AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D Review: 3D V-Cache Powers a New Gaming Champion
Tom’s Hardware Verdict
If you have a taste for higher-end fare and a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D is an impressive chip that delivers leading-edge gaming performance and leaves room for future GPU upgrades, making it the best CPU at its price point for gaming-focused rigs.
Pros
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The fastest gaming CPU money can buy
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Competitive price
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Support for PCIe 4.0
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Compatible with AM4 motherboards
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Passable single- and multi-threaded performance
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Low power consumption
Cons
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No overclocking support
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No bundled cooler
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No integrated graphics
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Not as strong as competing chips in desktop PC applications
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The battle for gaming supremacy between Intel and AMD has never been as intense as it is now, but AMD has a new ace in the hole. AMD’s $449 Ryzen 7 5800X3D uses new cutting-edge 3D-stacked SRAM technology, called 3D V-Cache, to enable a total of 96MB of L3 cache that unlocks tremendous gaming performance, unseating Intel’s expensive $738 Core i9-12900KS as the fastest of the Best CPUs for gaming — but at a more forgiving price point. AMD pulled this feat off with an eight-core 16-thread chip based on the same 7nm process and Zen 3 architecture as the original Ryzen 5000 chips that debuted back in 2020, but uses an innovative hybrid bonding technology to fuse an extra slice of cache atop the processing cores, a first for desktop PCs.
The Ryzen 7 5800X3D represents the company’s last hurrah for its long-lived Socket AM4 platforms that have shepherded the Ryzen chips from their infancy with the Ryzen 7 1800X in 2017 to their once-dominating position at the top of our CPU benchmark gaming hierarchy last year with the Ryzen 9 5900X.
AMD’s chips held the lead in every metric until Intel released its Alder Lake lineup last year, with Intel’s Core i9-12900K landing as the fastest gaming CPU we’d ever tested. However, with AMD poised to launch the 5800X3D, Intel attempted to cement itself atop the gaming performance charts with its new Special Edition Core i9-12900KS. That came to market one week before the 5800X3D with boost speeds reaching up to a blistering 5.5 GHz, a record high for PCs, and for a little over a week, it was the fastest desktop PC chip in all categories.
| Price | Cores | Threads | Base/Boost (GHz) | Total L3 Cache | TDP | |
| Ryzen 7 5800X3D | $449 | 8 | 16 | 3. 4 / 4.5 GHz |
96MB | 105W |
| Core i9-12900KS | $739 | 16 Cores / 24 threads | 3.4 / 5.5 (P-cores) — 2.5 / 4.0 (E-cores) | 30MB | 150W / 241W |
| Core i9-12900K / KF | $589 (K) — $564 (KF) | 16 Cores / 24 threads | 3.2 / 5.2 (P-cores) — 2.4 / 3.9 (E-cores) | 30MB | 125W / 241W |
Intel’s short-lived advantage in gaming came at the cost of extra power, though: The Core i9-12900KS has a 150W processor base power (PBP), a record for a mainstream desktop processor, and we measured up to 300W of power consumption under full load. In contrast, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D has a 105W TDP rating and maxed out at 130W in our tests, showing that it is a far cooler processor that won’t require as expensive accommodations, like a beefy cooler, motherboard, and power supply, as the Core i9-12900KS.
The Ryzen 7 5800X3D’s 96MB of L3 cache is transparent to the operating system, meaning it doesn’t need special accommodations from the OS or software, but it doesn’t benefit all games.
However, we did see a big uplift in nearly every title we tested.
- AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D at Best Buy for $399
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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Here’s a quick snapshot of the 5800X3D’s average performance in our gaming test suite and key single- and multi-threaded applications. You’ll find much more extensive testing on the following pages, but this gives you a good general sense of how the Ryzen 7 5800X3D stacks up.
As you can see, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D takes the crown as the fastest gaming chip in our test suite and lives up to AMD’s claim that 3D V-Cache delivers an increase in gaming performance equivalent to what we would normally only see from a new microarchitecture. However, the 58000X3D isn’t as fast as comparable chips in other types of single- and multi-threaded work beyond gaming. That’s because the other models have a core count and frequency advantage.
In fact, due to lower clock speeds than its most directly-comparable counterpart, the Ryzen 7 5800X, the 5800X3D is slower in some single-threaded applications.
However, while Intel’s 12900KS still delivers leading performance in applications, its hefty $739 premium isn’t as good of a buy as AMD’s $449 Ryzen 7 5800X3D if you’re solely interested in gaming. The same applies to the standard 12900K and 12700K, too, though the Core i7-12700K is a contender if you’re looking for a more balanced blend of gaming and application performance around the $410 price point.
Of course, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D is a huge win if you already own a Ryzen system — this chip will drop into almost any AM4 motherboard, saving some cash if you have the right supporting components. Overall, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D is exactly what AMD says it is — a chip optimized specifically for gaming that takes the overall lead.
First, let’s take a quick look at the specs, then get right to our full gaming and application test results.
Be sure to look for the deep-dive details and testing on the 3D V-Cache, boost frequencies, and thermals later in the article (the latter is particularly interesting).
The Ryzen 7 5800X3D is the first consumer processor to feature 3D V-Cache, but the company also uses the tech for its Milan-X processors for the data center. 3D V-Cache leverages a novel new technique that uses hybrid bonding to fuse an additional 64MB of 7nm SRAM cache vertically atop the Ryzen compute chiplet, thus tripling the amount of L3 cache per Ryzen die.
| Street / MSRP | Cores | Threads | P-Core Base/Boost | E-Core Base/Boost | L3 Cache | TDP / PBP / MTP | DDR4-3200 | |
| Core i9-12900KS | $739 | 8P + 8E | 16 Cores / 24 threads | 3.4 / 5.5 GHz | 2.5 / 4.0 GHz | 30 MB | 150W / 241W | DDR4-3200 / DDR5-4800 |
| Core i9-12900K / KF | $589 (K) — $564 (KF) | 8P + 8E | 16 Cores / 24 threads | 3. 2 / 5.2 GHz |
2.4 / 3.9 GHz | 30MB | 125W / 241W | DDR4-3200 / DDR5-4800 |
| Ryzen 9 5900X | $450 ($549) | 12P | 24 threads | 3.7 / 4.8 GHz | — | 32MB | 105W | DDR4-3200 |
| Ryzen 7 5800X3D | $449 | 8P | 16 threads | 3.4 / 4.5 GHz | — | 96MB | 105W | DDR4-3200 |
| Ryzen 7 5800X | $350 ($449) | 8P | 16 threads | 3.8 / 4.7 GHz | — | 32MB | 105W | DDR4-3200 |
| Core i7-12700K / KF | $409 (K) — $384 (KF) | 8P + 4E | 12 Cores / 20 threads | 3.6 / 5.0 GHz | 2.7 / 3.8 GHz | 25MB | 125W / 190W | DDR4-3200 / DDR5-4800 |
| Ryzen 7 5700X | $299 | 8P | 16 threads | 3.4 / 4.6 | — | 32MB | 65W | DDR4-3200 |
The Ryzen 7 5800X3D comes with the same eight Zen 3 cores and 16 threads as the standard Ryzen 7 5800X but has a lower 3.
4 GHz base and 4.5 GHz boost frequency within its 105W envelope. AMD trimmed 400 MHz from the base clock and 200 MHz off the boost frequency, but you get an additional 64MB of L3 cache in exchange, for a total of 96MB of L3.
Naturally, the 3D V-Cache tech has tradeoffs, with the most obvious being the $449 price tag — you’ll pay an extra $100 for the same number of cores as you’d get in the vanilla Ryzen 7 5800X.
The 5800X3D’s big attraction is AMD’s claim of an average 15% gain in gaming performance over AMD’s fastest gaming chip, the Ryzen 9 5900X which also currently retails for $450. The 3D V-Cache doesn’t increase performance in other types of work beyond gaming, so compared to the 5900X, you’ll sacrifice four cores and eight threads in exchange for the extra cache, thus losing performance in some productivity applications. That means the Ryzen 9 5900X would be the better option for productivity-focused work, but you should also look to Alder Lake alternatives if you’re after a more balanced performance profile.
The 5800X3D fully supports overclocking the memory and Infinity Fabric, but you can’t overclock the CPU cores or use the auto-overclocking Precision Boost Overdrive feature (more detail below). The company cites a voltage limitation, but our thermal testing below certainly implies that heat dissipation is an exacerbating issue. AMD says this is the first iteration of the tech, and it is possible that overclocking could be enabled on potential future 3D V-Cache processors. However, the company hasn’t officially committed to releasing other models in the future. Given the performance we’ve seen, it wouldn’t be surprising to see this tech carry over into the Zen 4 era.
That won’t stop enterprising enthusiasts from trying, though. We’ve already seen reports of limited BCLK overclocking that can eke out a few hundred extra megahertz (perhaps more on motherboards with external clock generators), and there appears to be a workaround to alter the motherboard’s voltage output to the CPU, thus feeding the chip more voltage than AMD intended.
Of course, the latter could incur significant risk, but we’ll learn more in the coming weeks as enthusiasts put the silicon through the wringer.
As with all other 105W Ryzen 5000 chips, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D doesn’t come with a cooler. The chip has the same thickness (Z-height) as all other Ryzen 5000 models, so it is compatible with the broad ecosystem of standard coolers for the AM4 socket. The 5800X3D will drop into existing 400- and 500-series motherboards (Socket AM4), and AMD’s upcoming BIOS updates will also enable support on older 300-series platforms. You’ll need a BIOS with AGESA 1.2.0.6b (or newer) for the Ryzen 7 5800X3D.
AMD says that Ryzen 5000 support will vary by vendor, as will the timeline for new BIOS revisions. However, they should all be available now. Notably, these BIOS revisions will also include the fix for AMD’s fTPM stuttering issues.
The 5800X3D also doesn’t support the leading-edge connectivity options, like DDR5 and PCIe 5.0, that you’ll find with Alder Lake, but it does support up to DDR4-3200 and PCIe 4.
0. AMD won’t be able to match intel’s connectivity tech until its 5nm Ryzen 7000 ‘Raphael’ Zen 4 CPUs arrive later this year.
Let’s take a closer look at the overall architecture, power, and thermals, including thermal throttling testing, then move on to our gaming and application benchmarks.
- MORE: Best CPUs for Gaming
- MORE: CPU Benchmark Hierarchy
- MORE: AMD vs Intel
- MORE: Zen 4 Ryzen 7000 All We Know
- MORE: How to Overclock a CPU
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Paul Alcorn is the Deputy Managing Editor for Tom’s Hardware US. He writes news and reviews on CPUs, storage and enterprise hardware.
Intel Processors Vs AMD Processors
Integrated Electronics (Intel) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) are the two most popular brands that manufacture advanced and powerful processors. Both have ruled the world of technology with their broad range of products; however, both have been the center of many debates for years to compare which of the two brands is better. Intel and AMD are still strong competitors.
Performance
Intel processors are known for their power and performance and have dominated the CPU market for a long time. In 1998, Intel introduced the Xeon processors with advanced features like higher core counts, support for greater amounts of RAM and ECC memory, more PCIe lanes and cache memory, provision for enterprise-level reliability, availability, and serviceability (RAS) features. They offer a lot of built-in technologies, critical for businesses. They bring higher speed and processing power to handle creativity-intensive applications, from CAD to 3D rendering and 4K video editing.
AMD EPYC processors were launched in 2017. With these processors, AMD introduced a differentiated and competitive product in terms of both ‘feeds and speed’, and the actual performance of the software. The results to compare the AMD EPYC 7742 having 64 cores and 128 threads and the Intel Xeon Platinum 8180M having 28 cores and 56 threads show that the EPYC two-socket system performed better than the Xeon four-socket system by up to 3.74% for single-core workloads, and 24.83% for multi-core workloads. These processors are ideal for compute-intensive tasks – HPC and AI, and related applications.
However, Performance for both the processors also depends on the workload and kinds of applications being used. EPYC processors may perform well in a certain kind, while Xeon processors may perform well in a different kind.
Longevity
Intel processors have been widely used for non-consumer machines and for many years. They have proved to be stable and reliable throughout.
They are known to last for anything between five to ten years or maybe longer before they get completely obsolete. The initial processors released by AMD were not that great, but with the introduction of their Ryzen and EPYC lines of processors, AMD has turned things around. These processors excel in performance, reliability, and stability, and come at lower prices when compared to Intel processors. They also perform better at power consumption and cooling in spite of having overclocking features. Intel has not fared well in forward/backward compatibility, and so AMD processors enjoy more resale value than Intel. AMD seems a winner as far as longevity is concerned.
Power Consumption
When AMD and Intel are compared for power consumption and CPU performance/watt, AMD’s 7 nanometers (nm) node fares as better and more efficient than Intel’s 14 nm. That means the AMD processors have their chips packed more densely – more transistors in less space. And along with an efficient microarchitecture, they deliver enhanced performance.
The recently introduced AMD processors consume less power when measured on a performance basis, and so they generate less heat, easing the burden of cooling requirements. A denser process node makes the AMD processors more capable and long-lasting.
Speed
Intel processors come with fixed clocking speeds, which can go up to 4.8 GHz, whereas AMD processors can provide maximum clock speed up to 3.4 GHz, but they allow the users to overclock them. Intel’s focus remains on efficiency and higher clock speeds, while AMD has come up with higher core counts and improved energy efficiency. In general usage, Intel processors run faster and outperform EPYC processors even in database applications. The interconnection of cores on EPYC processors is slower than on Intel Xeon processors. But EPYC processors are speedier when used for memory intensive or gaming applications whereby all the available processor cores are used. Even Intel admitted that.
Multi-Processing Capabilities
Having parallel or multi-processing capabilities are must for processors to handle HPC, AI, machine learning, and deep learning, Which are ruling the realm of computing.
Workloads that involve understanding the complex phenomena of the real world, modeling, simulating, etc., cannot be carried out successfully using serial computation. Computing systems these days are designed as multiprocessor systems that can support multiple tasks simultaneously and consolidate several operating systems, workloads, and applications onto one server.
The multiple processors can be separate chips or many cores on the same chip. Advanced processors today have a huge number of transistors on them, which can be used to run multiple threads concurrently or a specific thread faster. This reduces the execution time of a single task significantly and increases the throughput of a machine’s workload with parallel processing. When two or more similar processors share the single main memory of the system, it is termed symmetric multi-processing (SMP). If separate and specialized microprocessors are used for different tasks, it is called asymmetric multi-processing. In symmetric multi-processing capabilities, AMD is ahead of Intel with up to 8 socket/128 cores.
Intel processors are capable of up to 4 sockets/28 cores.
Price And Value
Choosing the right processor for your system that provides the features you need and fits your budget is very important. The two major CPU players in the market, AMD and Intel, are constantly compared for their specifications and features and also for the value they offer for the money you spend on either. Intel processors come less expensive than AMD processors at a lower range. However, AMD processors are less expensive than their Intel counterparts at a higher range. Though both brands cater to diverse groups of users and offer many specific advantages, AMD processors have succeeded at being more affordable than Intel CPUs and provide better value to customers.
AMD processors Zen microarchitecture and the Infinity Fabric easily offer more cores at lower costs without compromising performance. Tests have shown that AMD EPYC processors performed around 25% better than the Intel Xeon processors, that too at one-quarter of Intel’s price.
Their EPYC line of processors was introduced at half the cost of many Intel processors. With a greater number of cores, memory channels, and PCIe lanes per processor, large L3 cache for faster access to data, along with benefits like less power consumption and optimized performance per watt, AMD EPYC processors have beaten Intel Xeon processors in overall performance and economic value.
Comparison of laptop and PC processors — NanoReview
Here you can compare any two processors (from Intel and AMD) and see the key differences in characteristics, tests in benchmarks and games.
* See also detailed rating of all CPUs in Cinebench R23 test.
** Couldn’t find the right processor using the search form? Write to us via the contact form.
- Intel Pentium Gold G7400 vs Intel Core i3 10100 96980HX
- Intel Core i7 12700H vs AMD Ryzen 9 6980HX
Processor comparison — Technical City
Top 5 processors
AMD EPYC 7h22
100.
00
AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX
98.67
Intel Xeon Platinum 8368
91.31
AMD EPYC 7552
90.28
AMD EPYC 7773X
90.00
To the processor performance rating →
Top 5 processors for the best price-quality ratio (from $300)
Intel Core i5-13600KF
100.00
Intel Core i5-13600K
89.15
AMD Ryzen 9 3900XT
78.13
Intel Core i7-12700F
76.24
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
68.78
To the processor rating for the best price-quality ratio (from $300) →
Top 5 processors for the best price-quality ratio (up to $300)
Intel Xeon E7-8895 v2
100.
00
Intel Pentium D 820
100.00
Intel Xeon E5-2650 v4
87.78
AMD Ryzen 5 5600G
73.97
Intel Core i3-10105F
70.25
To the rating of processors for the best price-quality ratio (up to $300) →
Top 5 processors in Bitcoin mining
Intel Xeon E5-2683v4
207 Mh/s
Intel Xeon E5-2695 v4
162 Mh/s
Intel Xeon E5-2650v3
161 Mh/s
Intel Xeon E5-2696 V3
150 Mh/s
Intel Core i7-6950X
105 Mh/s
Back to CPU Rating in Bitcoin Mining →
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