I’m not surprised by this going from a 12-core 3900X to the 8-core 5800X3D. If the benchmark can take advantage of all cores, 4 extra cores will help more than a high L3 cache. MSFS, being so limited to one main thread thanks to DX11, will greatly benefit from having high L3 cache.
A great example of how a big L3 cache can be useful, but also be limited depending on the scenario.
You know, I’m like you, had a really awful experience with an AMD processor way way back (can’t remember if it was an Athlon or smthg), switched back to Intel and stayed loyal to the brand ever since.
However, reading contributions from fellow MSFS forum members made me realize how great it is to be able to switch CPUs to a new generation without having to change the motherboard everytime.
For those of us in the blue team, from 7th gen to 12th gen Intel, it’s like 3 or 4 different sockets if I’m not mistaken.
Whereas the red team, AFAIK, got to the keep the same platform during that whole time (AM4).
Please correct me if I’m wrong, I think AM4 was launched in September 2016, like Kaby Lake, and it’s still here 6 years later.
It’s better economics and also, it is so much easier to just swap a new CPU on the same socket, and enjoy …
I am now willing to give the AM5 platform a shot. I’ll be investing in a very good motherboard, and hoping to keep it for a very long time. 
What helped with that decision is the inclusion/availability of integrated graphics units (iGPU) in the next generation 7000 processors by AMD. It was just officially announced. To me, it is a hard requirement, and Intel will no longer have that competitive advantage on their flagship gaming CPUs.
If you’re going to wait for AM5 then I suggest you wait until at least 3 months after release, as AM5’s microcode is expected to be fairly buggy at launch, and the motherboards will certainly see quite a few BIOS updates. Waiting a few months will probably save you quite a bit of early adopters’ grief.
AM5 is still a great long-term bet however.
I agree completely. In the twenty years I’ve been building computers I’ve used AMD CPUs exclusively - with one exception a dozen years ago - and have had nothing but good luck. It does take time for the new generation bugs to get squashed. The two mainboards I’ve used the most are Asus and Gigabyte, and of the two Gigabyte has been the most reliable.
I have actually done just the opposite: recently upgrading to the 5800X3D on an X570S board, with 3600 speed ram. Careful cross reference between AMD and Gigabyte with regard to ram choice is key, IMHO. For this build I returned to “Team Green” for my GPU; and have not been disappointed. There are times when the fans don’t even spin it runs so cool (a 10GB 3080) and performance - even in VR - is simply amazing.
I figure this build will carry me deep into the maturity “sweet spot” for AM5 hardware. I did the same thing with AM4, just upgrading from AM3 in early 2020. If you are careful and build a balanced combination of hardware you can expect it to last quite a while.
One last thought: don’t skimp on the PSU. I installed a Corsair RM1000x for this build. 1K seems like overkill, but again, the load is typically so light the fan doesn’t even spin. Under full load the hardware is pulling 57-58% capacity, which is the middle of the efficiency curve for the PSU.
Running the Firestrike benchmark in 3DMark places this build in the 99th percentile, so all the bits seem to work and play well together. Most importantly, performance in MSFS has never been this smooth and stutter-free.
Good point! New platform releases always bring surprises!
So can this thing hold a steady and stutter free 30 fps plus flying into inibuilds Heathrow during a busy Vatsim evening, with AIG, in the Fenix, with TLOD and OLOD at 200? If it can do that then I’ll be impressed! 
My first impressions are so far disappointed. I’m only playing MSFS in Vr, but i got a minimal improvement of 2 frames over New York city (quest2). I did the same scenario twice with my old (3700x) and new (5800x3d) cpu, which is combined with the MSI 3080. I went from 29 frames (no motion reprojection) to 31 and sometimes 32 frames. I feels a bit smoother, but less then expected.
Pretty sure in VR you are going to be GPU limited.
I just installed mine, and I can say I have big improvements.
I have a 3080 with 12gb ram and mi GPU was not passing 50% of use, now I reach 80 easily.
On VR I got a big improvement on the smoothness of the image, the best way to say this is: It is like if you where watching a 60 fps movie inside the VR headset, FPSs also went up at least 10/15 in my headset.
First image is 2D, with ULTRA settings, v-Sync and fps limited to 60, NYC:
Second image is 2D, with HIGH settings, LOD 100, fps not limited, Buenos Aires:
Before the CPU I was getting 35-45 on NYC, but with settings on HIGH, not ULTRA.
Yeah…i have had a similar experience. Changed from a 10700k to 5800x3d and i’m still Main Thread limited and FPS still isn’t as world beating as i’d hoped. Sitting at JustSim EDDF Gate B10 in the Fenix i get around 35-40fps. (Ultra settings, clouds on high) Very little difference to my old processor. Start Vatsim with AIG modelmatching and it tanks down to 25fps again…Really ■■■■■■■ sick of the ■■■■ performance in this Sim at the moment.
Terrain LOD?
Was hoping it could cope with that as my 10700k could only really handle 100 (Back in the early days of MSFS it could do 200 easily)
I was hoping for that, but most of the time "limited by main thread’ 
After an chipset update from AMD.com my CPU performance went up (4%) but my GPU went down (8%) according 3dmark.
In MSFS however i noticed a small increase in frames. 2 additional frames and less stutters. Still not quite what i was hoping for, but a small increase. The head movement is noticeable smoother than before. Most of the time in VR still limited by main thread. Hoping for some performance updates from Asobo.
Just upgraded my rig.
Really depends on LOD for me. I tested @1440 Ultra everything Rendering 150%
LOD 400 increased about 3 FPS
LOD 200 increased about 15 FPS
LOD is a killer. Based on testing I am running Ultra preset (LOD 200) and rendering 140% locked at 30 FPS. At this level running smooth and no stutters even on the ground.
CPU 5800X3D (from 5600)
GPU 3080
I had a similar update; from 5600x to 5800x3d just before SU9 and I don’t really want to join this blame game, but had much better results than these. Nowadays I have the same numbers as you. So if everything goes right it will be better 
With my recent upgrade to a 5800X3D and a 3080 I flew all day (from 1500Z to 2230Z) without a single stutter, pause or fps slowdown. Flew through both the KLAX Class B and the KSFO Class B airspace with takeoffs and landings every 20-35 minutes at airports from KSAN to KSTS. (Shout out to Eastern Hops Cessna Sundays!)
I’d say the 5800X3D is pretty rock solid, especially when paired with a 3080.
I could not be much happier with the upgrade so far.
I hope I have an experience like yours. Only a few flights so far. What LOD are you using?
What could be interesting is when DX12 gets sorted out and optimisations for multi threading are much more effective. That could make the “stock” CPUs far more effective than the 5800x3d in time which seems to fare much better as a brute force solution to single threaded bottlenecks…
Highly doubt it. It’s not like the 5800x3d has only 1 core. Unless you can utilize more than 8 cores the x3D will likely outperform others. These games are simply sensitive to cache size and memory access latency.
You can look at benchmarks of other games and see that the x3D almost never does worse than any other processor and often does better, sometimes significantly.
I also wouldn’t call the x3D a brute force solution at all. Processors are always a trade-off between cores/execution units and caches. Both take area on the chip. AMD just managed to stack chips together which is a technology intel is also very interested in. They just haven’t productized it for the consumer market yet. That’s just a natural next step as we run out of silicon area on chips.
I saw some in stock at Newegg at list price and ordered myself an upgrade… Heavy airport scenery areas push my old 3700X pretty hard and often become limited on CPU, so I expect those to improve significantly between the 5000-series improvements and the extra cache, with only the chip and the cooler needing to be swapped out.
Wish me luck! 
