AM4 is the processor socket that just refuses to die. With a couple of new chips debuting in June — an astonishing seven years after the original Ryzen 1000 series debuted on AM4 — it looks like AMD is releasing yet another CPU for the perennial computer platform.
New regulatory filings indicate that it’s called the Ryzen 5 5500X3D, and yes, that X3D on the end means it’s packing extra V-cache for gamers.
The filings were submitted to the Eurasian Economic Commission last week, and spotted by VideoCardz.com. We don’t have any further info beyond that for now, but less-reliable leaks from last year indicated that the 5500X3D would be a six-core/twelve-thread design with a base clock of 3GHz and boost up to 4GHz.
That’s roughly in line as a V-cache upgrade of the existing six-core Ryzen 5 5500, which debuted in 2022 with a retail price of $159. It’s now going for about half that at street price — it wasn’t particularly popular for system builders even as a budget CPU, mostly because it only supported PCIe 3.0 interface. With no integrated graphics of its own, it compared poorly to the Ryzen 5 5600G and Intel’s competition at that price point.
If AMD plans to bring the 5500X3D to market as a budget gaming processor, I would expect them to incorporate support for PCIe 4.0 graphics cards, and it would need to be notably cheaper than the existing six-core 5600X3D (currently a $200 exclusive at MicroCenter retailers in the US) in order to make any sense.
Author: Michael Crider, Staff Writer, PCWorld
Michael is a 10-year veteran of technology journalism, covering everything from Apple to ZTE. On PCWorld he's the resident keyboard nut, always using a new one for a review and building a new mechanical board or expanding his desktop "battlestation" in his off hours. Michael's previous bylines include Android Police, Digital Trends, Wired, Lifehacker, and How-To Geek, and he's covered events like CES and Mobile World Congress live. Michael lives in Pennsylvania where he's always looking forward to his next kayaking trip.