AMD architecture explained

While Intel has opted for a complicated architecture, mixing performance cores with efficiency ones, AMD has stuck with a more traditional architecture for its CPUs. The current generation of chips on review uses the Zen 3 architecture, with the Ryzen 5 5800X3D the last chip of that generation before AMD introduces new processors that will use the brand-new AM5 socket.

With this range of processors, AMD largely decided to go for many cores per chip, boosting performance in multithreaded applications in particular. Thanks to its efficient 7nm manufacturing process (Intel is still on 10nm), a large number of cores can be used without the chips getting too hot.

As a result, while some of these processors are more than a year old, they still hold up well to Intel’s latest and greatest, particularly when you measure performance