AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D: Performance Analysis and Sample PCs

Just two weeks ago we had released a special on the occasion of the availability of several new AMD Socket AM4 processors, about CPUs for gaming PCs. The Ryzen 7 5800X3D is now also available, which has a special feature that could make a new star in the firmament of gaming CPUs shine particularly brightly. A small tweak in the architecture potentially gives an advantage that could particularly come into its own in games, since the delay in some arithmetic operations is further minimized. In our special, we will clarify whether this is the case and whether the Ryzen 7 5800X3D might even be the new top gaming CPU.

Aside from the performance, there is also the question of the price/performance ratio. Because a CPU that, for example, brings 10 percent more FPS in games than the best CPU to date, but is then three times as expensive, makes little sense. Since we already explained many general tips on buying a CPU two weeks ago, apart from the performance question about the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, instead of repeating all the tips, we offer you three alternative compilations for gaming PCs with the new Ryzen as a basis, which you can use as a you will find at the end of the special on the last page.

Ryzen 7 5800X3D: technology and the new 3D cache

AMD developed the Ryzen 7 5800X3D primarily for gamers. The main focus is on the level 3 cache. AMD increases this from 32 to 96 megabytes. But before we explain this in more detail, in the following table we have prepared some of the technology of the new CPU as well as two other Ryzen CPUs and also a Core i9 from the Intel competition as an overview:

But what does the new 3D cache bring? Games often involve a large number of different, but small, tasks and scraps of data, so that the extra cache memory alone can make a positive difference here. So far, more than eight cores (16 threads) have not brought any advantage in games, so that the plus in cache alone could ensure that the new Ryzen could have an advantage over a Ryzen 9.

However, the clock rates of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D are again slightly lower than the normal 5800X. But the arrangement of the cache is also new and promises advantages – normally the filigree individual components of a CPU are soldered or glued together, which is why the contact points for the data are more on the sides of the components. AMD is now using physical forces that hold two very smooth surfaces together without any additional means, allowing the additional 64 megabyte cache to be placed on top of the previous 32 megabyte cache.

Put simply, the data can now flow up and down almost unhindered, instead of having to first reach any solder joints across the surface of the cache. This should give another small boost in terms of latencies. So the data flows start a little earlier, which can have a similar effect to a ping improvement in an online game. Each individual calculated image in a game can therefore be completed a bit earlier.