AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D review

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Conclusion

Final Words 

If any processor would have been called a special edition, it could be the 5800X3D. It's the duplicate 5800X proc, interlinked with an additional 64MB of L3 cache offering you more game performance. It ends there though, as normal applications do not seem to be thrilled or excited by that big whopper of an L3 cache. That's okay though as the proc solely addresses gamers and costs the same as the original 5800X launch price, 449 USD. The sole reason for the existence of the X3D processor is Intel with their Alder lake procs, and the hybrid chiplets nature of Ryzen processors make all this possible as the infrastructure is there. Realistically Alder lake offers slightly better gaming perf when it got released, and that gaming throne was something that AMD would like to get back. And they did. 

Price and value

The price premium for Series 5000 processors is a little icky; it does differentiate and isn't cannibalizing the current Ryzen 5000 series, I guess. You can purchase (we hope) the 5800X3D at $449,- and please do understand that if it is priced higher, wait until prices settle when there is good volume availability. It's crazy what etailer dare to ask these days. That said, you'll achieve comparable gaming performance at 12900K performance levels, that's a processor you can grab for roughly 600 USD/EUR. Of course, 12700 / 12600 should not be ruled out as competing offers either. 
 
 
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Gaming performance

The big L3 cache helps AMD get back in the saddle compared to Alder lake. Albeit both have some wins and losses we do need to realize that this proc is competing with the Intel flagship processor. We state this in all our Ryzen 5000 reviews, but individual wins per brand and processor segmentation (mainstream, high-end, and enthusiast) are a real thing. So that means that with a mighty graphics card, this processor on average can feed frames as fast as Intel's equivalent. Realistically though at six cores, your gaming experience will already be great, we feel that 8-cores is the norm these days for a properly nice gaming PC and overall PC desktop. It also has to be stated, that for the L3 cache that poses restrictions on the CPU, a 400 MHz lower base and 200 MHz lower boost clock and lacking PBO will lower your overall performance by give or take 5%. It's not something you'd likely notice in real-world usage, but still, it's a fact we need to share.

DDR4 Memory

Short answer, with up to 4000 MHz DDR4 memory, you're good/optimal to go. Memory compatibility should not and likely will not be an issue as long as you stick to recently released DIMMs. I'll keep reiterating this, but there are some good Ryzen optimized kits out there. With ZEN3, you can go higher in DDR4 clock frequency if you want to. We stick to our advice that you are good to go with up to 3600 MHz and CL14 or CL16 or lower. If you want to go a notch higher, up to 4000 MHz is what you could do best. After that frequency, a 2:1 divider kicks on the interconnect that will affect the Infinity Fabric bandwidth; even then, the perf differential would be modest but optimal up-to 4000 MHz, the best bang for buck = 3600 MHz. Oh, and yes, lower latency memory is always better, e.g., CL14, but more expensive.

Energy efficiency

These processors are fabbed at 7nm; you may see some exceptional energy efficiency; the 105 Watts listed for the 5800X3D, 5900X, and 5950X was not necessarily something we could measure anywhere and thus remains relative; of course, that is marvelous all by itself. The Ryzen 7 5800X, is a 105W TDP based processor. And albeit TDP is a rather fluent thing these days, that remains impressive. Due to the lower base and boost clock, this proc is even a little more energy-friendly, the L3 cache apparently uses very little energy. 

Conclusion

AMD announced the start of the final phase of the 'Zen 3' era with the introduction of a new Ryzen 5000 series CPUs for April. The company announced seven CPUs, including the Ryzen 7 5800X3D. This octa-core processor is effectively a rebranded Ryzen 7 5800X with added L3 cache.  The Ryzen 7 5800X3D has a 96MB L3 cache, up from 32MB on the previous Ryzen 7 5800X. AMD claimed that the new CPU boosts gaming performance considerably over the previous generation by leveraging more cache capacity. And that is a true fact. You do need to realize we tested with a GeForce RTX 3090, and that means the performance differentials will be much smaller with more mainstream graphics cards, as there the GPU is the main bottleneck. At 449 USD AMD has  a very sound processor that can keep up with the flagship 12900K on a gaming level, everywhere else in applications wise the 12900K is the faster product (at a higher price). Our general rule of thumb; your purchasing choices need to be based on the budget you are willing to spend and, of course, the workloads that you have in mind. Given that the Ryzen 7 5800X is currently available for as cheap as $359, the street price difference is around $100, plus the cost of a CPU cooler. Is the performance improvement significant enough to justify an upgrade? Difficult huh?, based on the benchmark results, the X3D proc appears to be a very capable gaming CPU. However, unless you're looking for the very greatest performance for a high-performance setup, we believe the Ryzen 7 5800X is still a good deal at $359. Additionally, AMD's new Ryzen 7000 series processors will be available in a few months and will harbor new Zen architecture, as well as considerable performance enhancements and new capabilities. Seen overall, ZEN3 IPC, simply put, makes everything faster. That goes from browsing Guru3D towards editing in photoshop to gaming. As such, it's difficult to argue this processor series however we feel a 6-core 5600X or 8-core 5800X are sweet spot procs to get. The 5800X3D does forfeit on overall application performance ranging anywhere from 2 to 7% based on application. For unleashed gaming the 5800X3D is a true of a gem, though that being said, the lack of options for overclocking is a bit of a bummer. However, we've been saying this for a long time now;  Intel and AMD have been optimizing their chips so completely that there's little overhead room left for overclockers. The performance benefits from the ultra-low latency cache should more than makeup for the lack of overclocking options for the vast majority of users. Initially, when we started reviewing the 5800X3D we felt this processor to be a bit of a gimmick, a quick answer to Intels Alder lake Gaming performance. It however does work extremely well for gaming and isn't priced too high. Personally, I'd be more inquisitive about the next generation ZEN4 processors and the actual innovation we're seeing with this newly added L3 Cache as technology in future products. The biggest downside is timing, the release of this processor is late, very late as anyone interested in ZEN3 will already have upgraded a long time ago. But for now, if you need a super-fast gaming processor to pair with a super-fast graphics card, this will be an excellent alternative to purchase. 


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