We know that AMD plans to release 3D V-cache equipped versions of some of its models. These will certainly provide improved gaming performance over non-3D Zen 4 models. Meanwhile, Chipzilla is rumoured to be fighting back with 6GHz speed improvements.

Leaker @Greymon55 suggests that Raphael-X (7000 series V-cache chips) will come ‘very quickly’ after the initial launch. The 5800X3D launched almost 18 months after the 5800X, so an early 2023 launch is possible. A launch in 2022 is unlikely as that would leave only three months after a September launch. AMD might pull finger on the release because Intel’s 13th Gen CPUs could be very competitive.

Another leaker @OneRaichu thinks that Intel’s Raptor Lake CPUs can clock very well. There’s the possibility that Intel will be able to release an SKU that can clock up to 6GHz. The Intel 7 process is now mature and given we saw the 12900KS clock at up to 5.5GHz(opens in new tab), some tweaks from Intel could conceivably stretch that to 6GHz for a hypothetical i9 13900KS.

What this means is that we are going to get two different design philosophies -- clocks and cache.

When looking at the Ryzen 7 5800X3D and the Core i9 12900K or KS, the AMD chip is the faster gaming CPU, even though its clocked lower than the regular 5800X. This means that some games benefit from shedloads of L3 cache.

But if Intel can add a few hundred MHz on top of that for a 13900K/KS as well as its expected architectural improvements and cache increases, then AMD could have a fight on its hands..

Much depends on issues like price, power efficiency, features, and performance in non-gaming applications. AMD might have an advantage when it comes to pushing up the numbers when it comes to adding GPUs too.