AMD recently unveiled and shared more details regarding its upcoming Ryzen 7000 series desktop CPU and AM5 motherboards. The Ryzen 7000 series CPUs are based on the new Zen 4 architecture. It uses TSMC’s 5nm fabrication process and its AM5 motherboards will support PCIe 5.0 and DDR5 memory. There are a lot of “5” here, perhaps AMD should have skipped number 4 and used “Zen 5” instead. Missed (marketing) opportunity right there. Moving on…
UPDATE: AMD’s Ryzen 7000 Zen 4 CPUs and X670(E) AM5 motherboards are now available. Check the latest pricing and availability below: (#ad)
AMD Ryzen 7000 Zen4 CPUs are now available at Amazon.com here.
AMD AM5 X670(E) motherboards are available at Amazon.com here.
AMD Ryzen 7000 Zen 4 is World’s First 5nm Desktop CPU
AMD still uses a chiplet design for its Ryzen 7000 CPU, just like in the previous Ryzen 5000 and 3000 series CPUs. Each chiplet is a 5nm die and will feature AMD’s Zen 4 core architecture. AMD’s CEO Lisa Su showed a delid Ryzen 7000 CPU revealing several chips in one package.
Aside from the 5nm CPU core, the Ryzen 7000 CPUs will feature an all-new I/O die in a 6nm package. And all Ryzen 7000 CPUs will have integrated AMD RDNA 2 graphics or iGPU. However, the iGPU is not on par with the graphics processing on AMD’s APUs. It is reported that the RDNA 2 iGPU is not as powerful compared to the ones on AMD’s APUs. AMD didn’t share any specifics, but basically speaking, the iGPU included in these Ryzen 7000 CPUs is not meant for gaming.
AMD Zen 4 core architecture features 1MB per core L2 cache, which is double the previous generation. It also offers more or less a 15% performance uplift in single-thread workload. And can reach up to 5GHz+ of maximum boost clock speed. This is something that the current Ryzen 5000 CPUs are not capable of.
AMD Ryzen 7000 CPU vs Intel Core i9-12900K
AMD also showed that their Ryzen 7000 CPU outperforms Intel’s flagship Core i9-12900K by up to 31% in Blender. Again, AMD didn’t disclose what the CPU model was used, but it could be the 16-core part that can boost up to 5.5GHz. This is, after all, flagship vs flagship CPU.
AMD AM5 Motherboards – X670 Extreme, X670, B650
Aside from sharing more details about the Ryzen 7000 CPU, AMD also unveiled some of the upcoming AM5 motherboards and their features. There will be three AM5 motherboards – X670 Extreme, X670, and B650. You can check out the Asus ROG Crosshair X670E Extreme here and MSI MEG X670E ACE here for more details.
Basically, the X670 Extreme, or X670E for short, is the top-tier AM5 motherboard. It will feature overclocking capability and PCIe 5.0 support in all interfaces. The X670 is a slightly trim-down version of the Extreme. It will still have overclocking capabilities, but its PCIe 5.0 support is limited to graphics and storage. Meanwhile, the mainstream B650 motherboards are expected to be budget-friendly options. Its PCIe 5.0 support is only limited to storage and its graphics interface will run using PCIe 4.0.
Rumored SKUs…
AMD hasn’t revealed the models of the Ryzen 7000 CPUs yet. But it is rumored, and somewhat expected, that the SKUs will be Ryzen 9 7950X, Ryzen 9 7900X, Ryzen 7 7800X, and Ryzen 5 7600X. The Ryzen 9 will have 16 cores and 32 threads, while the Ryzen 7 will have 8 cores and 16 threads, and finally, the Ryzen 5 will have 6 cores and 12 threads.
