AMD’s new 'Ryzen 7' series of processors bring the fight to Intel with comparable performance at slashed prices.
After teasing their new Zen processor architecture in December last year, AMD was clearly gunning to de-throne Intel from the high-performance computing segment. Yesterday AMD’s president and CEO Dr. Lisa Su took the wraps off a set of three desktop processors based on this architecture, aimed squarely at the enthusiast and professional segment.
Su announced that the goal was to achieve an increase in the Instructions Per Clock (IPC) improvement of 40 percent over their previous chip generation, but revealed that the new ‘Ryzen’ processors achieved a 52 percent gain. Three processors have been unveiled as part of this new family of desktop chips: the Ryzen 7 1700, Ryzen 7 1700X and the Ryzen 7 1800X.
Based on a new 14-nanometer manufacturing process, they use an 8-core 16-thread design, built to run applications that can leverage their multi-core architecture such as gaming, video encoding, 3D visualization and the like. They pack about 4.8 billion transistors and, interestingly, contain 2 Km of internal wiring.
The Ryzen 7 1700 opens the range with a clock speed of 3GHz that boosts to 3.7GHz while the Ryzen 7 1700X has a base clock speed of 3.4GHz, boosting to 3.8GHz. Both processors have a thermal design power (TDP) rating of 65 Watts, which describes the amount of heat generated by the chip when in typical operation. Topping the range, the Ryzen 7 1800X has a TDP of 95 Watts and runs at a frequency of 3.6GHz with the ability to boost to 4GHz.
The launch event included several real-world demos pitting these new processors against comparable parts from Intel’s range of CPUs, including their latest ‘Kaby Lake’ processors. showing comparable and even better performance scores. While these comparisons depicted applications like video transcoding (HandBrake), 3D rendering (Cinebench R15) and 4K gaming (Sniper Elite 4,) the practical experience with the processors will vary depending on other factors like the motherboard, graphics card, RAM speed etc. Still, it is interesting to see AMD’s new line of processors in the same ballpark as Intel’s top-end.
The clincher however is the processors’ pricing: the Ryzen 7 1700, 1700X and 1800X cost $329 (approx. Rs 21,982,) $399 (Rs 26,660) and $499 (Rs 33,341) respectively, making them 6 to 53 percent lower than comparable Intel processors.
AMD stated that over 82 motherboard options being promised at launch from brands like Asus, Biostar, Gigabyte, and MSI, with 200 PC builders offering Ryzen-based systems within the first half of this year. Worldwide availability of Ryzen-based desktops will commence 2 March, with pre-orders starting on 22 Feb.
Watch the entire unveiling here:
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "AMD Ryzen processor")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}