AMD’s older AM4 platform has been around since 2016, and it’s a socket that AMD has promised to support “for many years.” We thought we’d say goodbye to AM4 forever, but a new leak says AMD has two new 3D V-Cache chips in the works, namely the Ryzen 7 5700X3D and the Ryzen 5 5500X3D. If the rumor is to be believed, AMD may not be done with AM4 yet, which is great news for those hoping to avoid having to upgrade their entire PC to get the latest performance. Will have to.
according to user @g01d3nm4ng0 on Twitter, the new chips will offer the same massive L3 cache we’ve come to expect from AMD’s X3D chips, making them solid choices for gamers on a budget. No one expected AMD to keep releasing new versions of the last generation chips more than a year after the launch of Ryzen 7000, and yet, it looks like they’re getting by.
At the moment, we don’t know much about these new processors, although the leaker has shed some light on potential specs. The Ryzen 7 5700X3D is said to come with eight cores and 16 threads, a maximum clock speed of 4.1GHz and a 3.0GHz base speed, and 96MB of L3 cache. The Ryzen 5 5500X3D has the same cache size, but only has six cores and 12 threads, as well as a maximum frequency of 4GHz.
The Ryzen 7 5700X3D is close in specs to the 5800X3D, and the latter is still one of the fastest gaming CPUs. Core counts are similar, and clock speeds are relatively comparable, as the 5800X3D maxes out at 4.5GHz. The 5500X3D falls short by only having six cores, but if it does release, it should still be a fast CPU with that huge cache and high boost clock.
This wouldn’t be the first time that AMD is revisiting an old platform. It recently released the Microcenter-exclusive Ryzen 5 5600X3D, which allows for a cheaper upgrade path, but the fact that it’s a limited edition has made it harder for many PC builders to obtain.
Choosing to build a PC based on AM4 right now is a bit controversial, as the platform was believed to be dead – but it has its benefits. It’s much cheaper due to the more affordable motherboard and DDR4 RAM, while AMD’s latest AM5 socket requires DDR5 RAM and a motherboard that starts at $100 (and, realistically, if you want a good model, It costs around $200).
For gamers who don’t want to spend much, the 5800X3D and its less efficient siblings are a great way to get a solid CPU that won’t need an upgrade for a few years. Unlike Intel and Nvidia, as AMD often tries to appeal to the mainstream portion of the market, it makes sense that it would still want to use those remaining last-generation chips and give gamers more upgrade options if they want to now. Also on AM4 platform.
At the moment, we are left with more questions than answers. Will the Ryzen 7 5700X3D and Ryzen 5 5500X3D actually be released, and if so, when? How much will they cost, and will they be as hard to get as the 5600X3D? If this is true, we’ll be hearing more about it in the next few months, so stay tuned.