AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D Rumor Foretells of a Budget AM4 Gaming Champ

AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D Rumor Foretells of a Budget AM4 Gaming Champ

A red-team-centric leaker with a good track record has shared details of a purported AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D that could vie for a spot on our list of best CPUs for gaming. The image, shared via chi11eddog, looks like a hastily snapped inventory or similar screen, with the new and unannounced AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D listed alongside the tried and tested Ryzen 7 5800X3D. Some of the key specs of the purported new AM4 X3D affordable gaming champ are listed in the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, though we ask you to please add plenty of salt to this unsourced, unexplained leak.

(Image credit: chi11eddog)

We reviewed the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D less than a year ago when it was praised as a “new gaming champion” powered by 3D V-Cache – hence the X3D suffix. The first X3D chip from AMD impressively ranked top in our 1080p and 1440p gaming benchmark suite in June 2022. AMD’s 5800X3D had an ace in the hold thanks to its pioneering use of a total of 96MB of L3 cache via hybrid bonded 3D-stacked SRAM technology. According to today’s leak, the Ryzen 5 5600X3D will have the same capacious 96MB of L3 cache.

Other key purported tech specs of the 5600X3D include its 6C/12T CPU core configuration – as would be expected. The new chip’s base/boost clocks have been nudged down a little from the vanilla Ryzen 5 5600, though. Please check the chart below for some more comparisons.

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Ryzen Chip Cores Base / Boost (GHz) Cache (MB) TDP (W)
5800X 8 / 16 3.8 / 4.7 32 105
5800X3D 8 / 16 3.3 / 4.4 96 105
5600X 6 / 12 3.7 / 4.6 35 65
5600X3D* 6 / 12 3.3 / 4.4 96 105

Remember, these AMD Ryzen 5000 series desktop chips use the 7nm Zen 3 core architecture. However, only a year ago, the 5800X3D was the top dog in gaming, and value-orientated gaming PC builders might be swayed to upgrading an AM4 system with the 5600X3D, depending on market pricing, availability, and benchmarks when / if these processors are released.

The 8C/16T AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D was launched at $449 but is currently available for $289 from Amazon, or $279 from Microcenter. It will be interesting to see how AMD and retailers price a new Ryzen 5 5600X3D, if one does indeed become available.

Lastly, the appearance of an AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D suggests that AMD will eventually expand the Ryzen 7000 desktop chip family with a Ryzen 5 7600X3D. For the generational benefits that might deliver to new AM5 system builders or upgraders, please have a read of our AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D review, and we have also reviewed the Ryzen 9 7950X3D and Ryzen 9 7900X3D earlier this year. Both Ryzen 5000X3D and 7000X3D processors are still firmly within our best CPU for gaming in 2023 picks tables. 

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Lenovo Duet 3 Review: More Than I Expected From a Budget Laptop

Lenovo Duet 3 Review: More Than I Expected From a Budget Laptop

I like cheap laptops. More accurately, I like good cheap laptops… but those can be hard to find. For every hundred bucks that gets trimmed off a laptop’s price, its features, design and performance all typically take a hit. But when I find one that rises above Black Friday doorbuster level, it’s something to cheer about. 

If you need a budget laptop that looks decent, has a passable keyboard, is small enough to go anywhere and is flexible enough to double as a video-streaming tablet, then check out the Lenovo Duet Chromebook. It’s not especially fast, and the touchpad isn’t great, but it’s still one of the best computers you can buy for under $400. Just note that it makes a better secondary or travel laptop than a primary device — which is something I’d say about almost any 11-inch laptop. 

Like

  • Includes a keyboard cover
  • Works as a laptop or tablet
  • Excellent overall value

Don’t Like

  • Touchpad isn’t great
  • Slower performance
  • No headphone jack

Currently selling for $379, this is an 11-inch ChromeOS tablet with a keyboard cover and kickstand. That means it can work as a standalone touchscreen tablet, or as a clamshell-like notebook. In that way, it’s kind of like a cheaper Microsoft Surface 2-in-1. The version tested here has 64GB of eMMC storage, but the model in stores right now has 128GB, which is a plus. 

Microsoft already makes a budget Surface, the most-recent version of which is called the Surface Go 3. It’s $400 and runs Windows instead of ChromeOS, and has an Intel processor instead of the Snapdragon 7c here. But the biggest practical difference to me is that the Lenovo Duet includes its pretty darn good keyboard cover in the box, while Microsoft forces you to buy its keyboard cover for an extra $100 to $129, depending on the color. When shopping at this end of the budget pool, a 25% premium to get the keyboard (which is a must-have) makes a big difference.

Lenovo Duet with keyboard cover

Dan Ackerman/CNET

As a Chromebook, the Duet is less capable than a Windows device in some respects, but as modern Chromebooks can run almost any Android app, the use cases where this would make a real difference to you continue to narrow. And head-to-head, a sub-$500 computer running ChromeOS is usually going to feel speedier and more responsive than a similarly priced Windows PC, because of the lighter OS. 

Read more: How to Buy a Budget Laptop in 2022

Keyboard and kickstand 

I’ve always said the keyboard cover design and build quality are the best things about the Surface line, and that’s true for the Lenovo Duet as well. The Lenovo keyboard is similarly solid, not flimsy like some other clip-on keyboards, and its smallish keys have excellent depth and a satisfying clacky feel. The tiny touchpad, in contrast, is the single most annoying thing about this system — it’s usable, but doesn’t feel as accurate or responsive as I’d like. 

Here’s a quick ChromeOS trackpad tip. If

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