The new AMD Ryzen 5 7600X3D is out in the wild and, despite previously being touted as a US exclusive for Micro Center, it’s now on sale in Germany. It looks like a good chip too. Initial hardware tests are showing that it outperforms the new Ryzen 7 9700X, making it an interesting alternative for gamers looking to save some money.
There’s a lot to like about the Ryzen 5 7600X3D, on paper. This chip might have two fewer cores than the Ryzen 7 7800X3D, which is still the best gaming CPU on the market right now, but the use of 3D V-cache in this Socket AM5 AMD CPU means it’s actually out-performing AMD’s new Zen 5 CPUs in some game tests.
In fact, according to benchmarks performed by German tech site PC Games Hardware, the 7600X3D beats the newer AMD 9700X in gameplay testing by an average of six percent.
Drilling down into the details, the 7600X3D averaged 102.9fps in Cyberpunk 2077, compared with just 92.2fps on the 9700X. Baldur’s Gate 3 was a good title for the new chip too, where it averaged 117.4fps, compared with 102.2fps from the 9700X.
That’s because this chip comes with many of the advantages of the 7800X3D, including 96MB of L3 cache, split into 32MB standard L3 cache and 64MB 3D V-Cache.
The latter provides a fast stack of memory on top of the CPU itself to improve performance, helping the 7800X3D to even surpass Intel’s latest flagship in our Core i9 14900K review. Comparatively, the Ryzen 7 9700X only includes a 32MB L3 cache.
The new 7600X3D isn’t a miracle worker, though, and while its advantage was often modest, the Core i9 14900K did perform better than the 7600X3D, with a seven percent average performance boost.
The 7600X3D otherwise comes with six cores and a reduced clock speed of up to 4.7GHz, making it a less powerful all-rounder compared to the eight-core 7800X3D or 9700X, if you’re thinking about performance outside of gaming. Lower clock speeds and a lower 65W TDP rating (nearly half the 120W TDP of the 7800X3D) make it a more power-efficient option, though, especially if you’re worried about the thermals in your gaming rig.
What’s interesting about PCGH’s testing of the 7600X3D is that it once again demonstrates the strength of AMD’s 3D V-Cache technology for gamers who want to get the maximum performance out of their CPU. The additional cache gives an otherwise second-tier CPU the ability to outperform all of the currently released Zen 5 chips in games. This situation will probably change when Zen 5 X3D chips, such as the rumored Ryzen 7 9800X3D, are released to the public, though.
If you fancy picking up one of these new CPUs, US customers can purchase the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X3D exclusively from Micro Center stores or online for $299.99. If you’re based in Germany, you can grab one from MindFactory for €329. The rest of us will just have to wait and see if this powerful little CPU gets a wider release.
At $299.99, the 7600X3D looks like a great budget gaming CPU for a reasonable price, as long as you’re able to get one. If you’ve picked out your new CPU, but you’re new to PC building, you might want to check out our guide explaining how to build a gaming PC next, which will take you through the entire process.