AMD extends 3.5-year-old Ryzen 5000 CPU family with two new-but-old Zen 3 chips

HardwareProcessorsAMD extends 3.5-year-old Ryzen 5000 CPU family with two new-but-old Zen 3 chipsWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

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AMD Ryzen render with orange glow under the chip

The Ryzen 9 5900XT is a 16-core chip that sits in between the existingRyzen 9 5900Xand5950Xmodels, while the Ryzen 7 5800XT closely mirrors the eight-coreRyzen 7 5800X. In theory, an eight-core CPU is the more interesting option for gamers, so let’s start there.

The new 5800XT sports eight Zen 3-spec cores on a single CCD, which hooks into AMD’s I/O and memory controller die. In nearly every way, the new 5800 XT is almost identical to the old 5800X. So, that’s eight cores, 16 threads, 105 W TDP, 36MB of cache, the works.

The only difference is that the new 5800 XT gets a 4.8 GHz maximum boost clock, whereas the plain old5800Xmade do with 4.7 GHz. Obviously things have moved on since the Ryzen 5000 Series and Zen 3 were announced back in 2020. But the 5800X remains a pretty effective gaming chip, so the 5800XT should be every bit as good.

If there is a snag, it’s pricing. Officially, AMD originally pegged the new Ryzen 7 5800XT at $249, before claiming this was an error. So, as yet there is no official price, but while $249 wouldn’t be a terrible price—especially when you consider that the 5800X launched at $449—though right now on Newegg, you can graba 5800X for just $198.98. We’ll see what the new chip actually sells for, but if it is $249, it’s not exactly moving the needle.

Swipe to scroll horizontallyNew AMD Ryzen 5000 SeriesHeader Cell - Column 0AMD Ryzen 9 5900XTAMD Ryzen 7 5800XTCores / threads16 (Zen 3) / 32 threads8 (Zen 3) / 16 threadsMaximum boost clock4.8 GHz4.8 GHzTotal L2+L3 cache72MB36MBSocketAM4AM4TDP105 W105 W

Swipe to scroll horizontally

New AMD Ryzen 5000 SeriesHeader Cell - Column 0AMD Ryzen 9 5900XTAMD Ryzen 7 5800XTCores / threads16 (Zen 3) / 32 threads8 (Zen 3) / 16 threadsMaximum boost clock4.8 GHz4.8 GHzTotal L2+L3 cache72MB36MBSocketAM4AM4TDP105 W105 W

While 16-core CPUs aren’t necessarily natural gaming chips, the Ryzen 9 5900XT is actually the more interesting of the two new CPUs. That’s because the old5900Xonly offered 12 cores, you had to grab the megabucksRyzen 9 5950Xto get 16 cores.

Again, we don’t have a final price for the new 5900XT, but the originally, erroneously listed price would give you 16 cores for a list price of just $359. Back in November 2020,the 5950XT would have cost you $799. Again, the snag is that you can get the5950X today for $359(using a promo code to release the final $10) from Newegg today.

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The old 5950X also has the very, very slightly higher maximum boost clock at 4.9 GHz versus 4.8 GHz. The Newegg numbers are sale prices and they may well reflect insider information that the new AMD chips were coming, necessitating an adjustment to keep the older models relevant.

So, the two new CPUs are hopefully going to set lower MSRP pricing because at the originally listed prices they aren’t immediate bargains in terms of real-world retail compared to what’s already available. Give it a different launch price and a few months, however, and that 5900XT in particular could make for a spectacular 16-core drop-in upgrade for AM4 motherboard owners.

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