As expected, AMD took advantage of the opening of Computex to unveil its new range of AMD Ryzen 7000 processors based on the AMD Zen 4 architecture.
The appointment was given, AMD took advantage of the opening of Computex in Taiwan to organize a conference and demonstrate its new processors. RDNA 3 graphics cards will be waiting, the star of the presentation were the Ryzen 6000s based on the Zen 4 architecture.
These processors are to succeed the excellent Ryzen 5000 which have still seen fierce competition with 12th generation Intel Core processors and, to some extent, Apple’s M1 Max and Ultra chips.
A new platform: AM5
The first major novelty of this generation is to say goodbye to the AM4 socket, replaced by the brand new AM5 LGA1718 which will be associated with the X670E, X670 or B650 chipsets. Unlike Intel, which changes socket like shirt, AMD is more used to longevity and the AM4 socket has accompanied gamers since the first AMD Zen processors. The good news is that AMD has thought of its historical users. The new AMD Ryzen 7000 processors use an IHS (the metal cover that covers the processor) compatible with the use of previous generation radiators. In other words, you should be able to keep your Be Quiet, Noctua, Cooler Master, or other cooler with your new processor.
The new AM5 platform notably brings support for PCI Express 5.0, which is long overdue since it is already supported by Intel. PCI Express 5.0 SSDs should become legion in the coming months to benefit from the doubled bandwidth. Support for DD5 RAM is also in the game, but AMD hasn’t provided many details yet. The three chipsets X670E, X670 and B650- will offer support for DDR5 and PCI Express 5.0 storage. It remains to be seen how AMD will differentiate between the different price ranges of these platforms.
With AM5, AMD promises that we will be entitled to up to 14 USB ports at 20 Gb / s, up to 24 PCI Express 5.0 lines and Wi-Fi 6E with Bluetooth 5.2 LE. As you will have understood, it is above all a question of catching up with the lead taken by Intel when it comes to integrating technologies.
AMD Ryzen 7000: the first 5 nm processor for PC (or almost)
AMD is very proud to announce that its new Ryzen 7000 processors are the first in the desktop PC market to use the TSMC 5nm manufacturing process. With this announcement, AMD forgets the launch of Apple’s M1 Ultra chip, already used on a desktop PC and yet using the same manufacturing process in 5 nm. It remains clear that the use of this process allows AMD to maintain a lead over Intel in this segment.
More importantly, the Ryzen 7000s introduce a new AMD Zen 4 architecture. The firm has not provided all the details, but we already know that there is talk of an L2 cache of 1 MB per core (double Zen 3 ). The number of cores does not change with this generation, so we are in front of processors that can accommodate up to 16. On the other hand, AMD wants to increase the maximum frequency and promises a turbo exceeding 5 GHz all the same. In an on-stage demo, Lisa Su demonstrated a 16-core Zen 4 processor capable of exceeding 5.5 GHz.
With increased cache, frequency, and architecture optimizations, AMD promises a +15% increase in performance on a single core. We will have to wait to have the processor in our hands to put this promise to the test.
An integrated graphics chip
This technological choice may make some processor aficionados wince, betting all their silicon on CPU power. AMD has chosen to integrate a small 6 nm Die into its AMD Zen 4 chips, which will notably integrate an RDNA 2 iGPU. In other words, all processors in the range should offer an integrated graphics chip. What allow to simplify the integration of these processors in the PC, particularly in company. AMD specifies that this new die in 6 nm should also offer real power savings when the PC is on standby.
Launching this fall
If the presentation ignores so many details concerning the architecture, it is because AMD allows time to talk about its chips before the launch. Indeed, the firm announces that the Ryzen 7000 processors will not arrive until the end of the year, in the fall of 2022. Enough to do a double blow with the expected launch of the Radeon 7000 graphics cards also expected for the end of the year.
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