A little more than a year has gone by since the last rumors of AMD launching a chip priced under $200 for budget-conscious gamers, the Ryzen 5 5500X3D for AM4. Recently, these rumors turned into reality when leaker @Zed__Wang on X discovered it on AMD's official website. The "new" AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D is a processor with six cores and twelve threads, based on the Zen 3 architecture and manufactured using TSMC's 7 nm process. It has a base clock speed of 3 GHz and can reach boost speeds of up to 4 GHz (compared to the old 5600X3D which had base and boost clocks of 3.3 GHz and 4.4 GHz respectively), with a power consumption of 105 W. The processor includes 384 KB of L1 cache, 3 MB of L2 cache, and a significant 96 MB of L3 cache.
The standout feature of the 5500X3D is its 3D V-Cache technology, along with compatibility with the AM4 socket for existing systems. If you currently have an AM4 system and are not yet prepared for a full upgrade, the 5500X3D could be a good option for enhancing performance without changing the entire system. The final decision will largely depend on the pricing once it is available, as it is not currently listed on any online retail websites. For new builds, a modern AM5 processor like the Ryzen 5 7600X or 9600X would offer better future upgrade possibilities.
