In a somewhat unusual move, AMD has decided to breathe some new life into the AM4 socket by releasing the Ryzen 5 5600X3D – a new(ish) budget gaming CPU that will boost your frame rates using stacked cache memory.
Ryzen 5 5600X3D Specifications
| Ryzen 5 5600X3D | Ryzen 5 5600X | Ryzen 7 5800X3D | Ryzen 7 5800X | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Architecture/ Family | Zen 3/ Vermeer | Zen 3/ Vermeer | Zen 3/ Vermeer | Zen 3/ Vermeer |
| Production Process | 7nm | 7nm | 7nm | 7nm |
| Cores/Threads | 6/12 | 6/12 | 8/16 | 8/16 |
| Base Clock | 3.3 GHz | 3.7 GHz | 3.4 GHz | 3.8 GHz |
| Boost Clock | 4.4 GHz | 4.6 GHz | 4.5 GHz | 4.7 GHz |
| L2 cache | 6× 512 KB | 6× 512 KB | 8× 512 KB | 8× 512 KB |
| L3 cache | 96 MB | 32 MB | 96 MB | 32 MB |
| RAM Support | DDR4-3200 | DDR4-3200 | DDR4-3200 | DDR4-3200 |
| Unlocked | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Socket | AM4 | AM4 | AM4 | AM4 |
| Boxed w/ Cooler | No | No | No | No |
| TDP | 105 W | 65 W | 105 W | 105 W |
Rumors about a potential Ryzen 5 5600X3D have circulated for a couple of weeks and they turned out to be accurate. Just like the new Ryzen 9 7950X3D and Ryzen 7 7800X3D Ryzen (as well as the older Ryzen 7 5800X3D sister model) the ‘X3D’ suffix means that the CPU has been equipped with additional L3 cache memory using the 3D V-Cache technology.
The Ryzen 5 5600X3D comes with 96 MB of L3 cache, which is the same amount as its 8-core sibling. However, the core count is reduced to 6 cores and 12 threads in line with other Ryzen 5 desktop CPUs. As was also predicted by the rumor mill, the base and turbo clock frequencies are 3.3 and 4.4 GHz, respectively, i.e. 100 MHz less than the Ryzen 7 5800X3D.
On the other hand, it comes with the same 105 Watt TDP as the higher-end model and this is up from the vanilla 5600X’s 65 W. Like the Ryzen 7 5800X3D models, the 5600X3D will not feature an unlocked multiplier, making it difficult if not impossible to overclock the CPU.
Based on the substantial performance boost seen with other X3D processors, the Ryzen 5 5600X3D nevertheless looks like a very attractive upgrade for previous-gen systems. Owners of an existing AMD system based on an X570 or B550 motherboard get an affordable option to boost gaming performance, without having to replace anything else. You only need to upgrade the BIOS to a version that supports the new processor.
AMD’s decision to only allow DDR5 on the current AM5 platform has increased the overall cost of upgrading, not least because you have to spend more on new RAM, but also because it tends to make motherboards more expensive. Even budget B650 boards are quite pricey compared to the B550 generation.
Unfortunately (depending on where you live), the new Ryzen 5 5600X3D appears to be a one-off exclusive to US-based brick-and-mortar retailer Micro Center. It will thus not be available online even to US residents, and it is unclear at this time whether it will be available in other regions.
