Since launching what feels like everyone's favorite gaming CPU, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, AMD hasn't slowed down. The company has rolled out eight more single-CCD 3D V-Cache processors to the stack, and today we're putting all of them to the test against each other.
We recently got our hands on the 5500X3D and put it through its paces, focusing that review on a comparison with the 5600X3D. We also included a 14-game average chart featuring the 5800X3D and 7500X3D, but not everyone caught that with some readers pointed out the lack of a direct 5800X3D comparison. Others questioned why the 7500X3D was included but not the 7800X3D.
That's largely down to AMD releasing so many Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 7 X3D models, with so many variants now available, it's easy to lose track. To clear things up, we're bringing all nine CPUs together in a single review. Unless AMD has quietly released another binned variant, this represents the full lineup of Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 7 X3D processors currently available, spanning both AM4 and AM5 platforms. There are also Ryzen 9 models, but we're leaving those aside here. Nine CPUs is already plenty.
As usual, we've tested 14 games, all at 1080p using an RTX 5090, as this is strictly a CPU benchmark.
With that, let's get into the data.
Benchmarks
Rainbow Six Siege X
First up is Rainbow Six Siege, where we see an almost 80% performance gap between the fastest and slowest X3D processors when using medium quality settings. It's also notable that the 9850X3D is just over 60% faster than the 5800X3D, while even the six-core 7500X3D is 25% faster. These gains are largely driven by the IPC improvements of Zen 4 over Zen 3.
Battlefield 6
In Battlefield 6, the margin shrinks to 51% between the slowest and fastest X3D processors. Here, the 5800X3D and 7500X3D deliver similar performance, leaving the 9850X3D 34% ahead. It's also worth noting that the move from DDR4 to DDR5 memory offers little additional performance in this title, particularly for cache-heavy X3D parts.
Arc Raiders
Arc Raiders is a strong showcase for AMD's 3D V-Cache technology. This is the first case where the 5800X3D outperforms the 7500X3D, leading by 7% using the Epic settings. In fact, the 7500X3D only matches the 5700X3D here, reinforcing the idea that DDR5 does not always provide a meaningful uplift for X3D processors.
Borderlands 4
Next is Borderlands 4, which tends to be GPU-bound with a reasonably modern CPU. That's evident in our testing, particularly with the Badass preset, where the gap between the fastest and slowest X3D processors is just 9%. Using medium settings expands that margin to 24%, though that's still relatively small considering we're comparing the 5500X3D to the 9850X3D.
Marvel Rivals
Moving on to Marvel Rivals, we see a massive 80% performance gap between the slowest and fastest CPUs when using medium settings, dropping to 51% with the ultra preset. From previous testing, we know this game is highly memory sensitive, and that remains true even for 3D V-Cache processors. For example, at medium settings, the 7500X3D is 11% faster than the 5800X3D in average frame rate and 14% faster in 1% lows. With ultra settings, the gap between those two parts reaches up to 14%.
Here, performance is primarily driven by memory bandwidth and core clock speed, alongside IPC, rather than core count.
Baldur's Gate 3
Like Arc Raiders, Baldur's Gate 3 clearly benefits from AMD's 3D V-Cache technology, and the results show a wide spread. At medium settings, performance increases by as much as 97% from the slowest to the fastest X3D processor. Even when comparing the 5800X3D to the 9800X3D, the margin is around 50%.
Interestingly, the 5800X3D and 7500X3D deliver similar average frame rates, though the Zen 4 part improves 1% lows by 11%, despite the Zen 3 model holding a slight lead in average performance.
Overall, performance gains here are driven by a combination of core count, clock speed, IPC, and memory bandwidth.
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty benefits from higher core counts, improved memory bandwidth, and IPC gains. The 5700X3D is 15% faster than the 5600X3D, largely due to the additional cores. Similarly, the 7800X3D is 10% faster than the 7600X3D, again reflecting the advantage of two extra cores. The 7500X3D is also 7% faster than the 5800X3D.
One notable trend is the sharper performance drop for the 5600X3D and 5500X3D when ray tracing is enabled. While both CPUs see reduced performance at medium settings, the gap widens significantly with ray tracing, as higher-end models cluster more closely together. As a result, the 5700X3D is up to 15% faster than the 5600X3D.
Counter-Strike 2
Moving to Counter-Strike 2, this is a lightly threaded game with little sensitivity to memory or core count within reason. Performance is primarily dictated by IPC. The 7500X3D is 15% faster than the 5800X3D, and this gain comes from Zen 4's IPC improvements rather than DDR5 memory support. We also see a 10% increase for the 9800X3D over the 7800X3D at medium settings.
At very high settings, the game becomes more GPU-limited, reducing the gap. The 9850X3D is just 11% faster than the 7500X3D here, compared to a 30% lead at medium settings.
Space Marine 2
Next is Space Marine 2, a heavily CPU-limited title at relatively low frame rates. Using medium settings in our horde battle test, the 5800X3D only just exceeds 100 fps. Core clock speed, core count, and IPC all play important roles. For example, the 5700X3D is 6% faster than the 5600X3D, while the 7800X3D is 15% faster than the 7600X3D, highlighting the importance of both frequency and core count.
The smaller gap between the 5600X3D and 5700X3D is explained by clock speeds, as the 5700X3D is clocked 7% lower than the six-core model, whereas the 7800X3D runs 6% faster than the 7600X3D.
Mafia: The Old Country
Testing Mafia: The Old Country with the medium quality preset shows a 57% performance increase from the slowest to the fastest X3D processor. Core clock speed, core count, and memory bandwidth all appear to be key performance drivers, though IPC is likely just as important. From previous testing, DDR5 has also delivered meaningful gains in this title.
Core count plays a larger role at the lower end, where CPU bottlenecks are more pronounced. For example, the 5800X3D is 9% faster than the 5600X3D despite similar core frequencies. At the higher end, however, clock speed becomes more influential. The 7800X3D is 7% faster than the 7600X3D, but the 8-core model also runs 6% higher clocks, suggesting frequency is the primary factor here.
Assetto Corsa Competizione
Assetto Corsa Competizione is an interesting case. It benefits greatly from AMD's 3D V-Cache and is highly sensitive to core clocks and memory bandwidth, but sees little advantage from additional cores. Even a fast quad-core can perform well in this title.
As a result, the data is more mixed than usual. The 5600X3D outperforms the 5700X3D and matches the 5800X3D, while the 5500X3D is not much slower than the 5700X3D. The 7500X3D, however, is 15% faster than the 5800X3D, likely due in part to DDR5's higher bandwidth, though IPC gains also play a role. This is further supported by the 9800X3D, which is up to 18% faster than the 7800X3D in this title, a larger uplift than typically expected.
Spider-Man 2
Next is Spider-Man 2, another revealing test case. This game is extremely memory sensitive and heavily reliant on bandwidth, while core count has less impact. Core clock speed still matters, as shown by the 5500X3D trailing the 5600X3D by 10% at medium settings.
The impact of memory bandwidth is clear when comparing the 5800X3D and 7500X3D, with the DDR5-based Zen 4 part delivering 17% higher performance. This gap remains just as pronounced with the highest ray tracing settings, where AM4 processors are grouped closely together and the 7500X3D steps ahead by the same margin.
Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered
Performance scaling in Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered is consistent, with gains driven by improvements in core performance, count, clock speed, and memory bandwidth. At medium settings, there is nearly a 70% increase from the slowest to the fastest X3D processor, rising to 83% with very high settings.
Comparing the 7600X3D and 7800X3D, the 8-core model delivers a 23% improvement in 1% lows and a 20% gain in average frame rate, despite only a 6% increase in clock speed. This suggests core count plays a significant role. In contrast, the jump from the 5600X3D to the 5800X3D is just 10%, indicating a smaller impact for Zen 3 parts.
The Last of Us Part II Remastered
Finally, The Last of Us Part II Remastered shows more tightly grouped results. The difference between the 7600X3D and 7800X3D is minimal, and a similar pattern is seen with the 5600X3D and 5800X3D, though the latter pair shows an 8% gap at medium settings. Overall, core clock speed appears to be the primary performance driver here.
14 Game Average
Looking at the 14-game average, scaling is very consistent across the lineup. With medium settings, there is a 64% margin between the slowest and fastest models, which narrows slightly to 54% at ultra settings.
On average, the 7500X3D is 8-9% faster than the 5800X3D depending on the quality preset, while the 7800X3D extends that lead to 20-24%. The 9800X3D is a further 8-10% faster than the 7800X3D, making it 30-37% faster than the 5800X3D overall.
Not All X3D Upgrades are Equal
All of these X3D CPUs were born out of three models: the 5800X3D, 7800X3D and 9800X3D. Everything else in this review are binned variants of one of those CPUs.
In terms of generational gains, the 7800X3D is 20-24% faster than the 5800X3D, while the 9800X3D delivers a more modest 8-10% uplift over the 7800X3D. That makes the 7800X3D the most significant gaming upgrade AMD has delivered since the 5800X3D.
The 7600X3D is also an impressively fast gaming CPU, though it is no longer available, which makes me wonder how far away we are from a 9600X3D. The data speaks for itself on this one, so we'll wrap up here until our next CPU review.