The AM4 socket refuses to go quietly into the night. First offered on motherboards in 2017, AMD recently shocked the hardware world at CES by announcing new chips, even as it pushes the newer AM5 as its cutting-edge consumer platform. The easy standout was the Ryzen 7 5700X3D, a new, budget-friendly entry in the company’s popular line with extra v-cache specifically for gamers. The new chip is on sale today for $249.99. It’s available at the usual suspects like Newegg, Amazon, and Best Buy.
The 5700X3D sits just below the 5800X3D, our pick for the best mid-tier gaming CPU from last year, and the 5600X3D, a solid CPU sadly saddled with exclusivity to the Micro Center brick-and-mortar retailer in the US. With an eight-core, 16-thread setup, 100 megabytes of cache, and a 105-watt TDP, the only notable difference between the 5700X3D and the 5800X3D is a lower core clock speed, 3.0GHz at base and 4.1GHz at boost.
The pricing might not make sense to a lot of people at launch, as the 5800X3D is easy to find at around the $300 mark and is frequently bundled with hardware at stores like Newegg. But keep in mind, that chip launched at a price of $450. It seems likely that both it and the 5700X3D will see significantly lower street prices, especially if you need to pick up other desktop parts at the same time.
Like the other members of the gamer-focused X3D series, the Ryzen 7 5700X3D does not come with a cooler in the box. Even so, it’s likely to become a popular pick with AM4 desktop owners trying to squeeze the last bit of value out of a DDR4-based system, or those building a new gaming PC on a relatively low budget who don’t want to step down to integrated graphics.
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.