AMD Quietly Rolls Out A Budget Ryzen 3D V-Cache Gaming CPU For Older PCs
It's been nearly a year since we first spied a reference to an AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D processor, a chip that until now has not officially existed. That just changed, though, with AMD adding a product page to its CPU database, and with it comes confirmation of the full specifications. The only thing we don't know just yet is the price, though we can take an educated guess (more on that in a bit).
As you can glean by the model designation, this is a previous generation component based on AMD's Zen 3 architecture, and designed for the company's AM4 socket. What makes it especially interesting is that it's infused with AMD's 3D V-Cache technology, which as we've seen in other X3D chips, is capable of providing a tangible boost to games, even when paired with entry-level graphics.
To that end, the Ryzen 5 5500X3D officially qualifies as the lowest-end desktop X3D model in the entire 3D V-Cache stack, which spans both Zen 3 (Ryzen 5000X3D) and Zen 4 (Ryzen 7000X3D) series processors. So, what are we looking at for the specs? Here's a high-level breakdown...
- Architecture and socket: Zen 3, AM4
- Cores: 6
- Threads: 12
- Base clock: 3GHz
- Boost clock: up to 4GHz
- L2 cache: 3MB
- L3 cache: 96MB
- Default TDP: 105W
- Graphics: None
- Cooler: None
It's similar in makeup to the regular (read: non-X3D) Ryzen 5 5500 with the same core configuration, but it trades some raw speed for more cache. Specifically, the Ryzen 5 5500 has a 600MHz higher base clock (3.6GHz) and 200MHz higher max boost clock (4.2GHz), but a lot less L3 cache at 16MB. The regular variant also comes with a Wraith Stealth air cooler, whereas no cooler is provided with the Ryzen 5 5500X3D.
Why the difference in clock speeds? It comes down to product positioning, though it's also worth noting that the Ryzen 5 5500X3D is based on AMD's first-generation 3D V-Cache technology. AMD tweaked the design for Zen 4, or as AMD puts it, the company "turned the entire design on its head."
AMD means that quite literally, as its second-generation 3D V-Cache technology sees the extra cache die bonded to the bottom-side of the package, giving the CPU cores direct access to cooling. This change enabled AMD to hit higher clock speeds, and also support overclocking on its Ryzen 7000X3D chips.
It will be interesting to see if the Ryzen 5 5500X3D shows up in retail channels or ends up limited to system integrators. Related, AMD added a Ryzen 5 5600X3D to the mix in 2023, but it was only offered as a limited-time exclusive at Micro Center, where it sold for $229. Using that as a baseline, we suspect the Ryzen 5 5500X3D will check in at $199 or lower.
Hat tip to MEGAsizeGPU (@Zed__Wang) on X for spotting the Ryzen 5 5500X3D's entry on AMD's website.
