Hardware modders already have the next AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU in their possession after de-lidding (removing the inbuilt heatspreader, or IHS) the chip to expose its interior. Unlike the 7800X3D (second picture, below), the CCD appears plain in the 9800X3D de-lidded picture, with no obvious L3D on top. There have been rumors that AMD changed the placement of the 3D V-cache die (L3D) and CPU complex die (CCD) with the 9000X3D series. The L3D is now on top of the CCD, while the L3D is on the bottom.

The L3D is placed on top of the CCD in earlier generations of X3D processors, like the 7800X3D and the 5800X3D. Structural silicon is responsible for the vital function of transmitting heat from the CPU cores to the IHS. Better CPU core thermals should result from this stacking inversion; the 9800X3D boosting behavior should resemble that of non-X3D processors, like the 9700X. AMD has assigned a 5.20 GHz boost clock and 120 W TDP to the 9800X3D. The reason for AMD’s “X3D Reimagined” teaser text is most likely this inversion of the CCD and L3D stacking.