Just when we thought AMD had finally turned the page on AM4, the company surprises us with yet another Ryzen processor for the platform. Hot on the heels of its recently launched 5000XT CPUs, Team Red has a new 3D V-Cache chip in mind. Excitingly, it should be the most affordable way to jump on the X3D train. That is, of course, providing it’s widely available.
For Socket AM4 motherboards, the best CPU for gaming remains the Ryzen 7 5800X3D. However, more affordable alternatives do exist in the form of Ryzen 7 5700X3D and Ryzen 5 5600X3D. Sadly, the latter is hard to come by owing to its Micro Center exclusivity. A similar fate could easily befall this potentially upcoming 3D V-Cache processor. Until AMD says so, though, the prospect of an even more affordable 5000X3D chip is enticing.
Recent submissions to European Economic Commission (EEC) contain references to ‘Ryzen 5 5500X3D‘ alongside other processors. Spotted by Harukaze5719, the X user also points out that potential specifications for the CPU leaked a while back. These rumours emerged alongside Ryzen 7 5700X3D, now launched.
EEC filings sadly don’t guarantee that Ryzen 5 5500X3D will see the light of day. After all, we’re still yet to see Radeon RX 7000 sans XT graphics cards hit the scene. Nonetheless, they’re a strong indication that the products exist in some capacity. If the availability of Ryzen 5 5600X3D is anything to go by, though, we suspect AMD will hold these back for OEM systems.
Ultimately, it’s now in AMD’s interest to do everything it can to promote its Zen 5 and 4 stock. Ryzen 7 7800X3D remains top dog for gaming above all, and we’re expecting Ryzen 9000X3D processors to launch later this year. So, while it would be a shame to see this 5000X3D chip relegated to a limited release, options are open to those willing to upgrade to AM5.
Right now, all eyes are on Ryzen 9 9950X & Ryzen 9 9900X. We’ll have our thoughts on those processors in the coming days. In the meantime, our Ryzen 7 9700X & Ryzen 5 9600X review is worth a read to get a baseline for Zen 5 generational gains.