AMD Readies Ryzen 5 5500X3D Socket AM4 Processor with 3D V-Cache

[btarunr]

If you're on the Socket AM4 platform, AMD is never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down, never gonna run around and desert you; never gonna make you cry, never gonna say goodbye, never gonna tell a lie, and hurt you. The company is reportedly giving finishing touches to a firecracker of a sub-$200 chip for price-conscious gamers, the Ryzen 5 5500X3D. That's right, AMD is bringing 3D V-cache technology to the mid-range, with a new 6-core processor based on the "Zen 3" microarchitecture, but enjoying the gaming performance boost from 96 MB of L3 cache on tap.

AMD already has a 6-core X3D Socket AM4 chip, the Ryzen 5 5600X3D, which joined the product stack a couple of years after AMD's original Ryzen 7 5800X3D took the gaming PC processor scene by storm, matching the then swanky new Core i9-12900K "Alder Lake" despite being based on an older-generation "Zen 3" architecture. Not much else is known about the 5500X3D, except that it could have a lower clock speed than the 5600X3D. Back in November 2023, when news of the 5700X3D first hit the scene, the 5500X3D was rumored to be a 6-core/12-thread chip with 3.00 GHz base frequency and 4.00 GHz maximum boost, compared to the 3.30 GHz base and 4.40 GHz boost frequency of the 5600X3D. Given that AMD launched the 5600X3D at $230, AMD could target a sub-$200 price point to wow gamers on AM4, such as $199.



Why is AMD continuing to launch Socket AM4 chips well into the mid-2020s? We're no strangers to love, you know the rules and so do I—the new Socket AM5 lacks backwards-compatibility with DDR4, and as such AMD would be abandoning a large value-conscious desktop market to Intel, which supports DDR4 on even its 14th Gen Core processors. While AMD can't backport Zen 4 to AM4, it can do the next best thing—expand Zen 3 with 3D V-cache to more market segments, and bring Zen 4 kind of gaming performance to those segments. This could probably also have something to do with AMD's wafer-supply agreement with GlobalFoundries, which provides the 12 nm client I/O die for these "new" chips.

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[Chaitanya]

Why?

 

[Chomiq]

Why?

Because reject dies.

 

[P4-630]

There we go...

 

[Wirko]

Because reject dies.

Theoretically they should bin and reject the dies before the 3D is nailed on the 5700X. But the process is not 100% reliable ... that's my guess.

There are other possibilities too. What if only half of the 3D cache chip is functional?

 

[Steevo]

Theoretically they should bin and reject the dies before the 3D is nailed on the 5700X. But the process is not 100% reliable ... that's my guess.

There are other possibilities too. What if only half of the 3D cache chip is functional?

Is AMD producing their own 3D cache chip or just buying the silicon and packaging it?

 

[SL2]

So why can't they be 5600X3D? Are they not able to run at those massive clock speeds?

 

[Deleted member 229121]

This thing better be way cheaper than the 5700X3D, for a lot of people it's a final upgrade - may as well do it right.
The head nod to Rick Astley in this article is on point for AM4 though (we've known each other for so long).

So why can't they be 5600X3D? Are they not able to run at those massive clock speeds?

They already released that, it was just a Microcenter exclusive.

 

[Deleted member 223428]

So why can't they be 5600X3D? Are they not able to run at those massive clock speeds?

Of course. Everything AM4 released after the 5800X3D have been rejects that couldn't meet the requirements (defective cores, clock speeds, and/or voltage needed to do so). Now we're getting the rejects of the 5700X3D and 5600X3D bins.

Intel also did this when they released the 10850K after the 10900K when they had problems binning enough chips with the extra 100MHz to be a 10900K.

 

[Lew Zealand]

Eh, so is this whole story a rickroll then? Just plausible enough to take seriously but not actually happening?

I hope not as detuned performance CPUs have often been outright steals for the performance they offer, the aforementioned 10850K and 5700X3D being great examples.

 

[Dr. Dro]

I actually want this product. This plus an El Cheapo A520 and I'm renovating my server very inexpensively

 

[Macro Device]

I'm renovating my server

Why on the Earth should you need an X3D for a server? Why not slapping 12100F+H610 and calling it a day?

5500X3D, if becomes real, won't be very exciting. 5600X3D is already very low on clocks, any lower will become problematic. 5800X smells like a better choice.

 

[AsRock]

$199 ?, when you can get the 5700X3D for $210 right now.

 

[Dr. Dro]

Why on the Earth should you need an X3D for a server? Why not slapping 12100F+H610 and calling it a day?

5500X3D, if becomes real, won't be very exciting. 5600X3D is already very low on clocks, any lower will become problematic. 5800X smells like a better choice.

Why not? It'd be a super premium home server at a very inexpensive price. Even H610 DDR4s tend to cost more than socket AM4 boards over here, and if this processor is priced at around 750 BRL, its closest competitor would be the dual-core Intel 300 in price.

I wanna retire my Q9505 from duty, this seems to fit the bill rather nicely

 

[Macro Device]

if this processor is priced at around 750 BRL, its closest competitor would be the dual-core Intel 300 in price.

Doesn't compute. I can get a BOX 12100F brand new for much cheaper right now, all taxes included. Is it THAT bad in Brazil?

 

[Kaesar]

I think the article describes the "why" on spot. Even if there's some reject dies for the 5700X3D and 5600X3D, you gotta consider the possibility that you are, maybe, losing sale for Intel DDR4 compatible CPUs. If what it takes for AMD make this sell, is to just force some perfect 5600X3D or 5700X3D to go slower, have few cores, they'll do that. They've done it well with Phenom II X2/X3 CPUs that you could unlock cores and cache way back in the day, so why not do it now? Better to make less money, than not make any money at all. They saw the market for it, now they are going for it, that's a great plan, if you ask me.

 

[Lew Zealand]

Why on the Earth should you need an X3D for a server? Why not slapping 12100F+H610 and calling it a day?

5500X3D, if becomes real, won't be very exciting. 5600X3D is already very low on clocks, any lower will become problematic. 5800X smells like a better choice.

Low clocks on X3D is not problematic in many gaming loads though could be for servers. I've been running my 5700X3D at 3600 MHz as an efficiency gaming test to see it's tolerance in CPU-heavy games (I limit FPS to 60-144 depending on the game) and it performs the same as far as the gaming experience even in CPU-broken games like Hogwarts Legacy.

 

[Dr. Dro]

Doesn't compute. I can get a BOX 12100F brand new for much cheaper right now, all taxes included. Is it THAT bad in Brazil?

12100F is around 490 bucks, true it is cheaper

 

[SL2]

They already released that, it was just a Microcenter exclusive.

I KNOW. That's why I'm asking.

Are you saying MC owns that model name for eternity and AMD has to pick another one? I find that hard to believe.

Why not?

Exactly what will the added cache do for that work load?

It'd be a super premium home server at a very inexpensive price.

If you want AM4 you should go for a 5600.

You can also add custom water cooling and call it super premium, but I don't know what difference it makes.

 

[Deleted member 229121]

I KNOW. That's why I'm asking.

Are you saying MC owns that model name for eternity and AMD has to pick another one? I find that hard to believe.

No, was just answering your question which read to me as why didn't AMD release it - just a bit confusion there w how I read it.
As for why, the only thing I can guess is they had a finite amount that would make the cut for that SKU and relegated it to them.

 

[Ruru]

They already released that, it was just a Microcenter exclusive.

Not a valid excuse IMO. 7900 GRE was a China exclusive at first and now it's available worldwide.

 

[Dr. Dro]

Exactly what will the added cache do for that work load?

If you want AM4 you should go for a 5600.

You can also add custom water cooling and call it super premium, but I don't know what difference it makes.

Honestly the heaviest thing it'll be doing is host my private Minecraft server instance, which is why I haven't replaced it yet. A low-end 3D chip like this might be novel enough for me to bother, if price is right

 

[natr0n]

Rolling along

 

[NoneRain]

AM5 be like:

 

[A Computer Guy]

The 5500 is around $90 on NewEgg. 5500X3D might be an ideal upgrade from 2600 for $120.