5 things you need to know about AMD's Ryzen 7 5800X3D processor

Anyone considering this chip should first evaluate if it suits their needs.

- ALAINA YEE

The wait for AMD’s Ryzen 7 5800X3D (fave.co/38tNIT9) and its exciting new V-Cache technology (fave.co/3owp5UE) is over. At long last, this revolutionary processor finally hit retail shelves on April 20. But unlike other Ryzen 5000 series CPUs, this particular chip shines in specific scenarios—and dulls a bit in others.

Last week’s drop of independent benchmarks explains the full story, but you don’t have to comb through endless charts to understand the situation. We’ve pulled out the top pieces of information to get you up to speed quickly—and help you decide if the 5800X3D is for you.

IT’S FAST IN GAMES…

Among its fellow Ryzen 5000 CPUs, the 5800X3D takes the crown as the fastest of the bunch in gaming. At 1080p High or Ultra, it improves upon the standard 5800X’s performance by as much as 44 percent, depending on the game. More commonly, the average gain falls between 22 and 28 percent. At 1440p, you’re looking at an average improvement of around 11 percent.

This new processor also holds its own against Intel’s top chip, the $589 Core i9-12900K (