AMD finally launched the Ryzen 7 5800X processor, which is part of its Ryzen 5000 series “Zen 3” desktop processors. We have the chip with us for review, but before we get into that, here’s a little background. Obviously, AMD skipper the entire “4000 series” model numbering, that might be because the numbers might be confused with the “Renoir” APU silicon.
From the announcement, AMD promises a new generation of “Zen” CPU microarchitecture to be released every year since its 2017 debut. With each new generation of chips, are IPC increments. IPC, also known as instructions per clock is the standard way of measuring single-threaded performance of a processor, and this directly impacts gaming performance.
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X – Specifications
| MODEL | CORES/ THREADS | TDP(Watts) | BOOST/BASE FREQ. (GHz) | TOTAL CACHE | COOLER | SEP (MYR) Tax Inc. | |
| AMD Ryzen™ 9 5950X | 16C/32T | 105W | Up to 4.9 / 3.4 | 72MB | N/A | RM3,699 | |
| AMD Ryzen™ 9 5900X | 12C/24T | 105W | Up to 4.8 / 3.7 | 70MB | N/A | RM2,499 | |
| AMD Ryzen™ 7 5800X | 8C/16T | 105W | Up to 4.7 / 3.8 | 36MB | N/A | RM2,049 | |
| AMD Ryzen™ 5 5600X | 6C/12T | 65W | Up to 4.6 / 3.7 | 35MB | Wraith Stealth | RM1,349 |
The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X in this review is an 8-core processor that has all eight cores, and they don’t sit on the same silicon. Instead, they share a common L3 cache. These Ryzen 5000 series chips from AMD still implement a multi-chip module, with the MCM codenamed “Vermeer”. By removing the 4-core CCX complexes to unify cores on the CCD, it should mean reduced inter-core latencies, and also double the L3 cache size each core can address.
The Zen 3 architecture used in the Ryzen 7 5800X may be based on the same 7nm manufacturing process as its predecessor, but AMD has done a design overhaul. The company changed the Core Die (CCD) design, by allowing only one Core Complex per die. That means each CCX now has 8 cores, compared to the 4 cores per CCX on Zen 2. This drastically reduces latency between cores, and every core can directly access the 32MB of L3 cache, which improves gaming performance.
For RM2,049, you’re getting 8 cores, 16 threads, which can be boosted up to 4.7GHz, and a total of 32MB of L3 cache. That looks pretty similar to the Ryzen 7 3800X, which has the same cores and cache, but clock speeds of up to only 4.5GHz. The 0.2GHz difference may seem minute, but with each core having direct access to the cache, IPC performance has been increased by up to 39% in games, according to AMD.
Test Build
This is the humble test PC we have to test the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X with. We’ve swapped out the Ryzen 5 3600X processor for the newer 5000 sereis chip, and we’ve also swapped out our previous RTX 2060 GPU for the newer Zotac GeForce RTX 3070 GPU. Everything else remains the same.
CPU AMD Ryzen 7 5800X GPU Zotac GeForce RTX 3070 Amp Holo RAM G.skill 16GB 3,200MHz DDR4 RAM Storage Adata 512GB PCIe NVMe RGB SSD Motherboard Asus ROG Strix B550-E Gaming Cooler Fractal Design Celsius S36 AIO Cooler
Performance
Here are some of the test/benchmarks we ran on the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X, including creative software like Adobe Premiere Pro and Photoshop, several games at 1080p settings, as well as some rendering tasks like Cinebench and Blender. Temps are well managed throughout testing.
Test Ryzen 7 5800X Adobe Photoshop 361.7s Adobe Premiere Pro 191.2s Rage 2, 1920 x 1080 156.3 FPS Far Cry 5, 1920 x 1080 143.1 FPS Metro Exodus, 1920 x 1080 150.2 FPS Shadow Of The Tomb Raider, 1920 x 1080 188.6 FPS Cinebench R20 Single: 625
Multi: 6124Blender 199.4s
Conclusion
The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X offers a huge performance increase over its previous generation, with increased IPC gains, as well as gaming performance. It has a single-CCD design, and because it’s compatible with existing AM4 motherboards, its reach is expanded to many. Built on the 7nm production process, it has its multiplier unlocked, and it features support for PCIe Gen 4.
There are some drawbacks too. We didn’t like the price hike from the previous generation, which makes it tough to swallow if you are considering upgrading from the Ryzen 3000 series. AMD has also decided to leave out the Wraith cooler. This means customers are free to use any aftermarket cooler they wish, but for the price, it would’ve been nice if AMD could’ve included the cooler together. Lastly, there isn’t any integrated graphics, so you have to get an additional GPU for your build.
When picking up the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X, do keep in mind the additional costs you’ll need for your build – cooler and GPU. But apart from that, the CPU itself is of great value and it offers performance that’s definitely worthy of the price you’re paying for.
Buy it if you want the best processor for gaming, and if you’re into photo and video editing. But if you’re on a tight budget, or you’re already on a Ryzen 3000 series CPU, the Ryzen 7 5800X may be a great upgrade for gaming performance, the same cannot be said for creative work.
