(AMD)
The Ryzen 7 5800X3D desktop CPU is four years old, but still popular. And later this month, AMD is re-releasing it to give consumers a more affordable way to build a gaming PC using older AM4 motherboards.
The 5800X3D will be back at retailers on June 25, starting at a suggested price of $349, or $100 less than the original launch price in 2022. The chip will also arrive as a special 10th-anniversary edition to celebrate the AM4 socket, which launched back in 2016.
In a press briefing ahead of the Computex show, AMD described the announcement as “Return of the King.” That refers to the fact that when the processor debuted, it was the first to feature the company's game-performance-boosting 3D V-Cache technology.
Memory Prices Have Given AM4 New Life
Although the company has rolled out two newer generations of desktop CPUs in the 7000X3D and 9000X3D series, the older 5800X3D surprisingly saw renewed popularity in December, with prices for it rising by hundreds of dollars. The culprit was likely the ongoing memory shortage, which caused DDR5 RAM prices to soar last year, pushing consumers to consider older CPUs and platforms that are compatible with cheaper DDR4 memory.
(AMD)The pricing for DDR4 has since doubled, as well, although it still remains cheaper than DDR5. It looks like AMD sees some potential demand it can tap, given that the 5800X3D can now resell for anywhere from $400 to as much as $700 on eBay. To further entice consumers, AMD is also bundling the 5800X3D with Carbice’s Ice Pad, a new component that can replace traditional thermal paste used on a CPU.
The company also talked about the current AM5 platform, saying it plans to offer “extended support” for the motherboard socket through 2029. This includes releasing new Ryzen processors for AM5 through the period.
(AMD)AMD announced the extended support at a time when some PC builders might be wondering if it’s better to wait for the newer AM6 platform. Whether AM6 might be delayed due to the ongoing memory shortage remains unclear. For now, the company merely said, “AMD confirms its long-term commitment to the AM5 platform with drop-in upgrade support and new architectures planned through 2029, delivering sustained value and confidence for gamers to invest and upgrade.”
Another X3D Option: The Ryzen 7 7700X3D
As part of that commitment, the company plans on launching the Ryzen 7 7700X3D desktop CPU for budget gamers, with a suggested retail price of $329. The chip has similar specs to the 5800X3D, offering eight cores, support for up to 16 threads, and an up-to-4.5GHz boost clock speed. It also features a slightly larger total cache at 104MB, rather than 100MB, but has a higher thermal design power (TDP) at 120 watts, instead of 105 watts.
(AMD)AMD also frames the 7700X3D as an affordable entry point for gamers looking to upgrade to the AM5 platform. Expect it to launch on July 16. That said, we’ve spotted Amazon discounting the slightly more powerful Ryzen 7 7800X3D to as low as $376. Last November, the company also released the six-core, 12-thread 7500X3D for $269.
Radeon Update: Here Comes the RX 9070 GRE
On the graphics-card front, AMD is releasing the Radeon RX 9070 GRE edition globally. (The product first arrived in China last year.) This card features only 48 RDNA 4 compute units instead of the 56 and 64 in the RX 9070 and 9070 XT, respectively.
(AMD)The other downgrade is how the GRE edition features only 12GB of video memory, instead of 16GB. Strangely though, the graphics card is launching June 1, starting at $549 —the same starting price as the Radeon RX 9070, even though it features better specs.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)In a press presentation, AMD indicated the GRE edition is arriving to address the memory crunch, suggesting the starting price for the RX 9070 may no longer hold true. Indeed, the average pricing for a Radeon RX 9070 has since crept up to around $700, according to PCPartPicker, although you can find a few models at $599 or $619.
AMD is also marketing the Radeon RX 9070 GRE as a better alternative to Nvidia’s RTX 5060 Ti, claiming the Radeon card offers about a 22% performance uplift in 1440p games in comparison. That said, the RTX 5060 Ti has been selling for much cheaper, at around $400. Stay tuned for our reviews.
(AMD)