AMD’s Ryzen 7000 CPUs Officially Unveiled

AMD’s Zen 4 processors don’t look revolutionary at first glance. Single-core performance may be the most pressing concern for gamers, and AMD itself claims that its Ryzen 9 7950X’s single-core performance is only effectively getting a 29% boost over its predecessor, the Ryzen 9 5950X. It should go without saying that if you already have a powerful Zen 3-powered gaming machine, you won’t need to run out and buy the latest Zen 4 desktop to keep up.

But it could be worth investing in if you’re interested in 3D imaging software such as V-Ray Render, which AMD claims are receiving a 57% performance boost. Don’t let the relatively high 170W TDP fool you, the 7950X is rated for up to 47% more power efficiency. This is evidently due in part to borrowed power management processes first developed alongside AMD’s mobile processor lineup. The lineup itself spans four processors and four motherboard chipsets, some of which will be launching later than others. It sounds like the bottom-tier AMD Ryzen 5 7600X will still be quite powerful, featuring six cores, 12 threads, a 30MB cache, and up to 5.3 GHz of raw power — all at a baseline MSRP of $299. 

You’ll need to plug your 7000-series AMD chip into a Zen 4-compatible motherboard, though only two of the four total Zen 4-compatible chipsets will be available when these CPUs begin rolling onto store shelves on September 27. Gamers can expect plenty of power from the AMD X670 and souped-up X670 Extreme chipsets (which will launch alongside Zen 4), but creatives may need to wait until October to begin working with the more enterprise-focused AMD B650 and AMD B650E Zen 4 chipsets.