It seems as if AMD is bringing back the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, its fastest AM4 gaming CPU. According to a marketing banner shared by @9550pro on X, AMD is planning a special edition 5800X3D that will coincide with the 10th anniversary of the AM4 socket.
The announcement reads, AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D high-performance gaming processor for DDR4 platforms, with 8 cores / 16 threads clocked up to 4.5GHz boost and 100MB of cache. The banner also indicates a Q2 release window, which means it could launch anytime between now and June. That said, this is quite confusing since the 10th anniversary of AM4 is supposed to be in late Q3, as the platform was launched in September 2016. This announcement isn’t a complete surprise however, as AMD has previously told us it’s looking at things to do with AM4.
Regardless of the exact date, bringing back the strongest AM4 gaming CPU should alleviate some of the stress caused by the high memory prices. As a reminder, some of the cheapest 32GB DDR5 kits retail around $350 nowadays, against $200 for DDR4. Yes, DDR5 is faster, but X3D CPUs are less sensitive to memory speed. This makes AM4 and DDR4 a great option for those who need a fast yet not expensive machine but can’t wait for DDR5 prices to return to normal. Savings are even greater for those who don’t mind buying second-hand hardware, of which AM4 offers plenty thanks to its impressive longevity. A longevity that AMD aims to mimic with the current AM5 platform.
The enthusiast among you may have noticed that this 10th anniversary edition CPU carries the same specs as the original launch back in April 2022. Everything is identical: the core count, frequency, and TDP. Even the 100MB of cache, which may confuse some, is just a sum of the 4MB of L2 plus 96MB of L3, with the latter comprised of 32MB on-die L3 plus 64MB on the 3D V-Cache layer. In other words, this looks more like a new production run of the original design, which is not bad by any means, especially if priced accordingly.
As a reminder, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D debuted at $449, a price that won’t work nowadays, as the faster 7800X3D can be had for $383 on Amazon. $250 or thereabouts seems to be a reasonable asking fee in my book. The wrinkle for us is the leaked announcement mainly concerns China, so there are no guarantees it will come to us.
