AMD Ryzen 3 3300X socket: AM4

What the Ryzen 3 3300X is

The AMD Ryzen 3 3300X is a four core, eight thread desktop processor in the Ryzen 3000 series built on the Zen 2 core design with the Matisse codename. It runs at 3.8 GHz base and boosts to 4.3 GHz, and it carries 16 MB of shared L3 cache with 2 MB of L2 and 256 KB of L1 in a chiplet package made with TSMC 7 nm FinFET. AMD rates it at 65 W default TDP, and the multiplier is unlocked.

The layout is what makes this chip stand out from its sibling. All four cores sit inside a single core complex with the full 16 MB of L3 cache shared between them, while the Ryzen 3 3100 spreads its four cores across two complexes with 8 MB of cache each. That single complex design shortens the path when cores exchange data, which is why reviewers at the time treated the 3300X as the stronger gaming chip of the pair despite the small price gap. The input and output die is the same Matisse part as in the larger Ryzen 3000 chips, so PCIe 4.0 and DDR4 at up to 3200 MT/s carry over.

AMD announced the processor in April 2020 with a $120 SEP, and it reached shelves in May 2020 next to the $99 Ryzen 3 3100. Four Zen 2 cores with 18 MB of total cache brought PCIe 4.0 and an unlocked multiplier under a price where such features had never appeared. It belongs in the entry 1080p class of its era, next to cards such as the GeForce GTX 1650 Super and the Radeon RX 5500 XT.

Socket and motherboard compatibility

The Ryzen 3 3300X fits the AM4 socket, a pin grid array design with 1,331 pins on the processor itself. B550 boards launched next to it in mid 2020 with native support, and X570 boards accept it with a recent BIOS. Older 400 series boards accept it after a BIOS update from the board maker.

The board choice decides how much of the chip is usable. A 500 series board wires the processor PCIe 4.0 lanes to the graphics slot and one NVMe slot at full speed, while a 400 series board runs the same lanes at PCIe 3.0 speed. Before buying for an existing board, find the exact model on the maker CPU support page and read which BIOS version adds Ryzen 3000, since some early BIOS releases predate this chip.

Memory, PCIe and cooling

The memory controller supports DDR4 at up to 3200 MT/s across two channels, and faster kits run with an XMP or DOCP profile switched on in the BIOS. Two matched sticks in dual channel mode are the usual choice for a budget build, since a single stick halves the available bandwidth at the same kit speed. There is no DDR5 path on AM4.

The processor exposes PCIe 4.0 lanes for graphics and storage, but the board decides the speed they run at. On X570 and B550 boards a graphics card and a fast NVMe drive can use the full 4.0 speed, while on 400 series boards the same chip runs at PCIe 3.0 speed with no other change needed. Cooling needs are modest at 65 W, and mounting uses the AM4 pattern of holes spaced 54 × 90 mm, which the CPU cooler compatibility by socket guide covers in detail. Any AM4 rated cooler that handles 65 W desktop chips is enough for stock operation.

Upgrade paths

On the same socket, the 3300X is itself the upgrade for owners of older dual core and first generation quad core AM4 chips, since it keeps the board and the DDR4 memory while adding faster Zen 2 cores with twice the thread count. From the 3300X upward, the next steps without leaving AM4 are six core chips such as the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 or the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X, where the latter needs a BIOS with Ryzen 5000 support. Each of those moves reuses the same board, memory and cooler mounting.

Moving past AM4 entirely means a new board and DDR5 memory on AM5. For a buyer choosing inside the Ryzen 3 pair, the 3300X suits a build that favors higher clocks and the single complex layout, while the 3100 suits a build that must stay near $99. The two share the socket, the memory type, the PCIe version and the 65 W rating, so either drops into the same boards.