When you have an AMD AM4 machine, there’s just about just one CPU that is value contemplating if you would like the most effective for gaming—the Ryzen 7 5800X3D. Besides when AMD launched the Ryzen 7 5700X3D again in January of this 12 months, you have been all of a sudden given a tough selection: do you go all out and get the sensible however expensive 5800X3D or do you save your self a good bit of money and get the slower 5700X3D. Nicely, that is exactly the conundrum we’ll remedy on this evaluation.
The Ryzen 7 5700X3D is sort of precisely the identical processor because the 5800X3D, the one distinction being that it has decrease base and enhance clocks. You are still getting eight Zen 3 cores, 16 threads, a TDP of 105 W, and an enormous 96 MB of L3 cache. The place the 5800X3D has a base clock of three.4 GHz and a lift of 4.5 GHz, the 5700X3D knocks these down to three.0 and 4.1 GHz respectively.
That principally means the 5700X3D is someplace between 9% and 12% slower than the 5800X3D, and just about any CPU-focused benchmark will present this.
Nevertheless, I used to be much more all in favour of inspecting whether or not the 5700X3D is a pleasant improve for any PC gamer with a 4 or six-core AM4 Ryzen PC, after chatting to AMD in regards to the longevity of that socket a couple of months in the past. Relying on what retailer you head over to, there might be as a lot as a $200 distinction between the 5700X3D and 5800X3D, and that is some huge cash which might be spent on getting a greater GPU, for instance.
Processor | Ryzen 7 5700X3D | Ryzen 7 5800X3D | Ryzen 5 5600X | Ryzen 3 4100 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Structure | Zen 3 | Zen 3 | Zen 3 | Zen 2 |
Cores / Threads | 8 / 16 | 8 / 16 | 6 / 12 | 4 / 8 |
Base / Enhance clock | 3.0 / 4.1 GHz | 3.4 / 4.5 GHz | 3.7 / 4.6 GHz | 3.8 / 4.0 |
L3 cache | 96 MB | 96 MB | 32 MB | 8 MB |
TDP | 105 W | 105 W | 65 W | 65 W |
So to that finish, I’ve taken a four-core Zen 2-powered Ryzen 3 4100, a six-core Ryzen 5 5600X, and a Ryzen 7 5700X3D, and put all of them via a veritable mountain of assessments and benchmarks to see how appropriate the 5700X3D is as an improve. You may suppose the outcomes are a foregone conclusion however, because it seems, it is not fairly as clear lower as you may suppose.
Sufficient jibber-jabber, let’s examine the take a look at outcomes! First up is the standard gamut of CPU-focused benchmarks that can usually run for any new processor. I am solely exhibiting figures for the three Ryzens, as CPU testing is often performed by Jacob and his AM4 take a look at rig is totally different to mine—for instance, I used an RTX 4070, whereas Jacob makes use of an RTX 3080. Comparable however not precisely the identical.
In the entire efficiency benchmarks, the Ryzen 7 5700X3D is between two and 3 times sooner than the Ryzen 3 4100, due to having double the variety of cores and threads, a extra succesful structure, and a shed load extra L3 cache. In opposition to the Ryzen 5 5600X, although, the lead wasn’t at all times fairly as substantial.
That is as a result of six cores are a lot sufficient for a lot of video games and the 5600X additionally sports activities increased clocks—the 4.6 GHz enhance is just 12% increased than the 5700X3D’s however the base clock is 23% increased, so relying on the CPU load, the 5600X might be working a lot sooner than the 5700X3D.
There are extra downsides to the 5700X3D’s core and cache features over the opposite chips, too. It consumes extra energy and together with the thermal barrier offered by the 3D V-Cache layer, its peak temperature can also be increased.
However for gaming, the true good thing about the 5700X3D’s further L3 cache might be seen within the minimal body charges of the video games used for the CPU testing. AMD makes use of a sufferer cache for L3 in all its processors and its job is to retailer knowledge that will get ejected from L2, when room for incoming knowledge is required.
When a thread reaches an instruction that requires a selected piece of information, the L1 cache is checked for it first, then the L2, and at last L3. However the place L1 and L2 are personal to every core, all of them can entry the L3 cache. So the larger that is, the higher the possibility that any thread on a core will not require the system RAM to be tapped for the info.
Usually, simply making a cache bigger provides latency to any learn/write operations, however AMD pulled some magic tips out of its engineers’ hats to make sure that the additional 3D V-Cache solely provides a couple of further nanoseconds in comparison with the conventional L3 cache. Lengthy story quick, it makes a giant distinction to minimal body charges, the place knowledge accesses are the bottleneck.
However I needed to discover this in additional element, as our customary CPU benchmarks are…effectively…very targeted on the CPU, for apparent causes. I needed to see if the 5700X3D was considerably higher in quite a lot of different video games and at totally different resolutions. So I spent many lengthy hours going via quite a few take a look at runs in eight video games, at 1080p and 1440p.
I additionally examined the 5700X3D with two cores disabled, to see how a lot of its efficiency lead over the 5600X comes right down to the additional 64 MB of 3D V-cache.
In Ghost of Tsushima, the 5700X3D and 5600X are fairly related, although it is clear that the extra cache does assist at 1080p. Swap to 1440p, although, and that efficiency hole disappears. It is the identical story for Passable, despite the fact that there’s much more CPU processing occurring within the background.
One recreation that I anticipated to favour the 5700X3D was Hearts of Iron 4, utilizing a late-game state of affairs, with 1000’s of divisions and dozens of battles raging away. However as you possibly can see, further cache does not actually assist—it is about core depend and clock speeds.
However these are the exceptions. The entire different video games I examined gained a notable enhance to the common body price with 3D V-Cache, even at 1440p. In some instances, the minimal body charges are the identical, between the 5700X3D and 5600X, however that is in all probability right down to the efficiency not being bottlenecked by knowledge accesses.
Simply check out the figures for Dragon’s Dogma 2, Counter-Strike 2, and Spider-Man Remastered, and you may simply see why PC avid gamers and reviewers rated AMD’s X3D chips so extremely for gaming. And if AMD ever needed a poster little one for the advantages of 3D V-Cache, then Factorio is the apparent selection.
Taking the geometric imply of the examined video games, bar Hearts of Iron 4 and Factorio (as body charges weren’t recorded), we get a clearer image of how a lot of an improve the Ryzen 7 5700X3D is, in comparison with the Ryzen 5 5600X and Ryzen 3 4100.
At 1080p, the X3D mannequin has a median efficiency that is 24% higher than the 5600X and 100% higher than the 4100. The six-core outcomes present that that is right down to the inclusion of 3D V-Cache. Even at 1440p, the 5700X3D is by far the higher CPU for gaming, with a median body price that is 21% higher than the 5600X’s and 88% increased than the 4100.
Purchase if…
✅ You need a terrific gaming CPU: The structure could be a couple of years previous now however it’s nonetheless related immediately. With the 3D V-Cache enhance, it is mighty fast in video games.
✅ You do not need to spend some huge cash: The 5800X3D is quicker however it’s round $150 dearer. This one is a discount compared.
Do not buy if…
❌ You have already got a quick AM4 CPU: It is fast in video games, little doubt about it, however so is the 5600X. And the 5800X. And the 5950X. 3D V-Cache cannot double your speeds.
Now, earlier than you all run off and purchase a Ryzen 7 5700X3D, let’s take a second to pause and contemplate worth. On the time of penning this evaluation, one can decide up a 5700X3D for $183 at Amazon, although you do must be a Prime member. At different retailers, the CPU sells for anyplace between $188 and $212.
The Ryzen 5 5600X, alternatively, might be picked up for as little as $114 (Amazon, Newegg)—roughly 38% cheaper than the 5700X3D. The 5600X is not 38% slower on common, extra like 20%, so that you’re paying a little bit of a premium to have that 3D V-Cache magic.
Is it value it? I feel all of it comes right down to what video games you prefer to play and what graphics card you’ve gotten. If I used to be a Factorio, CS2, or Spider-Man fan, I would be getting a 5700X3D with out query, but when I had a broader style in video games and a a lot slower GPU than an RTX 4070, I would plumb for the 5600X and save my cash for a full system improve, afterward.
However for me, the most effective factor in regards to the 5700X3D is that the 5800X3D nonetheless grabs all of the headlines as being the most effective AM4 gaming CPU. That makes it in demand, protecting its value excessive, to the tune of $150 over its slower sibling. That makes the Ryzen 7 5700X3D a discount compared and arguably the good selection as a gaming CPU. Typically, simply generally, slower actually is healthier.