96 MB of L3 3D V-Cache Designed For Players

The extent of competitors within the desktop CPU market has not often been as intensive because it has been over the past couple of years. When AMD introduced its Ryzen processors to market, it compelled Intel to answer, and each have persistently battled in a number of areas, together with core rely, IPC efficiency, frequency, and supreme efficiency. The fixed race to enhance merchandise, keep forward of the competitors, and meet prospects’ altering wants has additionally despatched the 2 corporations off of the overwhelmed paths at instances, creating even wilder applied sciences searching for that aggressive edge.

Within the case of AMD, one such improvement effort has culminated with 3D V-Cache packaging expertise, which stacks a layer of L3 cache on prime of the prevailing CCD’s L3 cache. Owing to the truth that whereas further cache is helpful to efficiency, massive portions of SRAM are, nicely, massive, AMD has been engaged on find out how to place extra L3 cache on a CPU chiplet with out blowing out the die dimension altogether. The tip results of that has been the stacked V-Cache expertise, which permits the extra cache to be individually fabbed after which rigorously positioned on prime of a chip for use as a part of a processor.

For the buyer market, AMD’s first V-Cache geared up product is the Ryzen 7 5800X3D. Pitched because the quickest gaming processor in the marketplace immediately, AMD’s distinctive chip provides eight cores/sixteen threads of processing energy, and a whopping 96 MB of L3 cache onboard. Primarily constructing on prime of the already established Ryzen 7 5800X processor, the goal from AMD is that the extra L3 cache on the 5800X3D will take gaming efficiency to the following degree – all for round $100 greater than the 5800X.

With AMD’s new gaming chip in hand, we have put the Ryzen 7 5800X3D by way of CPU suite and gaming exams to see whether it is nearly as good as AMD claims it’s.

AMD Ryzen 7 58003XD: Now With 3D V-Cache

Beforehand introduced at CES 2022, the Ryzen 7 58003XD might be probably the most fascinating of all of its Ryzen based mostly chips to launch since Zen debuted in 2017. The reason being that the Ryzen 7 5800X3D makes use of AMD’s personal 3D V-Cache packaging expertise that basically vegetation a 64 MB layer of L3 cache on prime of the prevailing 32 MB of L3 cache that the Ryzen 7 5800X has.

To stipulate the framework of the 3D V-Cache, AMD is utilizing a direct copper-to-copper bonding course of, with the extra layer of 64 MB L3 cache stacked on prime of the prevailing 32 MB L3 cache on the die. AMD claims this will increase gaming efficiency by 15% on common when evaluating the Ryzen 9 5900X (12c/16t) to a 12-core 3D chiplet prototype chip. Whether or not AMD’s declare relies solely on the 12-core design or if this degree of efficiency enhance is linear when utilizing fewer cores is tough to find out.

It’s clear that 3D V-Cache and its revolutionary bonding approach, which fuses further L3 cache on prime of present L3 cache, is an fascinating technique to ship strong efficiency features, given how essential L3 cache ranges will be for particular sport titles. AMD additionally claims that the massive ranges of L3 cache enhance efficiency in multi-threaded workloads resembling video encoding. 

The design of the Vertical (V) Cache relies on the identical TSMC 7 nm manufacturing course of because the CCD, with a thinning course of that’s a part of TSMC’s applied sciences designed to negate any thermal problems that might come up. Bridging the hole between the 32 MB of on-die L3 cache and the vertically stacked 64 MB of L3 Cache is a base of structural silicon, with the direct copper to copper bonding and linked by silicon VIAs and TSVs. 

Taking a look at the place it positions itself within the stack, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D is unequivocally the identical worth because the Ryzen 9 5900X, which advantages from 4 further Zen 3 cores, in addition to eight further threads. The Ryzen 7 5800X3D does have a decrease base frequency than the Ryzen 7 5800X by 400 MHz, with a 200 MHz decrease turbo frequency. This can seemingly be an influence limiting issue as the extra L3 cache will generate energy.

Because the 3D V-Cache is primarily designed to enhance efficiency in sport titles, the brand new chip is not too removed from the Ryzen 7 5800X with reference to uncooked compute throughput. There will probably be a slight benefit to the Ryzen 7 5800X and Ryzen 9 5900X on this space with larger core frequencies on each fashions. Nonetheless, as I’ve beforehand talked about, the actual bread and butter will probably be in gaming efficiency or not less than video games that can profit and make the most of the additional ranges of L3 cache.

AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D: Overclocking Help for Reminiscence, However not the Core

Though the Ryzen 7 5800X3D helps reminiscence overclocking and permits customers to overclock the Infinity Cloth interconnect to complement this, AMD has disabled core overclocking, which makes it incompatible with AMD’s Precision Increase Overclocking function. This has disenchanted a whole lot of customers, however it’s a trade-off related to the 3D V-Cache.

Particularly, the constraints in overclocking come right down to voltage limitations ( 1.35 V VCore) by way of using its packaging expertise. The dense V-cache dies, it might appear, cannot deal with additional juice in addition to the L3 cache already constructed into the Zen 3 chiplets.

Because of this, in lieu of CPU overclocking, the greatest factor a person can do to affect larger efficiency with the Ryzen 7 5800X3D is to make use of sooner DDR4 reminiscence with decrease latencies, resembling a great DDR4-3600 package. These settings are additionally the identified candy spot for AMD’s Infinity Cloth Interconnect as set out by AMD.

Trying on the state of the desktop processor market as it’s now, and by the tip of the 12 months, issues look promising for customers with loads of selections accessible. The first battle proper now in gaming efficiency comes right down to AMD’s Ryzen 7 5800X3D ($450) and Intel’s twelfth Gen Core sequence choices, with the Core i9-12900K main the cost for group Intel. 

Maybe probably the most fascinating debate is in the case of shopping for a brand new processor, as each the present generational choices from each AMD and Intel supply very good gaming efficiency on the entire. It is robust to pick a mainstream desktop processor that does not work nicely with most graphics playing cards, and out of doors pairing up a flagship chip with a flagship video card, it should probably come right down to efficiency in compute, productiveness, and content material creation functions. We all know that AMD is releasing its newest Zen 4 core in a while this 12 months, and now we have come to count on developments and development in IPC efficiency.

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D with its 3D V-Cache is new and thrilling, and particularly for gaming efficiency, the battle for the title of ‘quickest gaming processor’ is ever-changing. Primarily based on the prevailing AM4 platform, AMD has given customers a modern design in a well-recognized platform, however the greatest problem will probably be in making true of AMD’s claims, and that is what we goal to do on this evaluate.

Lastly, no matter how the 5800X3D does immediately, AMD’s stacked V-cache expertise will not be a one-and-done providing. AMD just lately introduced there will probably be a Zen 4 variation with 3D V-Cache in some unspecified time in the future through the cycle, in addition to asserting the identical for Zen 5, which is anticipated in 2024.

For our testing, we’re utilizing the next:

For comparability, all different chips have been run as exams listed in our benchmark database, Bench, on Home windows 10 and 11 (for the newer processors).