been officially launched, serving as a strategic product in AMD's flagship X3D CPU series. "Team Red" confidently advertises this as the most comprehensive processor for both gaming and work. This statement is not without basis because in some early third-party tests, the Ryzen 9 9950X3D has achieved a score of 9/10 thanks to its impressive overall performance.
AMD also discussed new features added to its latest chipset driver, including a utility that eliminates the need to reinstall Windows after changing CPUs. The driver also fixes a VBS-related issue on Windows 10.
Speaking of VBS, this setting is one of the main highlights in CPU benchmarking guides in general. AMD recommends third-party units test the Ryzen 9 9950X3D with VBS enabled, as this is also Microsoft's recommendation:
“To comply with Microsoft guidelines, AMD recommends enabling VBS (which is enabled by default). The benchmarks published in this guide were performed with VBS enabled, so please enable VBS if you want to use this data for testing. While not recommended, if you choose to disable VBS, it is best to disable it in the BIOS, not in software.”
It's worth noting that AMD's test OS required Windows 11 version 23H2 or 24H2, and VBS is not enabled by default nor is it recommended to be enabled on Windows 10. However, the feature is known to cause performance degradation, and in a new test, both the Ryzen 9 9950X3D and the previously released Ryzen 7 9800X3D performed worse on Windows 11.
What is VBS?
VBS (Virtualization-based Security), also known as Core Isolation, is a Windows security feature that uses the Windows hypervisor and hardware-based virtualization to create an isolated environment, protecting against malicious code that could potentially harm the system kernel. Security is also the reason why Microsoft recommends users upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11 via a clean install.
Performance testing
The test was conducted by YouTube channel Tech YES City, and the results show that the settings recommended by Microsoft are not the most optimal for gaming. For example, in Fortnite, performance on Windows 10 is 18% better than on Windows 11 (with VBS enabled).
What's even more interesting is that Windows 10 still has the advantage even with VBS disabled on Windows 11. Although the gap has narrowed, Windows 10 still leads by about 9.25%.
A similar trend is observed in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 and other titles, although not at the same demanding level as in Fortnite.
AMD and Intel - “Team Red” and “Team Blue”, the world's two leading semiconductor chip manufacturers, who have been sworn enemies, always competing with each other on all fronts in the “x86 arms race” for many years, have suddenly recently turned from enemies to friends.
Last month, AMD released a new version of Ryzen Master, an application that helps tweak and overclock Ryzen and Threadripper-branded processors.
In its new UEFI support document, AMD states that Radeon GPUs from the 9000 series onwards will only officially support UEFI mode.
It seems like AMD is trying to raise market expectations for the upcoming MI325X processor.
Intel has reportedly lost the race to supply processors for Sony's next-generation gaming console, the PlayStation 6.
At this year's CES 2025 event, AMD refrained from revealing long-awaited details about its new flagship Radeon RX 9070 XT GPU, which is built on the RDNA 4 architecture.
AMD Strix Point laptop users will now get a new feature called Variable Graphics Memory.
There have been a lot of rumors lately that AMD seems to be planning to withdraw from the GPU market.
AMD has finally announced the release date and pricing of its highly anticipated Ryzen 9000X3D processors.
MD has officially confirmed for the first time that it is working on the next generation version of its Z-series handheld gaming CPU, called the Z2 Extreme.
With the unimpressive performance of recent CPU generations, Intel seems to be losing popularity in the Chinese market, where rival AMD is increasingly gaining popularity.
Back in December 2023, AMD introduced the Ryz 8040 (Hawk Point) series mobile APUs, while also revealing a few brief details about the next-generation Strix Point series.
After a long wait, AMD has finally announced the official launch date of its first new desktop CPU line developed on the Zen 5 architecture: Ryzen 9000.
Unlike its desktop CPU division, AMD's GPU business can't seem to agree on how to name its commercial discrete cards.
After a long wait, the first major update of Windows 11 has officially been released.
The Unhandled exception has occurred error is not related to a specific application, making it more difficult to resolve. This article will guide you through some ways to fix the Unhandled exception has occurred error on Windows 10.
These days, most PCs and Apple devices can handle both MOV and MP4 files, at least to some extent. However, the need to convert MOV video files to MP4 files has not diminished.
Recognizing this need, major online messaging services use a technique called end-to-end encryption, to secure and protect users' conversations.
Setting up multiple monitors on Windows is quite simple and only takes a few minutes to do. After setting up multi-monitor mode (multiple screens), you can set up separate wallpapers for each screen. To do this, please refer to the article below from WebTech360.
Hidden deep within Windows is a world of command lines that few people know about. In this article, we will guide you on how to fix errors and make your computer more secure using the cmd command line tool.
Instructions on how to enter BIOS on Windows 10 for you, with video illustration.
Clipchamp is the default video editor on Windows 11, but if you just need to make a quick cut, split a simple photo, or add music to a clip, the classic editor inside the Photos Legacy app is a much better choice.
Save images from the login screen, download Windows 10 lock screen images to keep the images you like or set them as your computer wallpaper. Here is the most detailed way to download images from Windows Spotlight for you.
Windows 11 has a feature that adds an End Task button directly on the Taskbar, so you don't have to access Task Manager to close unresponsive applications.
This article will guide you through the ways to enable Bluetooth on Windows 11 to connect to wireless accessories with just a few simple steps.
Sometimes, you just can't find an external hard drive when you need it most. After losing important files a few times, some people have found a simple and reliable way to back up everything, even when the hard drive is unavailable.
The methods in this article will help you hide or protect Windows folders from prying eyes.
Most Windows errors occur after you log in to your computer. However, the User Profile Service Failed the Logon error doesn't allow you to log in at all, which is why it's harder to fix than other Windows errors.
Windows 10 has just three months left until support ends. In October 2025, the operating system will receive its final update, ending its 10-year lifecycle.
