AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D

Dave James contemplates what it is to be the fastest.

- Dave James

96MB of cache can store a lot of config files.

SPECS

Socket: AM4

Process: TSMC 7nm FinFET

Cores: 8

Threads: 16

Clock: 3.4GHz (4.5GHz boost)

Cache: 512KB L1, 4MB L2, 96MB L3

Unlocked: No

GPU: N/A

Memory: 128GB max, DDR4-3200, two-channels, ECC support

PCle: v4.0 20 lanes

TDP: 105W

The Ryzen 7 5800X3D is architecturally identical to the standard Ryzen 7 5800X, using the same Zen 3 processor design, and therefore the same chiplet setup that's made AMD's recent generations of CPU such world-beaters. That means you're getting the same eight core, 16-thread layout in a single chiplet (so no potential inter-chiplet latency issues), but a slightly slower clock speed because of a necessarily lower voltage.

AMD is gambling on that lower operating frequency being a small price to pay in terms of gaming when it comes to bumping up the total L3 cache on offer from 32MB to 96MB. How does that all fit in, you ask? Using a new 3D packaging technique, the 5800X3D's compute chiplet, the Core Complex Die (CCD), has a new hat. It's a hat made of a lot of cache which is roughly half the areal size of the chip it's sat on top of, but contains twice the amount of L3 cache.