If you’re in the market for one of AMD’s Zen 3 Ryzen 5000 series, like many consumers, you’re probably coming up to a wall of apologies at your local PC stores, all spouting the same meandering “Sorry, no stock,” or “Yes, we have stock, but it’s part of a bundle,” reply. Infuriating, I know.
On the off-chance that you do manage to find yourself say, a Ryzen 7 5800X and not one of the enthusiast-level Ryzen 9 5900X or 5950X, I may be able to provide a few reasons as to why this CPU is well worth the consideration.
Specifications
As the dividing line between mid-range Ryzen 5 and the enthusiast-level Ryzen 9, the 5800X is essentially the “step above” that are comfortable with no more than eight cores but at the same time, are seeking out a little beefier than what the Ryzen 5 5600X offers.
Test Rig
As with all previously tested Ryzen CPU of this generation, the testbench and testing methodology used to put the 5800X through its paces remains virtually unchanged, with the exception of the AIO cooler. Due to that point, I won’t spend too much time speaking about it. As for my GPU, the card used in this review is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Founders Edition.
Also, the performance data I am posting here is merely the 5800X’s performance out of the box and does not include any overclocking data. In regards to the latter point, pushing the CPU to its listed boost clock of 4.8GHz is both considerably and surprisingly easier to do in comparison to the Ryzen 9 5900X and 5950X. Unfortunately, sustaining such speeds during the testing period proved to be impossible, with the system constantly crashing and restarting.
Benchmarks
As a processor built with AMD’s Zen 3 CPU architecture, there is little evidence to suggest that the 5800X is anything but fast and powerful, and the data shows it. By comparison, the Ryzen 7 CPU is amusingly more on par with Intel’s top-of-the-line Core i9-10900K.
On synthetic benchmarks like Cinebench R20, and the CPU tests on UL’s 3DMark benchmarks, the scores between the two are virtually identical. And remember, this is beside the fact that the 10900K runs at a higher 5.3GHz clock, thanks to its Thermal Velocity Boost (TVB) feature, and has two extra cores.
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The Blender benchmark is where the 5800X’s 8-cores seems to slow down a little, especially with the Quick CPU tests segment, but otherwise pulls ahead of the 10900K by several seconds when subjected to the program’s full testing methodology.
Gaming with the CPU is a relatively mundane affair as well, with my benchmark titles of Control, DOOM Eternal, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, and Watch Dogs Legion barely even stressing out the 5800X. Granted, the bulk of the workload is being handled by the RTX 3090, but having the 8-cores on the side does help to a measurable degree.
Temperature and Power Consumption
As for heat generation, both AMD and the 5800X shows us, yet again, that the Zen 3 architecture really doesn’t go past 76°C when it’s put through its paces. As for its idling temperature, that number was obtained after leaving the system running for a period of 24 hours.
Lastly, the power consumption of the 5800X is within AMD’s stated parameter for the processor and as such, there is nothing outstanding to report.
Conclusion
At this stage, I know what many of you are going to say: yes, finding any high-end Ryzen 5000 series CPU – let alone a Ryzen 7 5800X – has been increasingly difficult due to global chip shortage, and for the shops that are carrying them, purchasing them ala carte and at its retail price of RM2289 is virtually impossible.
Logistics and price tag notwithstanding, my point at the beginning of this review still stands. If you’re looking for a halfway point between mid-range and enthusiast-grade, then this CPU is more than sufficient for all your gaming, productivity, and professional needs.
If there is one other, prominent point that rings out above all other points about the 5800X, it would be this: given the performance of Intel’s Core i9-10900K, the chipmaker very seriously needs to get its affairs in order with its upcoming 11th generation Rocket Lake-S CPUs. Especially if it wants a hope in hell of being considered as a top-tier SKU against AMD’s Ryzen 9 processor lineup.
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