(Image credit: AMD)

The AM4 socket is approaching its 10th birthday, and AMD still refuses to stop making CPUs for the legendary platform. The CPU manufacturer has officially introduced the Ryzen 5 5500X3D, a Zen 3-based six-core part aimed at the Latin American market.

The Ryzen 5 5500X3D represents AMD's fourth 3D-VCache model under the Ryzen 5000 umbrella. The chip is essentially a detuned Ryzen 5 5600X3D with a flat 3GHz base clock and a flat 4GHz boost clock, but it has the same six Zen 3 cores and 96MB of L3 cache.

Interestingly, the Ryzen 5 5500X3D is the only 5500-series CPU with a chiplet-based architecture. The new chip sports the same L3 cache capacity as all of its other Ryzen 5000X3D counterparts and runs under the Vermeer codename; however, its direct counterparts, the Ryzen 5 5500 and 5500GT, both sport AMD's monolithic versions of Zen 3 (codenamed Cezanne) with disabled integrated graphics and just 16MB of L3 cache.

AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D Specifications

The Ryzen 5 5500X3D's Latin American exclusivity sets it apart from its higher-end counterparts, being the only Ryzen chip exclusive to that geographic area. AMD undoubtedly saw a large enough hole to fill the Latin American CPU market, or it wouldn't have greenlit the chip's launch. The Latin American economy is much poorer than the United States economy, the European economy, and other wealthy nations, so it is understandable why the 5500X3D exists.

Pricing is a mystery, but the Ryzen 5 5500X3D will likely be valued somewhere around $150-$200. AMD's outgoing Ryzen 5 5500GT is priced at $140 currently (in the US), and AMD's other higher-tier Ryzen 5 5600/X and Ryzen 7 5700X chips are priced under $200. The Ryzen 7 5700X3D, AMD's only other remaining Zen 3 X3D part still on sale, is currently priced above $250.

Regardless of its exclusivity, the Ryzen 5 5500X3D represents AMD's undying commitment to the AM4 platform. When AMD launched AM5 in 2022, the company re-committed to the AM4 socket as its entry-level solution rather than discontinuing it altogether. This was very strategic at the time, when motherboard prices and DDR5 prices were at an all-time high.

AMD has never placed an official discontinuation date on the AM4 socket, but there are signs that the platform is slowly being de-prioritized by AMD. The Ryzen 5 5500X3D represents the only AM4-based chip AMD has launched in 2025 so far. By contrast, AMD launched five new AM4 CPUs in 2023 and four more in 2024.

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