Despite having launched a whole new generation of , AMD is reportedly releasing some fratricidal new Zen 4 CPUs in the shape of an as-yet unannounced Ryzen 5 7600X3D chip.
7️⃣6️⃣0️⃣0️⃣X3Dearly Sep
Upcoming chips seem to be stacking up, with Core Ultra 200-series just around the corner and AMD Ryzen 9000X3D chips appearing to approach launch, too. After plus a somewhat underwhelming AMD Zen 5 architecture Ryzen 9000-series launch, all this anticipation is better news for the chip market.
Now we're hearing that another AMD Ryzen 7000-series X3D chip might soon hit the market, too. Tech leaker (via ) hints at an early September release for an unannounced AMD Ryzen 5 7600X3D.
This would coincide with rumours that highly anticipated might launch soon and it would come in before a .
What could we expect from such a chip? Well, if the (limited edition) was anything to go by, the Ryzen 5 7600X3D could repurpose a higher-end X3D chip by disabling some cores or even a whole CCD rather than using a 7600X chip with some 3D V-Cache slapped on top. The 7600X that a 7600X3D would probably mimic on the specs front is a 6-core, 12-thread chip with a 5.3 GHz boost clock.
Whatever the case, for gaming, fewer cores and heaps of extra cache sounds like a good trade-off, provided the price is right. Given the is currently going for about , and given that it's previously been on sale for cheaper than this, a 7600X3D would probably be cheap enough to more than justify it as a great budget purchase.
If an AMD Ryzen 5 7600X3D does launch, this could be a sign that AMD will give the AM5 socket the same loving treatment it's given AM4, re-purposing chips and CCDs into packages for different budgets. For example, in the , Ryzen 7 5700, Ryzen 5 5600GT, and Ryzen 5 5500GT. Then, in June, it announced the . There's even a .
Many of these 5000-series chips are certainly worth picking up if you're already using an AM4 motherboard or you can pick up a great deal on one. A Ryzen 5 5500X3D, in particular, will be a great if it does in fact launch and cost less than $200.
But if you're looking for a future-proof AMD build, you're going to want socket AM5, in which case [[link]] you're choosing between an AMD 7000-series CPU or a 9000-series one. In the latter case, these chips are very expensive right now and I can't recommend one over a 7000-series CPU while prices remain so high. And we don't yet know how much better any rumoured 9000X3D chips will perform or how much they'll cost.
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What we do know, however, is that the 7000X3D CPUs currently on the market are great value and are some of the best options for a . The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D, for instance, is still our pick for the on the market. Its eight cores and 16 threads are ample for gaming, as is its 5 GHz boost clock when combined with its centrepiece 64 MB of 3D V-Cache that forms part of its L3 cache.
The other current 7000X3D chips (the and 7900X3D) perform a little better but aren't worth the extra cost for gaming, which is why the [[link]] 7800X3D is the best option for those on a current-gen platform. If a 7600X3D launches, however, there'll be an even cheaper option which might tempt even those considering an AM4 option such as the .
In other words, there might soon be a budget Ryzen 7000-series CPU that performs really well in games, tempting an even wider userbase away from AM4 platforms and towards AM5—a platform that AMD [[link]] has already .
All speculation, of course, but it's optimistic speculation for once, and being able to speculate in that direction feels like a breath of fresh air.