Review AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D Review: New Mid-Range Gaming Champ Is a Micro Center Exclusive

[A Stoner]

Can I ask about cooling? The article states:

As with all of AMD’s other X3D models, the Ryzen 5 5600X3D doesn’t have an iGPU or bundled cooler. We haven’t been told of any specific cooler recommendations, but given the TDP rating, it likely requires a 240mm liquid cooler (or air equivalent) like the 105W Ryzen 7 5800X3D.

Going back to previous CPU's (FX8350 springs to mind) I've had, they had a higher TDP, but nothing like as big a deal was made of cooling them. The boxed cooler was noisy as hell, but did the job and was tiny.

Is there some other reason that coolers have become such a big-ticket item now?

Newer chips come with factory enabled overclocking that pushes the chips to their highest power consumptions and highest temperatures. Since one of the limits on how fast your CPU will go is thermals, having an appropriate cooler that can lower temperatures under the same load will gain you compute power.

 

[kyzarvs]

Newer chips come with factory enabled overclocking that pushes the chips to their highest power consumptions and highest temperatures. Since one of the limits on how fast your CPU will go is thermals, having an appropriate cooler that can lower temperatures under the same load will gain you compute power.

I get that - what I don't get is that what was fine for a 125w CPU that couldn't go over 61 degrees isn't for a 105w that can go up to 90 degrees.

 

[TerryLaze]

2. AMD stupidly announced that they were bringing x3d cpu's to the 7000 series before the normal 7000 series released so people held back for the better gaming cpu's !!

Yes, that was another thing that added to it.

3. AMD and board manufactures scared alot of people with the burning CPU's .. (while the bios's have been sorted it was a big hit for the sales of AMD cpu's )

That was much later though when sales already where low.

I personally think Intel just doesnt get it they refuse to increase there socket life span(spare me the 14th gen refresh the 14th will be a waste of sand )

Meh both ways have negative effects, just ask some people that don't know much about PCs and that saw articles about amd mobos needing bios updates and having issues with ram and several other things, like losing support for older CPUs, when it came to using a newer CPU.
It's a good thing if the only thing you care about is money and you have enough knowledge to deal with issues, but most people will go with the platform that will give them the least amount of issues let alone that most people just keep a system for ever anyway without upgrading it ever.

In 2 generations now AMD has leap frogged Intels flagship in gaming the 5800x3d did it and now the 7800x3d
while 100% no doubt in my mind the 13900k is the best overall cpu around its only holding the crown because the 7950x3d just not having the 3d v cache sorted yet ..

Intel already released the CPU max for servers so they have the same technology, they will release it to desktop whenever it becomes cheap enough for them to do so or if the pressure from amd becomes to big.
Right now the vcache is very expensive for AMD, reducing the money that they can make, and it only improves some games while it causes higher temps and lower clocks for the end user.

If the 8950x3d double stacks its cache correctly ( the 7950x3d is basically a 7800x3d) and is a beast in production

At least now you can choose the other ccd for games that don't scale with cache and get better performance in those.
AMD would have to add cache to both CCD (big expense) and sort out the temperature issues so that both clock high. (another expense)
If they don't roll that expense to the customer then they might not even make enough money to break even, and if they do roll it to the consumer than these CPUs will be way too expensive to be good sellers, just like all the non cache AM5 CPUs dropped in price immediately.
That's not a good thing for AMD.

AMD is eating up the eco system hand helds are becoming more popular and alot are using AMD apu's both the consoles are using AMD cpu's AMD owns the server space ..

Yeah, they are selling the very low margin APUs they are making, which is keeping them afloat.

 

[TerryLaze]

Can I ask about cooling? The article states:

As with all of AMD’s other X3D models, the Ryzen 5 5600X3D doesn’t have an iGPU or bundled cooler. We haven’t been told of any specific cooler recommendations, but given the TDP rating, it likely requires a 240mm liquid cooler (or air equivalent) like the 105W Ryzen 7 5800X3D.

Going back to previous CPU's (FX8350 springs to mind) I've had, they had a higher TDP, but nothing like as big a deal was made of cooling them. The boxed cooler was noisy as hell, but did the job and was tiny.

Is there some other reason that coolers have become such a big-ticket item now?

The AM5 CPUs use a very small nm process and the ccds only have the cores on them (and the cache for the x3d ones) so you have an extremely hot hot spot (the ccd) that is also very small in size.
Then AMD had to make the heat spreader much thicker to keep compatibility with older coolers.
Also they had to cut out parts of the heat spreader which causes even less heat to be dissipated.
All of these things together means that you need real good cooling if you want to run apps that will use 100% of the CPU.

 

[richardvday]

I still think that cooler compatibility was a mistake on their part. The increased heat and therfore loss of performance is worse than needing a new cooler or bracket would have been in my opinion. Just seems poorly thought out.
I am Reading this on my phone and can't see how this compares to the 5600x is it a worthless upgrade or not?

 

[LabRat 891]

Scalpers' boon!

AMD/partners magically raised the price of the 5800X3D as the 5600X3D gets its Microcenter-exclusive release.
Now, the 5600X3D is going for 5800X3D pricing on eBay. But, for some people, that's still a deal vs. Best Buy, etc.

 

[King_V]

Greetings from where the man on the street is doing his shopping! At the local computer show last week the ‘Bangladesh Boys’ had a bevy of new Ryzen 9 5900X 12-core for $280 each with no sales tax if paid with cash. Many lookers and would be grabbers leering across the crowded folding tables. This said $229 for a Ryzen 5600X3D is not exactly a fantastic deal even for a Micro Center special and particularly this late in the cycle and with a new generation of CPU’s only a few months out! It certainly appears that AMD is pushing out CPU product on other lesser known channels than Micro Center. The comments overheard were that AMD prices will further tumble downward and that by this November one may be able to score a 5900X with a corresponding Mobo bundle for less than $300. And that AMD has always been known to be first in significantly slashing prices with all of their products. Of course the simple fact remains that the 'man on the street' usually only purchases several generational ago hardware.

Fantastic deal? Well, I'd say a very good deal, at the very least. Great to Fantastic, maybe. But, I'm looking more at the combo than the CPU on its own.

That said, the budget mobo (A520M) plus 5600X, where I piled on coupons at Micro Center, ran me $245, and the 16GB RAM that Micro Center is offering in the bundle back then would've been about $55 more at least. That puts it at $310 right there.

Getting the 5600X3D, combined with a higher-end MB (more fan headers, more RGB headers, an NVMe 4.0 in addition to the NVMe 3.0 port, better VRMs, etc etc) a year later for $330 seems impressive, especially since it can out-game more expensive systems.

Of course, I stacked some coupons at Micro Center, and likely I could've used at least one of the coupons in question for the current deal as well.

I'm not sure I'd go to the scramble of "hey, in cash, no tax, great deal here" for new and pricey parts. I don't know where you're located or where this convention was, but, that sounds, ah, shall we say, questionable.

Whereas, if I were interested in a 5900X (and, those of us on a budget don't usually go for halo-ish products), that's offered by Micro Center right now for $320 - which could have the $25 new customer or $25 on any purchase of $100 or more (I know at least one of them is still going), to bring it down to $295... from a vendor giving a 30-day price guarantee, and a place to go to if something goes sideways. Not much worse than the $280 you're talking about. I'll even say that gas and tolls would at $10, making it $305.

Of course, if I were looking halo (or halo-ish) CPU, I'd likely go for the 5800X3D instead, for $20 less than the 5900X.

As to the prices tumbling in the future. I'd say that could definitely be plausible. Of course, rumors are just that - rumors. Who knows what the reality of the market will bring us at that point in time?



EDIT: the one advantage of having bought a year ago is that my previous daily driver was given as a gift about 2 months or so ago to my GF's son, so he could game online (fairly light-to-medium, not the latest AAA) with his sister. Glad to know my old Haswell (Xeon, 4c8t) and RX 580 8GB are living on.

 

[ilukey77]

Yes, that was another thing that added to it.

That was much later though when sales already where low.

Meh both ways have negative effects, just ask some people that don't know much about PCs and that saw articles about amd mobos needing bios updates and having issues with ram and several other things, like losing support for older CPUs, when it came to using a newer CPU.
It's a good thing if the only thing you care about is money and you have enough knowledge to deal with issues, but most people will go with the platform that will give them the least amount of issues let alone that most people just keep a system for ever anyway without upgrading it ever.

Intel already released the CPU max for servers so they have the same technology, they will release it to desktop whenever it becomes cheap enough for them to do so or if the pressure from amd becomes to big.
Right now the vcache is very expensive for AMD, reducing the money that they can make, and it only improves some games while it causes higher temps and lower clocks for the end user.

At least now you can choose the other ccd for games that don't scale with cache and get better performance in those.
AMD would have to add cache to both CCD (big expense) and sort out the temperature issues so that both clock high. (another expense)
If they don't roll that expense to the customer then they might not even make enough money to break even, and if they do roll it to the consumer than these CPUs will be way too expensive to be good sellers, just like all the non cache AM5 CPUs dropped in price immediately.
That's not a good thing for AMD.

Yeah, they are selling the very low margin APUs they are making, which is keeping them afloat.

quoting half my post doesnt bode well for your argument ..

Intel are failing and failing in a big way hence why with 3d v cache then server/ handhelds and consoles are a all using AMD now ..

14th is nothing more than an attempt to leap frog to 15th with the all ddr5 new socket but if AMD hangs on to AM5 till 9000series zen 6 which is highly likely then AMD will still be the better buy for the next few gens !!
I have nothing against Intel CPU's its always been their terrible socket life that keeps me buying AMD and why not AM4 has lasted for ages if AM5 does to then why waste money on a 2year turn around platform it just makes little sense !!

So like you said if people hang on to there systems for longer AMD is still the clear winner for life span when you save on a mobo , cpu cooling and psu !!

 

[Gillerer]

From the article: "sources close to the matter tell us these chips were “purpose-built” to be launched as Ryzen 5 5600X3D parts. As such, they aren’t made of defective Ryzen 7 5800X3D processors."

The fact that the CPUs were purpose-built does not preclude that the V-Cache CCDs on them came from the pile of dies rejected from both EPYC Milan-X and 5800X3D. Of course I can't know for sure but there would be absolutely no reason to manufacture the dies specially for this product.

X3D chips are just normal CCDs (core chiplet dice) with a separate SRAM die added on top. I would imagine they've had the capability to produce them as lower core count products since day one, in the same way they produce lower core count non-X3D parts (as they use the same CCDs).

There are V-Cache EPYC models with as few as 2 functional cores per CCD; the 16-core EPYC 7373X has 8 CCDs and the full complement of 768MB of L3.

I'm guessing it comes down to margins. So long as yields are good, making an 8 core CPU doesn't really cost them any more than a 6 core CPU, but they can charge more for it. At that point it doesn't make sense to release the 6 core part so long as you're still selling all the 8 core parts you can make reasonably quickly.

Edit: Although I guess the same could be said about non-X3D 8 vs 6 core chips as well. I'm not sure why it made sense to release 6 and 8 core simultaneously for non-X3D, but not for X3D. I still suspect they did so as a result of business considerations though, rather than not understanding that 6 core X3D CPUs would be viable products.

I'd guess multiple factors:

1. The initial launch of the 5000 series used some of the earliest produced Zen 3 CCDs; The 5600X could use all the crappiest dies that could not be used for EPYC or high-end consumer CPUs. (Not only in terms of failed cores, but power efficiency as well. Cut the 2 worst cores and suddenly the frequency can stay acceptable while remaining within power budget.)
2. There would have been an outcry if AMD didn't release at least a semi-affordable option as part of its lineup.
3. X3D is a high-end gaming product, so the considerations for affordability are completely different.
4. V-Cache costs. Not only in terms of the actual cache silicon and stacking process, but also opportunity cost from AMD using the specimen for a 6-core consumer chip instead of multi-thousand dollar EPYC. They absolutely don't want to do that if they can help it.
5. There is a much lower volume of V-Cache CCDs compared to the regular ones, so the number of bad ones should follow suit.
6. Especially if either the lower frequencies and voltages of X3D help lower the bar, or AMDs (potential) prebinning for the stacking process makes it so the average quality of V-Cache CCDs is higher.

 

[DSzymborski]

We can either can the Intel vs. AMD fighting or can the whole discussion. I'll let you guys choose.

 

[The Historical Fidelity]

While this is a good deal for gamers on a budget, it's very odd that Micro Center got the exclusive. It's not like they are on every street corner and they typically refuse to sell popular new products online forcing consumers to drive unreasonable distances to purchase in person. That's why they rarely get my business.

Personally, I think Micro Center is using the 5600x3d as advertising. They probably negotiated a deal with AMD to produce a run of 6 core x3d chips exclusively for MicroCenter as a way to get more bodies through their doors. AMD had no intention of making a 5600x3d part on their own so it stands to reason that Micro Center was looking for a market differentiator to “drive” people away from online retailers and into their stores.

 

[Sluggotg]

So all I have to do is drive to San Diego or Denver to buy this from Micro Center? Those are the closest to the North West where there are no Micro Centers. Most likely not going to do that.

Looks like a great budget chip, thought I was going to buy one to upgrade my friends computer, but AMD is saying No. Message Received.

 

[Cooe]

While 6-cores/12-threads might still be "enough for gaming" right now, there's no way in HELL that continues to be the case for this entire console generation. With the consoles having 8-core/16-thread CPU's it's basically inevitable that that will eventually become the minimum requirement for high-end PC gaming, and potentially sooner than we might expect.

Aka so while TODAY it has ≈95% of the 8c/16t R7 5800X3D's gaming performance, anyone expecting that to remain the case over the next couple years going forward is in for a rude awakening...

Is this an absolutely BRILLIANT budget gaming CPU? Hell to the yes it is!!! The sheer value quotient here for present day gaming is absolutely OFF THE DAMN CHARTS!!!! But does it totally invalidate the R7 5800X3D for exclusively gamers if you happen to live near a Micro Center and thus have this R5 as a legitimate option? No, it definitely does not. Having that console matching 8-cores/16-threads with the R7 WILL inevitably pay dividends as this console generation progresses.

 

[Cooe]

Personally, I think Micro Center is using the 5600x3d as advertising. They probably negotiated a deal with AMD to produce a run of 6 core x3d chips exclusively for MicroCenter as a way to get more bodies through their doors. AMD had no intention of making a 5600x3d part on their own so it stands to reason that Micro Center was looking for a market differentiator to “drive” people away from online retailers and into their stores.

These chips weren't "produced" at all actually. They are just defective R7 5800X3D's that AMD had quietly been stashing off to the side since early 2022 until they had built up enough quantity to actually do something productive with them vs just throwing them away. But with them just being random dud R7 chips, there is no pipeline for significantly more stock going forward. Once Micro Center has sold what AMD gave them, that's basically it. If we are lucky we might get a single restock in about a year. If an X3D Ryzen chip isn't physically a dud though there's absolutely ZERO reason for AMD to sell it as an R5 5600X3D vs as the more profitable R7 5800X3D.

That said, there DEFINITELY might have been a bidding war by AMD between the major US retailers for who actually got the privilege of selling this limited stock of salvaged X3D R5's, which Micro Center definitely could have went all in on on capturing so they could use it as a marketing ploy.

 

[Avro Arrow]

While this is a good deal for gamers on a budget, it's very odd that Micro Center got the exclusive. It's not like they are on every street corner and they typically refuse to sell popular new products online forcing consumers to drive unreasonable distances to purchase in person. That's why they rarely get my business.

I can see where you're coming from but I like the fact that they won't sell online. It means that they're better able to regulate people trying to scalp. Now, sure, it's not convenient for everyone (hell, I don't even live in the USA so I can't go there, like, at all) but after what happened with the mining craze, I've developed a real appreciation for brick-and-mortar stores.

The way that Micro Center conducts business means that you'll never get beaten by a bot to buy something from them. If the mining craze taught us nothing else, it has taught us there's real value in that.

 

[STbob]

We put the AMD Ryzen 5 5600XD through our expansive test suite and found it to be the best value for budget gaming processors, but it is only available at Micro Center for a limited time.

AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D Review: New Mid-Range Gaming Champ Is a Micro Center Exclusive : Read more

Can you please run AIDA64 Exrtreme memory read and write benchmark on it?
I just put one of the 5600x3ds together with PC 3200 ram and get asymetric results. Like 46,000 MB/sec reads but on writes its only 25,000 MB/sec. My quad channel Xeon is very symetric at 47,000/47,000 range on reads and writes.
I tried the ram in 8x2, 8x4 and two diff sticks in 32 x 2 anywhere from the spec 3200 16-18-18-38 to slower. No matter what I do the writes are almost 1/2 the memory read speed.

I'm running it on the package deal ASUS B550-PLUS TUF Gaming WiFi II AMD AM4 ATX Motherboard
Trident Z Neo Series RGB 64GB (2 x 32GB) DDR4-3200 PC4-25600
G.Skill Ripjaws V 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 PC4-25600 (have 4 sticks of this)
Windows 1O enterprise LTS N
Latest BIOS in MB + chipset driversetc.

It seems to run well no crashes just 1/2 speed memory writes. Maybes its AIDA64. But my intels read write are symetrical.

Anyone have an idea why? 46kMB/sec/25KMB/sec R/W asymetric memory bandwidth .

 

[STbob]

I can see where you're coming from but I like the fact that they won't sell online. It means that they're better able to regulate people trying to scalp. Now, sure, it's not convenient for everyone (hell, I don't even live in the USA so I can't go there, like, at all) but after what happened with the mining craze, I've developed a real appreciation for brick-and-mortar stores.

The way that Micro Center conducts business means that you'll never get beaten by a bot to buy something from them. If the mining craze taught us nothing else, it has taught us there's real value in that.

I loved going to Micro Center it was like going to the last Video Store where you could actually hold and look at the DVDs and cover art etc. The experience is worth the drive, Amazon pales in comparison.

 

[The Historical Fidelity]

Can you please run AIDA64 Exrtreme memory read and write benchmark on it?
I just put one of the 5600x3ds together with PC 3200 ram and get asymetric results. Like 46,000 MB/sec reads but on writes its only 25,000 MB/sec. My quad channel Xeon is very symetric at 47,000/47,000 range on reads and writes.
I tried the ram in 8x2, 8x4 and two diff sticks in 32 x 2 anywhere from the spec 3200 16-18-18-38 to slower. No matter what I do the writes are almost 1/2 the memory read speed.

I'm running it on the package deal ASUS B550-PLUS TUF Gaming WiFi II AMD AM4 ATX Motherboard
Trident Z Neo Series RGB 64GB (2 x 32GB) DDR4-3200 PC4-25600
G.Skill Ripjaws V 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 PC4-25600 (have 4 sticks of this)
Windows 1O enterprise LTS N
Latest BIOS in MB + chipset driversetc.

It seems to run well no crashes just 1/2 speed memory writes. Maybes its AIDA64. But my intels read write are symetrical.

Anyone have an idea why? 46kMB/sec/25KMB/sec R/W asymetric memory bandwidth .

I ran into this when I built my friends 5800x machine. It is due to the 5600x3d being a single CCD design, my dual CCD 5950x has symmetric read/write. The IO die splits the memory interface into 2 separate paths to accommodate both CCDs. It’s different compared to Intel’s monolithic design, but real world usage should only be minimally affected by the asymmetry.

 

[Avro Arrow]

I loved going to Micro Center it was like going to the last Video Store where you could actually hold and look at the DVDs and cover art etc.

I couldn't agree more. Here in Canada, we have Canada Computers and Memory Express. We used to also have Tiger Direct (where I worked) and NCIX (who gave us Linus Sebastian, damn them!).

The experience is worth the drive, Amazon pales in comparison.

I flatly refuse to do business with Amazon. If Jeff Bezos thinks that it's ok for the people who work there to not be permitted to use the washroom, he can suck it as far as I'm concerned. There are lots of other retailers who treat their employees like human beings (which is also why I won't set foot in a Wal-Mart). To me, people whose first "go-to" is Amazon are morally bankrupt.

 

[STbob]

I couldn't agree more. Here in Canada, we have Canada Computers and Memory Express. We used to also have Tiger Direct (where I worked) and NCIX (who gave us Linus Sebastian, damn them!).

I flatly refuse to do business with Amazon. If Jeff Bezos thinks that it's ok for the people who work there to not be permitted to use the washroom, he can suck it as far as I'm concerned. There are lots of other retailers who treat their employees like human beings (which is also why I won't set foot in a Wal-Mart). To me, people whose first "go-to" is Amazon are morally bankrupt.

You will be sad to know I quit Amazon Prime a year ago and I don't miss it.

 

[Avro Arrow]

You will be sad to know I quit Amazon Prime a year ago and I don't miss it.

I think that you mean that I will be glad, not sad. 😉👍

The last thing I bought from Amazon was a few Pink Floyd T-Shirts because a family member bought me an Amazon gift card for my birthday. I thanked them but also asked them to never get me an Amazon gift card again because I hate that company. I said "Just get me a Costco gift card if you want to get me a gift card." because I go to Costco all the time. 😊

 

[Ogotai]

and NCIX (who gave us Linus Sebastian, damn them!).

actually that was the best thing ncix ever gave any one, im glad that dump of a store went under, the customer service i got from them once, was enough for me to never go back, and i only went to them i think 3 times.....

 

[Avro Arrow]

actually that was the best thing ncix ever gave any one, im glad that dump of a store went under, the customer service i got from them once, was enough for me to never go back, and i only went to them i think 3 times.....

Well I guess that it varied from store to store because I always got great service from the location that was near me. Now the former CEO of NCIX is the CEO of Linus Media. Go figure.

 

[Ogotai]

Well I guess that it varied from store to store because I always got great service from the location that was near me.

in this case, when i went back with the issue, told the employee what the issue seems to be, and what i did to come to that conclusion, he looked right at me, and told me i have no idea what i am doing, and walked away, but yet, another store i also go to, i was talking with the owner of that one, told him what i tried, and said, defective, take it back.

never stepped foot in that store again, any ncix here.

 

[Avro Arrow]

in this case, when i went back with the issue, told the employee what the issue seems to be, and what i did to come to that conclusion, he looked right at me, and told me i have no idea what i am doing, and walked away, but yet, another store i also go to, i was talking with the owner of that one, told him what i tried, and said, defective, take it back.

never stepped foot in that store again, any ncix here.

Yeah, it sounds like you just encountered a random dumba$$. When I worked at Tiger Direct, there were a few people working there who made me wonder how the hell they managed to get hired. One of them had trouble telling the difference between RAM and drive space. I remember him talking about an upcoming craptop with "500GB of memory" which just made me 🙄.