AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D Review: How Does it Stack Up Against The Competition in 2024?

It’s been over two years since the launch of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D, and at the time, AMD made some bold claims. The company touted its new 3D V-Cache technology as a game-changer, promising that the 5800X3D would outperform not just the Ryzen 7 5800X but also the more expensive Ryzen 9 5900X, particularly in gaming. For the most part, it delivered on that promise—offering better performance in a wide range of cache-heavy games, except for a few where the cache didn’t matter as much as raw frequency did.

But now, in 2024, with the arrival of newer CPUs from both AMD and Intel, the question remains: how well does the Ryzen 7 5800X3D stack up against the latest competition? In this review, we’ll revisit this once-groundbreaking processor and see if it still holds its ground as one of the best gaming CPUs available or if the newer chips have overtaken it and most important of all, should you buy it in 2024?

Technical Specifications

Before diving into performance metrics and benchmarks, let’s take a look at the specifications of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D:

• Architecture: Zen 3
• Cores / Threads: 8 / 16
• Base Clock: 3.4 GHz
• Boost Clock: Up to 4.5 GHz
• L3 Cache: 96 MB (32 MB on-die + 64 MB 3D V-Cache)
• TDP: 105W
• Socket Compatibility: AM4
• Manufacturing Process: 7nm
• Integrated Graphics: None (requires a discrete GPU)

3D V-Cache

The standout feature of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D is undoubtedly its impressive 96MB of L3 cache, a combination of traditional cache and the innovative 3D V-Cache technology. This extensive cache is designed to improve performance in cache-sensitive applications, particularly gaming.

For those of you who do not know how the 3D V-Cache works, here is a quick overview. The 3D V-Cache technology represents a significant leap in CPU design by stacking additional cache on top of the existing cache layers in the CPU die. This vertical integration allows for a substantial increase in the amount of L3 cache without expanding the die’s footprint.

Specifically, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D features an additional 64MB of L3 cache stacked atop the standard 32MB found in its non-3D counterpart, the Ryzen 7 5800X. This total of 96MB of L3 cache allows the CPU to store more data closer to the cores, reducing latency and improving access times. The performance gains are particularly evident in gaming scenarios where fast access to frequently used data is crucial.

Gaming Performance

Let’s see how this CPU performs in games against the new processors. For this testing, we’re using the NVIDIA RTX 4090 to ensure that there’s no bottleneck from the GPU, allowing us to truly assess the CPU’s capabilities. All games are tested at 1080p resolution, which is ideal for revealing the true potential of a CPU.

Hogwarts Legacy

Watch Dogs Legion

Spider-Man Remastered

Warhammer 3

Red Dead Redemption 2

Microsoft Flight Simulator

Hitman 3

F1 21

Cyberpunk 2077

CSGO

Far Cry 6

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Final Fantasy XIV

Considering that this CPU is over two years old, it is still giving hard competition to the latest offerings, especially the Intel Core i7-13700K, i9-13900K, and the Ryzen 9 7950X. In some games, the 5800X3D performs better than these newer CPUs, in a few titles, they both have identical performance, while in others, the scenario is quite the opposite.

However, it’s important to note that the Ryzen 7 5800X3D does fall short against the newer Ryzen 7 7800X3D and Ryzen 9 7950X3D. That said, the 5800X3D still performs very well, especially considering its much lower price point and the fact that it is an older-generation CPU.

Productivity and Multi-Core Performance

Let’s see how this CPU performs in productivity applications against the new contenders. Now, we all know that its performance in production workloads isn’t very good because it was built with gaming as the first priority, but we are conducting these tests to provide a clearer picture of just how much the difference is.

Blender

Chromium Code Compile

Compression

Decompression

Adobe Premiere Pro

Adobe Photoshop

Cinebench (Multi-Core Performance)

Cinebench (Single-Core Performance)

GeekBench 5 (Multi-Thread Performance)

GeekBench 5 (Single-Thread Performance)

You can see in the benchmarks that the Ryzen 7 5800X3D gives the worst performance compared to the other CPUs tested. Therefore, it is clearly a no-go for anyone who cares about performance in production workloads. While it performs well for casual multitasking and gaming, professionals seeking top-tier performance in content creation and heavy multitasking would be better served by other processors such as the Ryzen 9 7950X or Ryzen 9 7950X3D.

Power Efficiency

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D has a listed TDP (Thermal Design Power) of 105W, which places it in a fairly efficient range compared to other high-performance gaming CPUs. However, TDP is a general guideline for power draw under typical loads, and actual power consumption can vary depending on the workload.

During our testing, we observed that the Ryzen 7 5800X3D consumed approximately 108 watts of power at maximum workload. In comparison, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D proves to be more power-efficient because it consumed about 86 watts at maximum workload while delivering superior performance. This highlights how AMD has further refined the efficiency of its newer generation chips.

While the Ryzen 7 5800X3D doesn’t match the power efficiency of the 7800X3D, it still consumed less power than all other CPUs tested, which contributes to its cooler operation. Lower power consumption means reduced heat output which allows the 5800X3D to maintain stable performance even with a budget cooler.

Overclocking

One of the key limitations of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D is that AMD has disabled core overclocking to maintain the stability of the 3D V-Cache. AMD’s decision to lock core overclocking stems from concerns about voltage and heat management with the 3D V-Cache design, as pushing the voltage too high could potentially damage the stacked cache structure. As a result, users cannot manually increase the CPU’s core frequencies, though memory overclocking and tuning the Infinity Fabric are still possible to extract more performance from the system.

Verdict: Should You Buy the Ryzen 7 5800X3D in 2024?

Now that we’ve seen how the Ryzen 7 5800X3D stacks up against newer generation CPUs, the question arises: Should you still buy the Ryzen 7 5800X3D in 2024? Well, the answer to that depends on your situation, and there are two perspectives to consider:

1. If you’re already on the AM4 platform:
If you currently have an AM4-based system and are looking to upgrade your CPU, then the Ryzen 7 5800X3D could be the perfect final upgrade for your build. Its excellent gaming performance, combined with the fact that you won’t need to overhaul your entire setup, makes it a solid option. Upgrading to the 5800X3D gives you access to AMD’s innovative 3D V-Cache technology, allowing you to maximize gaming performance without the expense of transitioning to the newer AM5 platform. It’s a cost-effective way to get more life out of your current rig.

2. If you’re building a new gaming PC:
On the other hand, if you’re starting from scratch and building a brand-new gaming PC, then it’s a better idea to save a bit more money and go with the Ryzen 7 7800X3D. The 7800X3D is currently the best CPU for gaming, offering even better performance and power efficiency than the 5800X3D, thanks to AMD’s latest Zen 4 architecture. The price difference may be around $100, but the performance gains and future-proofing make it worth the investment.

Why not Intel?
I wouldn’t recommend Intel’s i7-13700K or i9-13900K despite their competitive pricing. Recently, there have been stability issues reported with Intel’s 13th and 14th Gen processors, which raises concerns about reliability. Given that, it’s best and safest to opt for the Ryzen 7 7800X3D, which is stable, powerful, and the best CPU right now for gaming.

In short, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D still holds value in 2024 if you’re upgrading an existing AM4 system. But if you’re building a new gaming PC, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D is the clear winner for performance and efficiency, making it the best investment for future gaming builds.

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