Join The Club
After being rumoured to do so for a few weeks now, AMD has confirmed it is indeed bringing back the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with AM4 10-year anniversary packaging, as well as a mid-range AM5 Ryzen 7 7700X3D chip.
From the top, the 5800X3D originally launched in 2022, but the updated model (celebrating 10 years of AM4) comes bundled with a Carbice ice pad and retails at $349. Offering eight cores and 96 megabytes of 3D V-Cache, it's still a decent AM4 CPU, and its compatibility with DDR4 is what may make it worth many thirsty PC Gamers' while. In AMD's press material, it announces the 5800X3D as the "return of the king".
If you're not looking to upgrade to AM5 or get DDR5 memory (thanks, memory crisis), the $349 MSRP is still a little under what you can expect to pay second-hand right now. Still, though, it feels like a lot for an older chip. It's just another sign of how bad the memory crisis has become, but it doesn't seem like a terrible buy if you simply have to build a PC right now.
The 2022 CPU 2022 got an 81% from us in our AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D review. Our Dave praised its 3D V-Cache and the chip's efficiency, but critiqued its heat and price point (which was at the time $450). The 10-year anniversary edition will be available from June 25 this year, and I'm sure that ice pad will be a welcome addition.
Alongside this, AMD has announced the Ryzen 7 7700X3D, an eight-core 120W AM5 chip coming in at $329. It will be available as soon as July 16, and comes with a boost clock of up to 4.5 GHz. With 16 threads and 104 MB of cache, it seems like a bit of a tough sell so far; it drops 500 MHz from the Ryzen 7 7800X3D, which only fetches tens of dollars more at Amazon (around $370 as of the time of writing).
And this is all assuming you will actually get your hands on the chip at MSRP. As we've seen over the last few years, MSRP is no guarantee. Still, more options on the market, and more ways of using the same hardware are usually better for the customer—If you have more options to choose from, you can actually afford to shop around.
Alongside this, AMD has announced it will continue to support AM5 through 2029, so at least if you do make that upgrade to AM5 with the 7700X3D, you know you've got a few more years with it than you may have otherwise expected.
1. Best overall:
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
2. Best budget:
AMD Ryzen 5 5500
3. Best mid-range:
Intel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus
4. Best high-end:
AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D
5. Best AM4 upgrade:
AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D
6. Best CPU graphics:
AMD Ryzen 7 8700G
