AMD announces limited-run Ryzen 5600X3D CPU, an ideal upgrade for an aging Ryzen PC
Enlarge / AMD's Ryzen 5 5600X3D. (credit: AMD)
A surprise twist for owners of older AMD PCs using socket AM4: AMD is announcing one last (?) processor for the aging socket, a six-core Ryzen 5 5600X3D that brings the company's 3D V-Cache chip stacking technology to a $229 chip.
The catch? The new CPU will only be available through Micro Center, a brick-and-mortar tech retailer that doesn't ship most of what it sells to online buyers. The chip will only be sold for as long as Micro Center's supply holds out, though Tom's Hardware reports that the company will have "several months'" worth of stock.
| AMD Zen 3 CPUs | Street price | Cores/threads | Clocks (Base/Boost) | L3 cache | TDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryzen 5 5600 | $129 | 6/12 | 3.5/4.4GHz | 32MB | 65W |
| Ryzen 5 5600X | $149 | 6/12 | 3.7/4.6GHz | 32MB | 65W |
| Ryzen 5 5600X3D | $229 (MSRP) | 6/12 | 3.3/4.4GHz | 96MB | 105W |
| Ryzen 7 5800X3D | $289 | 8/16 | 3.4/4.5GHz | 96MB | 120W |
Like the Ryzen 5800X3D, the 5600X3D combines a regular Zen 3 processor die with an extra 64MB chunk of L3 cache stacked on top. Relative to its regular Zen 3 counterparts-in this case, the Ryzen 5 5600 and 5600X-the chip will consume slightly more power and run at somewhat lower clock speeds, which can make it slower than the non-X3D chips in tasks that don't benefit from the extra cache. They also have limited support for overclocking and undervolting. However, games tend to like the extra cache a lot, benefitting people who want to pair a high-end GPU with the cheapest CPU that won't hold it back.