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Update

What changed

There is now a useful clue behind the Ryzen 5 5500F’s early gaming lead. HWCooling reports that the chip supports PCIe 4.0 for both graphics and storage, while the older Ryzen 5 5500 is limited to PCIe 3.0.

OC3D suggests that extra bandwidth could help explain RandomGaminginHD’s reported gains of up to 16.1%, although the test does not isolate PCIe from the 5500F’s higher boost clock or other differences. Forza Horizon 6 was nearly level between the chips, so this is a plausible explanation rather than a tiny silicon whodunnit solved beyond doubt.

For budget builders, the practical payoff is clearer: the 5500F is the less compromised AM4 partner for newer graphics cards and PCIe 4.0 SSDs.

Sources and evidence

• HWCooling.net: HWCooling reports that the Ryzen 5 5500F supports PCIe 4.0 x16 for a graphics card and PCIe 4.0 x4 for storage, whereas the Ryzen 5 5500 is limited to PCIe 3.0.

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