Some believe AMD might be missing the mark by not releasing X3D chips at launch.
Some believe AMD might be missing the mark by not releasing X3D chips at launch.
The issue is that the cost of Z690 boards was already extremely high. AM4 boards were consistently very affordable, which was AMD's advantage. We're seeing a 100% jump from AM4 to AM5 even in the most optimistic cases. The B550 tomahawk is now only 120 dollars on sale? That's not a bargain at all. The price hikes over the past few years appear to be out of line with other components. I used to pay around 130 dollars for my Z170 Maximus Hero board, which wasn't that long ago. Now hero boards are selling for 599 dollars. The X670E Hero board is expected to hit about 749 dollars.
I believe 3D is just getting started and isn't quite ready for widespread use. See how constrained the present 3D chip is... useful for gaming, but not as effective in other areas. It makes sense to wait.
AMD made a mistake by delaying the X3D launch. For AM4 early adopters, the only viable choices are 7600x or 7950x, since the middle models aren’t great. Even the 7600x isn’t ideal, but it works as a temporary solution until Zen 4 x3d arrives. I notice the 13600k is selling well and there’s talk of a new 5600x. Recently, this chip has been very popular. The key change is that Intel is now offering competitive pricing. The 5600x at $300 would be overpriced, and Intel’s newer lineup is surprisingly affordable.
From my observation, this initial release targets fans who always seek the latest shinies and are willing to pay full price. I expect AMD will lower the cost after the launch of Raptor Lake, then match it with similar pricing for their X3D chips. It seems they’ve already postponed the release because of firmware concerns, making it nearly impossible to get those X3D chips now. They likely don’t want to delay the launch and lose attention to Raptor Lake. Personally, I’m not interested in the current DDR5 lineup since RAM capacity hasn’t expanded, so I’ll stick with my existing setup and wait for a mainstream platform offering 256GB+ of RAM.
7900x remains relevant even with 7800x3d released since additional cache won’t replace the cores. They’ll work together smoothly. Certain tasks can take advantage of extra cache—like games, big data sets, or compilation work. Others focus more on loops using just L1 or L2 and gain from extra cores. AMD isn’t making a mistake here. x3d still faces voltage limits, so it won’t run at full speed, though these limits are less strict than before for the 5800x3d. We’re also anticipating new chips—7900x3d and 7950x3d—with three different x3d models available.
In a vacuum situation, the difference is minimal when contrasted with the Z490 and Z590 configurations. A $220 board was essentially sufficient for most needs, and considering the high cost of Gen 5 PCIe, a $20-30 increase over the Z590 was reasonable. Under optimal conditions, this price seems justified. First, it's important to look at MSRP figures to understand the value. Boards available now don't offer much real savings since manufacturers are pushing older models. The B550 Tomahawk is around $180, providing a fair benchmark for newer equipment. Second, MSI's pricing strategy would be questionable if they were targeting such low margins. The X670E boards are pricier mainly due to Gen 5 PCIe components, dual chipset designs, and support for PCIe 5. B650 models like the Tomahawk avoid these costs, so while socket upgrades add some expense, the overall price jump should be closer to $200.
In the sections where the cache performs well, it makes a significant difference. While four extra cores aren't a game-changer here, the improvements are still noticeable. The 1% FPS boost is especially impressive with the 5800x3d compared to older models like the 12900k/5900x.