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For the majority of casual gamers, the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X should be the most intriguing processor from AMD’s new Zen 3 line up because it finds the sweet spot in terms of the core arrangement from a gaming standpoint. For the foreseeable future, eight cores and 16 threads are essentially required for a good gaming experience, thanks in part to the Xbox Series X and Playstation 5 having these specifications.

That is the premise, at least, even though the pricing presents a possible issue right away. In case you missed it, AMD raised the price of this series of processors by $50/£50 in comparison to its predecessors, bringing the 5800X’s price to $450/£450. That’s a sizable sum of money, especially in light of the fact that the Core i7 10700K from Intel, which is equivalent, typically sells for $375.

The Ryzen 7 5800X will have its hands full.

This CPU, which sits above the 6-core, 12-thread Ryzen 5 5600X and below the 12-core, 24-thread Ryzen 9 5900X(opens in new tab) and the 16-core, 32-thread Ryzen 9 5950X, is the third in AMD’s lineup of Zen 3 processors at launch. There may only be four chips available at launch, but the non-X variations will surely increase that number, freeing up space for updates to the more cheap ranges and perhaps even the 5700X. Despite the fact that we haven’t seen anything about that chip yet, we can’t help but wish there was a cheaper, slightly slower version of the 5800X that provided greater value for the money.

AMD Ryzen 7 5800X Specifications

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X is an eight-core, 16-thread processor with a base clock speed of 3.8GHz and a maximum turbo frequency of 4.7GHz. All eight cores in this single CCX design have access to 32MB of L3 cache, hence there is no possibility of chiplet sluggishness, which can occur on CPUs with more cores.

Similar to the 5900X, Precision Boost 2 can have a significant impact on the 5800X’s speeds. During testing, we saw that the single core performance exceeded the stated turbo to 4.8GHz (opens in new tab). Although we did saw 4.5-4.6GHz across all cores in a number of tests, which is a healthy clock speed, multi-threaded rates really do depend on what you are doing and can vary dramatically between apps.

The 5800X offers PCIe 4.0 capability, just like the previous model. When we start utilizing technologies like DirectStorage to speed up game load times, this may prove to be more helpful than it is at the moment, since storage is the only area in which it is really pertinent. Although faster kits are supported, official memory support remains at DDR4 3,200MHz. It is also possible to use a set of 4,000MHz memory while operating the Infinity Fabric at 2,000MHz, albeit this isn’t completely supported at launch .

AMD Ryzen 7 5800X Specs

Platform	Boxed Processor
# of CPU Cores	8
Base Clock	3.8GHz
Default TDP	105W
CPU Socket	AM4
Launch Date	11/5/2020
Product Family	AMD Ryzen™ Processors
# of Threads	16
L2 Cache	4MB
Processor Technology for CPU Cores	TSMC 7nm FinFET
Thermal Solution (PIB)	Not included
*OS Support	Windows 10 – 64-Bit EditionRHEL x86 64-BitUbuntu x86 64-Bit
Product Line	AMD Ryzen™ 7 Desktop Processors
Max. Boost Clock	Up to 4.7GHz
L3 Cache	32MB
Unlocked for Overclocking	Yes
Max. Operating Temperature (Tjmax)	90°C

AMD Ryzen 7 5800X Performance & Benchmarks

We’ll begin as usual using Cinebench R20. With a multi-core test score of 5982 points, the 5800X was 22% quicker than the 3700X. This significant performance improvement is in line with what we’ve come to expect from Zen 3. The 3800X is actually no faster than the 3700X, so we didn’t bother testing it again. In this test, a 3% performance improvement is relevant.

Even though both CPUs have 8 cores and 16 threads, the new AMD CPU is 20% faster than the 10700K. In actuality, while having 25% more cores, the 10900K is just 7% slower than the 5800X.

The clocks of the 5800X were measured during Cinebench testing. The 5800X clocks at about 4.55 GHz for the multi-core test, which extensively utilizes all cores, which is significantly higher than the declared 3.8 GHz base clock frequency. Additionally, AMD offers a maximum boost clock frequency of 4.7 GHz, which should be achievable in workloads that use just one core or a few light threads. The 5800X frequently ran at 4.85 GHz in the Cinebench single core test, which is 150 MHz faster than the quoted benchmark.

The performance of 7-zip compression is superb. Because it was 24% quicker than the 3700X and 22% faster than the 10700K, the 5800X even managed to surpass the 10900K. In other words, the 5800X is currently by far the fastest 8-core desktop CPU.

Even so, the margins do slightly contract during decompression. A tough 8-core smackdown there, the 5800X is 19% faster than the 3700X and 31% faster than the 10700K.

AMD Ryzen 7 5800X Power Consumption

The Ryzen 7 5800X consumes about 20 more watts than the 3700X, but this is not entirely unexpected given that the 3700X is operating at its most efficient. For instance, the 3800X uses 20 watts more than the 5800X, bringing the power consumption of the two devices closer to parity.

Also noteworthy is the fact that the 5800X outperformed the 3700X by 16% in this test, making a 13% increase in system power still quite efficient. Additionally, it uses 30 fewer watts than Intel’s 10700K.

AMD Ryzen 7 5800X Gaming 

We utilized the RTX 3090 from Nvidia for our gaming tests. When we look at Far Cry New Dawn first, we discover that the 5800X is just 3% slower than the 10900K in this latency-sensitive game, outperforming the 5900X and 5950X by a hair.

That represents an 18% performance improvement over the 3700X, which, at least when comparing average frame rates, can be seen falling below even the Core i5-10400.

In F1 2020, the 5800X dominated its predecessor by a 20% margin and even managed to edge out the 10700K by 5%. It basically finished 3% behind the 10900K, matching the 5900X and 5950X.

The 5800X only loses a few frames in performance when compared to higher-end versions, as was the case previously with the 5900X and 5950X, and Zen 3 gives strong performance in Horizon Zero Dawn. As a result of an 18% performance improvement over the 3700X, it was 3% faster than the 10700K and matched the performance of the Core i7.

In Death Stranding, there is no tie because the 5800X was 12% faster than the 10700K, and boosting the Core i7 component would be difficult to make up that difference. It’s fantastic that the 5800X is 33% faster than the 3700X, but after looking at the 5900X and 5950X, we’re starting to grow used to these kinds of margins.

Final Thoughts on AMD Ryzen 7 5800X 

AMD has changed the definition of the market’s mainstream division to include processors with 6 or 8 cores, but it has left few options for enthusiasts to upgrade to 8 cores without paying a significantly higher price. The’missing’ Ryzen 7 5700X is something AMD really needs to close the significant price gap in its product line. Such a processor would probably put the Core i7-10700K out of the running and make the shift from Ryzen 5 to Ryzen 7 more appealing.

Overall, the Ryzen 7 5800X’s performance is impressive, but its high price is disappointing. Due to the persistent shortages, AMD can maintain its premium pricing and sell every chip almost quickly. The Ryzen 7 5800X’s cost, nevertheless, might end up being the weak link in an otherwise excellent chip when availability increases.