AMD Introduces Ryzen 5 Processors

AMD has announced its second line of Ryzen processors based on the Zen architecture. The company is releasing four Ryzen 5 processors, with suggested retail prices ranging from $169 to $249. The CPUs should be in stores on April 11.

The Ryzen 7 processors are processors with eight cores and sixteen threads that are positioned against Intel’s fastest processors from the Core i7 series. The prices were about three hundred and fifty to five hundred and fifty euros and were mainly intended as a cheaper alternative to Intel’s Broadwell E processors on the X99 socket and i7 processors from the top segment of the Kaby Lake generation. With the second wave of processors, AMD wants to conquer the mainstream market and compete in particular with Intel’s i5 processors. That should happen with the Ryzen 5 processors with four or six cores and eight or twelve threads.

Four Ryzen 5 processors will hit stores on April 11, two of which will be quadcores and two hexacores. The cheapest of the four is the Ryzen 5 1400, which has a suggested retail price of $169 and clocks from 3.2GHz to 3.4GHz. The 1500X is the second quad-core with a price of $189 and clocks from 3.5GHz to 3.7GHz. The cheapest hexacore is the Ryzen 5 1600 with clock speeds from 3.2GHz to 3.6GHz and a price of $219. The top model in the Ryzen 5 series is the 1600X, whose six cores tap into 3.6GHz to 4GHz. You have to pay $249 for that.

The X models feature AMD’s additional turbo technology XFR, which can increase the clock speed of one or two cores by an additional 100-200MHz if the energy and heat budget allows. The regular versions also have XFR technology, but it is limited to 50MHz, just like the Ryzen 7 series. The 1600X does not include a cooler, the 1600 and 1500X include a Wraith Spire, and the 1400 includes a slightly simpler Wraith Stealth. The processors have TDPs from 65W to 95W and are of course suitable for AMD’s AM4 platform. In addition, the boards with B350 chipset would form the best combination with the Ryzen 5 series, as they support overclocking and have USB 3.1 gen 2 ports, NVME interface and the necessary SATA connections, but do not support SLI or Crossfire.