Tech leaker suggests that AMD has a Ryzen 7 7700X3D lined up in the wings but if the specs are correct, it'll need to be genuinely cheap to sell well
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Who's upgrading to AM5 these days when DDR5 is so stupidly expensive?
Given the veritable wealth of different Ryzen X3D processors AMD has been churning out in recent times, you'd be forgiven for missing the fact that there's been one notable absence from the full list: a 5700X3D equivalent of the Ryzen 7 7800X3D. However, if one social media post is to be believed, then that box is shortly going to be ticked.
Ordinarily, a single post on X is nowhere near enough compelling evidence for me to make such a claim, but when the account in question belongs to chi11eddog, it's certainly worth paying attention to. They have a pretty stellar track record for dropping early hints on new chips, with correct specs, such as getting it bang on for the 9950X3D2 Dual Edition and 9850X3D.
Anyway, chi11eddog's latest post is for a Ryzen 7 7700X3D, and the stated specs—120 W, eight cores, 16 threads, and 96 MB L3 cache—all point to this being a processor with a 3D V-Cached chiplet that failed to meet the requirements for use in a Ryzen 7 7800X3D.
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The process of applying the 3D V-Cache to the CCD doesn't produce 100% perfect results every time, and rather than wasting the failed couplings, AMD just puts them to one side. Some of them might end up in a Ryzen 5 7600X3D or 7500X3D, but since these SKUs are 12-thread processors, two cores have to be disabled.
With a 7700X3D, you're getting the full CCD, but I wouldn't get too excited just yet. Mostly because chi11eddog is claiming that the peak boost clock will be a mere 4.5 GHz. That's a drop of 500 MHz from the 7800X3D, and while that only equates to a decrease of 10%, the combination of the relatively slow clock speed and high TDP of 120 W, suggests that these chips will run quite toasty.
If AMD does decide to roll out a Ryzen 7 7700X3D across all retailers, the point about whether it will be worth picking one up will come entirely down to the price tag. Right now, you can bag a full-fat 7800X3D for $377 at Amazon, so expecting a sub-$300 price for the 7700X3D isn't unreasonable.
The Ryzen 7 5700X3D launched with an MSRP of $249, considerably less than the 5800X3D's $449, but the latter price was perhaps overly high in the first place. Back then, it was the first and only X3D chip, but these days we have a whole lot more to choose from.
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With luck, AMD will do the decent thing and pitch the 7700X3D significantly under $300, to help offset the horrendous cost of the DDR5 kit you'll need to go with it, if you're upgrading from an AM4 or older Intel setup.
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