AMD might be onto Ryzen 9000 processors at this point, but there’s a new CPU incoming from two generations back – if a new rumor is correct.

Yes, AM4 (the previous CPU socket to the current AM5, which was introduced with last-gen Ryzen 7000) is still going, possibly, as leaker Harukaze5719 on X has uncovered an EEC (Eurasian Economic Commission) filing that shows a Ryzen 5 5500X3D.

This would, in theory, sit below the existing 5600X3D as an affordable gaming CPU (we’ll come back to that), with 3D V-Cache pepping up the performance in PC games.

Like the 5600X3D, it’ll be a 6-core (12-thread) processor, according to another leaker (chi11eddog, who made this prediction some time ago), with a base clock of 3GHz and boost to 4GHz (alongside 96MB of L3 cache).

Of course, take the purported spec with seasoning, and the same is true of the presence of this CPU in the EEC database. Many products are listed in said database, and some hardware is merely speculatively filed, so this is far from a concrete indication that the Ryzen 5 5500X3D is inbound.

Analysis: AM4 just refuses to die

There’s a bit more weight to the 5500X3D processor likely being planned for release by AMD, given that chi11eddog leaked the spec of the 5700X3D at the same time – and that turned out to be real. Indeed, the 5700X3D was launched in January 2024, and the spilled spec was dead on the money, too.

Why might AMD continue to extract more mileage from the Ryzen 5000 series in this way? Well, the lowest-end 3D V-Cache processor, the 5600X3D, isn’t in stock any longer, and was only a Micro Center exclusive to begin with – likely because there weren’t that many CPUs rolling off the production line. Mainly because these were built around wonky dies that couldn’t be used in Ryzen 5800X3D chips, so were drafted into this lesser model with the faulty cores disabled.

Essentially, AMD likely has some more of that silicon – maybe a fair bit more – and obviously wants to use it (rather than throw it away), so could be taking a new tack with a 5500X3D that will hopefully be available more widely (not just at a single US retailer, as was the case with the 5600X3D). That said, you’d imagine the quantity of chips available won’t be vast, but maybe AMD figures the audience for a 5500X3D might be somewhat narrow – seeing as we’re two generations of CPUs on, at this point.

However, it might well be more popular than Team Red anticipates, as the 5500X3D could still make a great engine for one of the best budget gaming PCs on the AM4 platform.

Remember, we were seriously impressed with the value and gaming chops of the 5600X3D when it emerged a year ago, and while the 5500X3D is a fair bit slower for clock speeds (400MHz less for boost, in theory), this purported chip shouldn’t be too far off the pace at all. If – and it remains a sizeable if – it does indeed exist, and AMD plans to unleash the CPU soon.

Via Tom’s Hardware

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