1. Introducing the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D. Again.2. Testing and Performance: CPU3. Testing and Performance: Gaming 14. Testing and Performance: Gaming 25. Closing Thoughts6. View All Pages

AMD's approach of selling the Ryzen 5 5600X3D through Micro Center mucks up our review as we, as a UK-based outfit, cannot really offer buying advice. Our sample ended up costing more than a Ryzen 7 5800X3D after shipping and import duty, and that makes no financial sense, however the technical aspects are very interesting.

It is clear the extra 64MB of L3 cache boosts gaming performance to an impressive extent, so while the underlying Ryzen 5 5600X is a mediocre CPU this stacked Ryzen 5 5600X3D tears through games at an impressive rate.

The broader point with Ryzen 5 5600X3D is that AMD has shown you can extend the life of your AM4 PC with a relatively modest upgrade. This clearly works best if you have a Ryzen 3000 or perhaps an even older CPU. There is no doubt you will get much better performance if you move to Zen 4 and AM5, however that brings considerable extra cost and this unusual Micro Center special is all about value and a cheap upgrade.

The 5600X3D is listed on Micro Center for $229 HERE. For UK consumers, the 5800X3D is listed on Amazon for £272 HERE.

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Pros:

• Excellent gaming performance.
• Easy upgrade for AM4 gaming PCs.
• Low overall cost as you can re-use your motherboard and DDR4 memory.

Cons:

• Availability is solely in-store at Micro Center in the USA.
• 3D Cache technology restricts clock speed.
• No CPU cooler included in the package.

KitGuru says: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D offers a cheap upgrade for your AM4 gaming PC.

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