All that’s new in Ryzen’s 7000 processors
27/9/2022
Translation: Patrik Stainbrook
As of today, Ryzen’s CPUs featuring Zen 4 architecture are officially available. With them come innovations such as AM5 sockets, DDR5, PCIe 5.0 and new motherboards.
Today, on September 27, 2022, AMD is launching a new CPU generation after almost two years: Ryzen 7000. In 2020, the manufacturer achieved what was considered impossible for a long time; it took the performance crown from Intel. Intel fought back last year with Alder Lake’s performance and efficient cores. Now AMD wants to reclaim its crown with the Ryzen 7000 series and Zen 4 architecture. Have a look at my reviews to find out whether the Ryzen 9 7950X and Ryzen 7 7700X will succeed in their task
The CPUs?
The lineup includes the following four processors, for now:
| CPU | Cores/threads | Base/boost tick rate | TDP | PPT | Cache L2 | Cache L3 | Max. RAM speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryzen 9 7950X | 16/32 | 4.7/5.7 GHz | 170 watts | 230 watts | 16+1 MB | 64 MB | DDR5-5200 (2x16) |
| Ryzen 9 7900X | 12/24 | 4.7/5.6 GHz | 170 watts | 230 watts | 12+1 MB | 64 MB | DDR5-5200 (2x16) |
| Ryzen 7 7700X | 8/16 | 4.5/5.4 GHz | 105 watts | 142 watts | 8+1 MB | 32 MB | DDR5-5200 (2x16) |
| Ryzen 5 7600X | 6/12 | 4.7/5.3 GHz | 105 watts | 142 watts | 6+1 MB | 32 MB | DDR5-5200 (2x16) |
Future models will follow, featuring 3D V-Cache among other functions, as is the case with the Ryzen 7 5800X3D.
Ryzen 7000 is introducing the new Zen 4 architecture, enabling an average 13 per cent higher performance per clock (IPC) compared to Zen 3 and Ryzen 5000 respectively. Furthermore, in contrast to Intel, there’s support for the AVX-512 instruction set extension. The core compute dies (CCD) are manufactured in a 5 nm process at TSMC. The I/O die is also manufactured by TSMC in a 6 nm process.
The number of cores remains the same with six, eight, twelve and 16. In return, clock rates are up to 17 per cent higher than in the predecessors. L2 cache has been doubled compared to the predecessors.
The thermal design power (TDP) also increases with higher clock rates. It’s now 170 watts for the Ryzen 9 models and 105 watts for Ryzen 7 and 5 models. Peak power consumption (PPT) is even up to 230 watts.
All Ryzen 7000 processors come with an integrated RDNA2 graphics unit. According to AMD, this is primarily used to display an image on your monitor. It won’t provide much performance.
New mainboards
With Ryzen 7000, AMD is switching to the AM5 socket after five years. Instead of a Pin Grid Array (PGA), Land Grid Arrays (LGA) will be used. Thus, the contact pins between a CPU and mainboard are no longer on the CPU but on the board. This allows for higher pin density.
The 600 series chipsets are new. At launch, the motherboards come with X670 and X670E chipsets. More affordable ones with B650 and B650E chipsets will follow in October. The motherboards only support DDR5 RAM, up to DDR5-5200 (without overclocking). Extended Profiles for Overclocking (EXPO), a memory profile optimised for Ryzen similar to Intel’s XMP, are new. PCIe 5.0 is also new on board, theoretically doubling data transfer rates to 32 gigatransfers per second compared to PCIe 4.0. A maximum of 24 PCIe 5.0 lanes are available.
Here are all new motherboards available for order at launch:
Kevin Hofer
Senior Editor
kevin.hofer@digitecgalaxus.chFrom big data to big brother, Cyborgs to Sci-Fi. All aspects of technology and society fascinate me.
