Find out what AMD Smart Access Memory is all about, and how to turn it on for a FREE BOOST in performance!
Smart Access Memory : PCIe Resizable BAR for AMD!
Smart Access Memory is AMD’s marketing term for their implementation of the PCI Express Resizable BAR (Base Address Registers) capability.
What does that mean exactly?
CPUs are traditionally limited to a 256 MB I/O memory address region for the GPU frame buffer. This of it as an “data dump” for stuff like textures, shaders and geometry.
Since this “data dump” is limited to 256 MB, the CPU can only send texture, shader and geometry data as and when the GPU requires them.
This introduces some latency – delay from when the GPU requires the data, and the CPU send them.
Turning on Resizable BAR or Smart Access Memory greatly expands the size of that data dump, letting the CPU directly access the GPU’s entire frame buffer memory.
Instead of transferring data when requested by the GPU, the CPU processes and stores the data directly in the graphics memory.
Graphics assets can be transferred to graphics memory in full, instead of in pieces. In addition, multiple transfers can occur simultaneously, instead of being queued up.
While this AMD graphic above suggests that Smart Access Memory will widen the memory path (and thus memory bandwidth) between the CPU and GPU, that is not true.
Smart Access Memory / Resizable BAR will not increase memory bandwidth.
What it does is let the CPU directly access the entire GPU frame buffer memory, instead of using the usual 256 MB “dump”. That reduces latency because the graphics assets are now accessible by the GPU at all times.
AMD Smart Access Memory : Performance Gains
According to AMD, enabling Smart Access Memory will give you a small but free boost of 5% to 11% in gaming performance.
You can expect up to 16% better performance in some games, but no effect in certain games. But overall, you get a free boost in performance. There is simply no reason not to enable Smart Access Memory.
1080p Resolution (1920 x 1080)
1440p Resolution (2560 x 1440)
2160p Resolution (3840 x 2160)
AMD Smart Access Memory : Requirements
Since Smart Access Memory is just an AMD implementation of PCI Express Resizable BAR. Therefore, it can be be implemented for all PCI Express 3.0 and PCI Express 4.0 graphics cards and motherboards.
If you have all of those supported components above, and updated your motherboard BIOS, you need to manually enable Smart Access Memory.
Now, the method will vary from motherboard to motherboard, and it probably won’t even be called Smart Access Memory.
Instead, look for variations of Above 4G Decoding, or Resizing BAR, or Resizable BAR, or Re-Size BAR Support.
AMD Generic Method
AMD has provided these generic steps to enable Smart Access Memory :
Enter the System BIOS by press <DEL> or <F12> during the system startup.
Navigate to the Advanced Settings or Advanced menu.
Enable “Above 4G Decoding” and “Re-Size BAR Support“.
Save the changes and restart the computer.
Step-by-Step Method For ASUS Crosshair VIII Hero
In our guide, we are using the ASUS CROSSHAIR VIII Hero (AMD X570) motherboard, as an example :
First you will need to turn off CSM (Compatibility Support Module), or make sure it’s disabled.Go to the Boot menu and look for a CSM / Compatibility Support Module option.
Set CSM (Compatibility Support Module) to Disabled.
Go to the Advanced menu and look for the PCI Subsystem. In other motherboards, look for PCIe / PCI Express configuration options.
Enable Above 4G Decoding.
This will give you access to the Re-Size BAR Support option. Set it to Auto.
Now go to the Exit menu, and select Save Changes & Reset.
It will ask you to confirm the changes. Just verify both, and click OK.
CSM is disabled by default for the ASUS, ASRock and MSI motherboards. However, it is enabled by default in the GIGABYTE AORUS X570 Master.
If you installed Windows without first turning CSM off, it will be configured as non-UEFI. It will NOT boot if you enable Resizable BAR Support (Smart Access Memory).
You will need to reinstall Windows with CSM support disabled.
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ability to customise voltages and frequencies to a specific processor.
Precision Boost Overdrive 2 : Curve Optimizer
The new adaptive undervolting capability in Precision Boost Overdrive 2 (PBO2) is achieved through the Curve Optimizer.
The new Curve Optimizer tells the firmware what window of undervolting is desired, and adapts to both light and heavy workloads.
Undervolting, however, will not be done with raw millivolts. Instead, it will be applied with “counts“.
1 Count is approximately 3 mV ~ 5 mV. This range means less undervolting during high loads, and more undervolting when the load is lower.
You can adjust the voltage by +/- 30 Counts. 30 Counts would be a range of 90~150 mV.
The adjustments can be applied per core, or on all cores.
The Curve Optimizer algorithm is adaptive – so it will automatically underplot when the circumstances are suitable, and restore voltage when it needs to.
Precision Boost Overdrive 2 : Performance Boost
According to AMD, PBO2 offers better single-threaded performance than the original PBO.
Enabling it will let the Ryzen 7 5800X deliver 2.6% better 1T performance in CINEBENCH R20, while the Ryzen 9 5900X delivers 2% better 1T performance.
Hardly earth-shattering performance, but hey, it’s free!
Multi-threaded performance also gets a small but nice boost from PBO2.
AMD says the Ryzen 7 5800X should get a 2.2% boost, while the Ryzen 9 5900X gets a very nice 10% boost in multi-threaded performance!
Precision Boost Overdrive 2 : System Requirements
Here are the system requirements for Precision Boost Overdrive 2 to work :
If you like our work, you can help support us by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donating to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!
Built on the new Zen 3 architecture, the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X promises to offer unparalleled 16-core, 32-thread performance!
Take a look at its performance in our in-depth review, and find out why we gave it our Reviewer’s Choice Award!
AMD Ryzen 5000 Series : Built On Zen 3
The AMD Ryzen 5000 series is designed using the new AMD Zen 3 architecture, which promises to deliver 19% more instructions per cycle (IPC) over the last generation, thanks to these new features :
improved load / store performance and flexibility
double the size of directly-accessible L3 cache per core
a unified 8-core complex (CCX) with direct access to the 32 MB L3 cache
wider issue in floating point and integer engines
Zero Bubble branch prediction
The new architecture also reduces memory latency through improved core and cache communication, and offer a higher maximum boost clock.
This allows the Ryzen 5000 series desktop processors to deliver up to 2.8X more performance-per-watt versus the competition.
AMD Ryzen 9 5950X : Price + Availability
The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X processor is available for sale starting 5 November 2020, at these RRP inclusive of tax, in Malaysia :
If you like our work, you can help support us by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donating to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!
AMD Zen 3 Architecture
Codename Vermeer, Zen 3 is the next evolution of the Zen architecture, delivering a 19% improvement in instructions per clock (IPC) through these improvements :
Front-End Enhancements
Faster fetching, especially for branchy and large-footprint code
L1 branch target buffer doubled in size to 1024 entries for better prediction latency
Improved branch predictor bandwidth
Faster recovery from misprediction
“No bubble” prediction capabilities to make back-to-back predictions more quickly and better handle branchy code
Faster sequencing of op-cache fetches
Finer granularity in switching of op-cache pipes
Execution Engines
Reduce latency and enlarge structures to extract higher instruction-level parallelism (ILP)
New dedicated branch and st-data pickers for integer, now at 10 issues per cycle (+3 vs. Zen 2)
Larger integer window at +32 vs. Zen 2
Reduced latency for select float and int operations
Floating point has increased bandwidth by +2 for a total of 6-wide dispatch and issue
Floating point FMAC is now 1 cycle faster
Load Store
Larger structures and better prefetching to support the enhanced execution engine bandwidth
Overall higher bandwidth to feed the appetite of the larger/faster execution resources
Higher load bandwidth vs. Zen 2 by +1
Higher store bandwidth vs. Zen 2 by +1
More flexibility in load/store operations
Improved memory dependence detection
+4 table walkers in the TLB
SOC Architecture
Reduce dependency on main memory accesses, reduce core-to-core latency, reduce core-to-cache latency.
Unify all cores in a CCD into a single unified complex consisting of 4, 6, or 8 contiguous cores
Unify all L3 cache in a CCD into a single contiguous element of up to 32MB
Rearchitect core/cache communication into a ring system
AMD Zen 3 SoC Design
In addition to micro architectural improvements, Zen 3 (Vermeer) also features SoC design changes.
In Zen 2, each CCD (Compute Die) is made up of two CCX (core complexes), each with a 16 MB L3 cache.
Zen 3 uses a unified complex, in which each CCD now contains a single CCX with a unified 32 MB L3 cache.
On the other hand, AMD reused the chiplet design, with one or two CCDs (fabricated on 7 nm) paired with a 12 nm IOD (I/O Die).
Reads from CCD to IO are still 2X write, to conserve die area and transistor budget. And it uses the same IOD from Matisse (Zen 2).
The new Zen 3 CCD has 4.15 billion transistors, with a die size of 80.7 mm². The Matisse-era IOD remains the same – 2.09 billion transistors, with a die size of 125 mm².
AMD Ryzen 9 5950X Benchmarking Notes
In this review, we will take a look at the content creation and gaming performance of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X, comparing it to 6 other processors :
If you like our work, you can help support us by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donating to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!
AMD Ryzen 9 5950X : 3D Rendering Speed
CINEBENCH R20 is a real-world 3D rendering benchmark based on the MAXON Cinema 4D animation software.
It is a great way to accurately determine the actual performance of a processor in 3D content creation.
CINEBENCH R20 Single Core Performance
This Single Core test is not reflective of real world performance, but it is useful to find out the performance of the individual core.
Like the Ryzen 7 5800X, the Ryzen 9 5950X broke past the 600 mark, and was 22.5% faster than the Ryzen 7 3700X.
Because it has a 11.4% higher boost clock, that works out to a 10% better performance per clock, over the last-generation Ryzen.
CINEBENCH R20 Multi Core Performance
The Multi Core test shows the processor’s real-world 3D rendering performance.
A score of almost 9900! That makes it 66% faster than the Ryzen 7 5800X, and 2X faster than the Ryzen 7 3700X, both 8-core, 16-thread processors.
Multi-Threading Boost
This is not a CINEBENCH benchmark result. The Multi-Threading Boost is our calculation of the performance boost that the processor’s Multi-Threading capability provides.
For some reason, the Ryzen 9 5950X doesn’t benefit at all from its SMT capability.
That’s why it only has a 66% performance advantage over the Ryzen 7 5800X, despite having twice as many cores.
AMD Ryzen 9 5950X : Transcoding Speed
HandBrake is a free, open-source video transcoding utility, which converts a video file from one resolution / format to another.
As you can imagine, it’s very compute-intensive, which makes it a great benchmark for multi-core processors. In our test, we converted a 4K video of 1.3 GB in size into a 1080p video (HQ1080p30).
The radial blur filter adds the perception of motion to a picture. This is a compute-intensive operation that benefits from multiple processing cores.
This radial blur test was performed on Photoshop 2020 using a single 13.5 megapixel photo, with a filesize of 4,910,867 bytes.
This is a huge boost in performance! The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X was 87% faster than the Ryzen 7 5800X, 2.33X faster than the Ryzen 7 3700X and 2.67X faster than the Ryzen 7 2700X.
If you like our work, you can help support us by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donating to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!
Synthetic Game Test : 3DMark
We used 3DMark’s Time Spy and Time Spy Extreme synthetic benchmarks, which supports DirectX 12, and the latest features like asynchronous compute, and multi-threading support.
If you like our work, you can help support us by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donating to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!
World War Z
Based on the 2013 movie, World War Z is a relatively recent third-person shooter game, released in April 2019.
We tested it on three resolutions using the Vulkan API at the High settings :
1080p : 1920 x 1080 pixels
1440p : 2560 x 1440 pixels
2160p : 3840 x 2160 pixels
1080p Gaming Resolution
Look at that! The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X topped this comparison, tying with the Ryzen 7 5800X.
It delivered 16% higher frame rates than the Ryzen 7 3700X, and 20% higher frame rates than the Core i7-8700K.
1440p Gaming Resolution
When we bumped the resolution up to 1440p, it really didn’t matter that much which processor we used. They all performed about the same.
2160p Gaming Resolution
At 4K resolution, processor performance had absolutely no effect. The game was completely graphics-limited.
Strange Brigade
Strange Brigade is a third-person shooter game, released in August 2018. We tested it in three resolutions using the Vulkan API at the Ultra High settings :
1080p : 1920 x 1080 pixels
1440p : 2560 x 1440 pixels
2160p : 3840 x 2160 pixels
1080p Gaming Resolution
CPU performance had only a small effect on frame rates in Strange Brigade, even at 1080p.
1440p Gaming Resolution
At 1440p, they were virtually all equal in performance. The game was already graphics-limited.
2160p Gaming Resolution
It was the same at 4K, of course – the game was completely graphics-limited.
If you like our work, you can help support us by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donating to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!
Metro Exodus
Metro Exodus is a first-person shooter game, released in February 2019. We tested it in three resolutions using the Ultra settings :
1080p : 1920 x 1080 pixels
1440p : 2560 x 1440 pixels
2160p : 3840 x 2160 pixels
1080p Gaming Resolution
Metro Exodus is graphics-intensive, so CPU performance has limited effect on its frame rate.
1440p Gaming Resolution
All of the processors performed the same at 1440p, with a slight edge to the Core i7-8700K.
2160p Gaming Resolution
At 4K, the game was completely graphics-limited, so it didn’t matter which processor we tested.
Ashes of the Singularity
Ashes of the Singularity is a 2016 game that supports multi-core processing and asynchronous compute.
In this game, the single core CPU performance has a significant effect on the actual frame rate.
We tested it on three resolutions using the DirectX 12 API at the High settings :
1080p : 1920 x 1080
1440p : 2560 x 1440
2160p : 3840 x 2160
1080p Gaming Resolution
Look at that! The Ryzen 9 5950X delivered 9% higher frame rates than the Ryzen 7 5800X, 21% higher frame rates than the Core i7-8700K, and 23% higher frame rates than the Ryzen 7 3700X.
1440p Gaming Resolution
At 1440p, the Ryzen 9 5950X delivered 7% higher frame rates than the Ryzen 7 5800X, and 23% higher frame rates than both the Core i7-8700K and the Ryzen 7 3700X.
2160p Gaming Resolution
Even at 4K, CPU performance mattered in Ashes of the Singularity. The Ryzen 9 5950X delivered just 2% higher frame rates than the Ryzen 7 5800X, and 14% higher frame rates than both the Core i7-8700K and the Ryzen 7 3700X.
If you like our work, you can help support us by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donating to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!
AMD Ryzen 9 5950X : Our Verdict + Award!
Thanks to the new Zen 3 core optimisations and SoC design, the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X offers a nice leap forward in performance.
It offers significantly better single-core and multi-core performance over the last generation, offering a nice boost to both content creation and gaming performance.
With 16 cores that support up to 32 threads, it barrels through everything thrown at it without a sweat.
But while AMD has highlighted the Ryzen 9 5950X as a great processor for gaming, it’s really best for serious content creation work.
It’s not that it won’t work well in games, it’s just overkill for games.
We cannot emphasise this great point about the Ryzen 9 5950X – even though it uses a new Zen 3 microarchitecture, it continues to use the AM4 socket.
If you have an existing AMD 500 Series motherboard, you can just pop in the Ryzen 9 5950X after a BIOS upgrade.
Those on AMD 400 Series motherboards will have to wait until Q1 2020, before they receive BIOS upgrades to support Zen 3.
In our Ryzen 5 5600X and Ryzen 7 5800X reviews, we pointed out that they were priced significantly higher than their predecessors.
The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X is priced at $799 (RM3,699) – a $50 (RM550) premium over the last-generation Ryzen 9 3950X, which had a launch price of $749 (RM3,149).
But this time, it comes with a free copy of the upcoming game – Far Cry 6 Standard Edition, which is priced at $56.99.
Paradoxically, this makes the Ryzen 9 5950X the best deal of the Ryzen 5000 series, if you can afford it, of course!
That’s why we believe it deserves our Reviewer’s Choice Award. Congratulations, AMD!
So who should, or should NOT, buy the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X?
Buy : If you want the best possible 16-core processor for a new content creation system.
Buy : If you are upgrading from a first-generation Ryzen processor.
Buy : If you need more computing cores than your current system.
Consider : If you are upgrading from a second-generation Ryzen processor.
Skip : If you are already using a 3rd Gen Ryzen processor.
AMD Ryzen 9 5950X : Price + Availability
The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X processor is available for sale starting 5 November 2020, at these RRP inclusive of tax, in Malaysia :
If you like our work, you can help support us by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donating to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!
Built on the new Zen 3 architecture, the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X promises to offer a leap forward in performance.
Take a look at its performance in our in-depth review, and find out if this is the Ryzen for you!
AMD Ryzen 5000 Series : Built On Zen 3
The AMD Ryzen 5000 series is designed using the new AMD Zen 3 architecture, which promises to deliver 19% more instructions per cycle (IPC) over the last generation, thanks to these new features :
improved load / store performance and flexibility
double the size of directly-accessible L3 cache per core
a unified 8-core complex (CCX) with direct access to the 32 MB L3 cache
wider issue in floating point and integer engines
Zero Bubble branch prediction
The new architecture also reduces memory latency through improved core and cache communication, and offer a higher maximum boost clock.
This allows the Ryzen 5000 series desktop processors to deliver up to 2.8X more performance-per-watt versus the competition.
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X : Price + Availability
The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X processor will be available for sale starting 5 November 2020, at these RRP inclusive of tax :
If you like our work, you can help support us by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donating to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!
AMD Zen 3 Architecture
Codename Vermeer, Zen 3 is the next evolution of the Zen architecture, delivering a 19% improvement in instructions per clock (IPC) through these improvements :
Front-End Enhancements
Faster fetching, especially for branchy and large-footprint code
L1 branch target buffer doubled in size to 1024 entries for better prediction latency
Improved branch predictor bandwidth
Faster recovery from misprediction
“No bubble” prediction capabilities to make back-to-back predictions more quickly and better handle branchy code
Faster sequencing of op-cache fetches
Finer granularity in switching of op-cache pipes
Execution Engines
Reduce latency and enlarge structures to extract higher instruction-level parallelism (ILP)
New dedicated branch and st-data pickers for integer, now at 10 issues per cycle (+3 vs. Zen 2)
Larger integer window at +32 vs. Zen 2
Reduced latency for select float and int operations
Floating point has increased bandwidth by +2 for a total of 6-wide dispatch and issue
Floating point FMAC is now 1 cycle faster
Load Store
Larger structures and better prefetching to support the enhanced execution engine bandwidth
Overall higher bandwidth to feed the appetite of the larger/faster execution resources
Higher load bandwidth vs. Zen 2 by +1
Higher store bandwidth vs. Zen 2 by +1
More flexibility in load/store operations
Improved memory dependence detection
+4 table walkers in the TLB
SOC Architecture
Reduce dependency on main memory accesses, reduce core-to-core latency, reduce core-to-cache latency.
Unify all cores in a CCD into a single unified complex consisting of 4, 6, or 8 contiguous cores
Unify all L3 cache in a CCD into a single contiguous element of up to 32MB
Rearchitect core/cache communication into a ring system
AMD Zen 3 SoC Design
In addition to micro architectural improvements, Zen 3 (Vermeer) also features SoC design changes.
In Zen 2, each CCD (Compute Die) is made up of two CCX (core complexes), each with a 16 MB L3 cache.
Zen 3 uses a unified complex, in which each CCD now contains a single CCX with a unified 32 MB L3 cache.
On the other hand, AMD reused the chiplet design, with one or two CCDs (fabricated on 7 nm) paired with a 12 nm IOD (I/O Die).
Reads from CCD to IO are still 2X write, to conserve die area and transistor budget. And it uses the same IOD from Matisse (Zen 2).
The new Zen 3 CCD has 4.15 billion transistors, with a die size of 80.7 mm². The Matisse-era IOD remains the same – 2.09 billion transistors, with a die size of 125 mm².
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X Benchmarking Notes
In this review, we will take a look at the content creation and gaming performance of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X, comparing it to 6 other processors :
If you like our work, you can help support us by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donating to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X : 3D Rendering Speed
CINEBENCH R20 is a real-world 3D rendering benchmark based on the MAXON Cinema 4D animation software.
It is a great way to accurately determine the actual performance of a processor in 3D content creation.
CINEBENCH R20 Single Core Performance
This Single Core test is not reflective of real world performance, but it is useful to find out the performance of the individual core.
Look at that! What a phenomenal boost in single-core performance!
The Ryzen 7 5800X broke past the 600 mark, and was 22.5% faster than the Ryzen 7 3700X, even though it only has a 6.8% higher boost clock!
That works out to a 14.7% better performance per clock, over the last-generation Ryzen.
CINEBENCH R20 Multi Core Performance
The Multi Core test shows the processor’s real-world 3D rendering performance.
A score of almost 6000! That’s 23.6% faster than the Ryzen 7 3700X, which is also an 8-core, 16-thread processor.
It was actually 58.8% faster than the Ryzen 7 2700X, which makes it a great upgrade for the older 8-core, 16-thread processor.
Multi-Threading Boost
This is not a CINEBENCH benchmark result. The Multi-Threading Boost is our calculation of the performance boost that the processor’s Multi-Threading capability provides.
Interestingly, the Ryzen 7 5800X has better SMT performance than the Ryzen 5 5600X, even though they both use a single CCD.
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X : Transcoding Speed
HandBrake is a free, open-source video transcoding utility, which converts a video file from one resolution / format to another.
As you can imagine, it’s very compute-intensive, which makes it a great benchmark for multi-core processors. In our test, we converted a 4K video of 1.3 GB in size into a 1080p video (HQ1080p30).
That’s a nice speed bump! The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X was 10.4% faster than the Ryzen 7 3700X and 33.8% faster than Ryzen 7 2700X.
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X : Radial Blur Speed
The radial blur filter adds the perception of motion to a picture. This is a compute-intensive operation that benefits from multiple processing cores.
This radial blur test was performed on Photoshop 2020 using a single 13.5 megapixel photo, with a filesize of 4,910,867 bytes.
This is a big boost in performance! The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X was 24.5% faster than the Ryzen 7 3700X and 42.3% faster than both Ryzen 7 2700X and Ryzen 5 5600X.
If you like our work, you can help support us by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donating to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!
Synthetic Game Test : 3DMark
We used 3DMark’s Time Spy and Time Spy Extreme synthetic benchmarks, which supports DirectX 12, and the latest features like asynchronous compute, and multi-threading support.
If you like our work, you can help support us by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donating to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!
World War Z
Based on the 2013 movie, World War Z is a relatively recent third-person shooter game, released in April 2019.
We tested it on three resolutions using the Vulkan API at the High settings :
1080p : 1920 x 1080 pixels
1440p : 2560 x 1440 pixels
2160p : 3840 x 2160 pixels
1080p Gaming Resolution
Look at that! The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X topped this comparison, tying with the Ryzen 5 5600X.
It delivered 17% higher frame rates than the Ryzen 7 3700X, and 21% higher frame rates than the Core i7-8700K.
1440p Gaming Resolution
When we bumped the resolution up to 1440p, it really didn’t matter that much which processor we used. They all performed about the same.
2160p Gaming Resolution
At 4K resolution, processor performance had absolutely no effect. The game was completely graphics-limited.
Strange Brigade
Strange Brigade is a third-person shooter game, released in August 2018. We tested it in three resolutions using the Vulkan API at the Ultra High settings :
1080p : 1920 x 1080 pixels
1440p : 2560 x 1440 pixels
2160p : 3840 x 2160 pixels
1080p Gaming Resolution
CPU performance had only a small effect on frame rates in Strange Brigade, even at 1080p.
1440p Gaming Resolution
At 1440p, they were virtually all equal in performance. The game was already graphics-limited.
2160p Gaming Resolution
It was the same at 4K, of course – the game was completely graphics-limited.
If you like our work, you can help support us by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donating to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!
Metro Exodus
Metro Exodus is a first-person shooter game, released in February 2019. We tested it in three resolutions using the Ultra settings :
1080p : 1920 x 1080 pixels
1440p : 2560 x 1440 pixels
2160p : 3840 x 2160 pixels
1080p Gaming Resolution
Metro Exodus is graphics-intensive, so CPU performance has limited effect on its frame rate.
1440p Gaming Resolution
All of the processors performed the same at 1440p, with a slight edge to the Core i7-8700K.
2160p Gaming Resolution
At 4K, the game was completely graphics-limited, so it didn’t matter which processor we tested.
Ashes of the Singularity
Ashes of the Singularity is a 2016 game that supports multi-core processing and asynchronous compute.
In this game, the single core CPU performance has a significant effect on the actual frame rate.
We tested it on three resolutions using the DirectX 12 API at the High settings :
1080p : 1920 x 1080
1440p : 2560 x 1440
2160p : 3840 x 2160
1080p Gaming Resolution
Nice! The Ryzen 7 5800X delivered 11% higher frame rates than the Core i7-8700K, and 13% higher frame rates than the Ryzen 7 3700X.
1440p Gaming Resolution
At 1440p, the Ryzen 7 5800X delivered 15.5% higher frame rates than both the Core i7-8700K and the Ryzen 7 3700X.
2160p Gaming Resolution
Even at 4K, CPU performance mattered in Ashes of the Singularity. The Ryzen 7 5800X delivered 12% higher frame rates than both the Core i7-8700K and the Ryzen 7 3700X.
If you like our work, you can help support us by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donating to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X : Our Verdict!
Thanks to the new Zen 3 core optimisations and SoC design, the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X offers a nice leap forward in performance.
Its single-core performance has been improved significantly over its predecessors, and so has its multi-core performance, offering a nice boost to both content creation and gaming performance.
Gamers will favour the cheaper Ryzen 5 5600X, but this is a great option for those who also need serious multi-core performance for content creation work.
It offers a large performance boost over the Ryzen 7 3700X and Ryzen 7 2700X in both content creation and gaming performance.
Another great point about the Ryzen 7 5800X – even though it uses a new microarchitecture, it continues to use the AM4 socket
If you have an existing AMD 500 Series motherboard, you can pop it in after a BIOS upgrade.
Those on AMD 400 Series motherboards will have to wait until Q1 2020, before they receive BIOS upgrades to support Zen 3.
But while the Ryzen 7 5800X’s performance may be a leap forward, so is its price tag…
You may recall that the last-generation Ryzen 7 3800X had a launch price of $399 (RM1,799), with a nice Wraith Prism cooler.
The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X costs substantially more at $449 (RM2,049), and no longer comes with a very nice bundled cooler!
On the other hand, it comes with a free copy of the upcoming game – Far Cry 6 Standard Edition...
So who should, or should NOT, buy the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X?
Buy : If you want the best possible 8-core processor for a new gaming or content creation system.
Buy : If you are upgrading from a first-generation Ryzen processor.
Buy : If you need more computing cores than your current system.
Consider : If you are upgrading from a second-generation Ryzen processor.
Skip : If you are already using a 3rd Gen Ryzen processor.
Those on a budget can consider purchasing a Ryzen 7 3700X. It may be slower for sure, but the money you save can be used towards the upcoming Radeon RX 6000 series graphics card!
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X : Price + Availability
The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X processor will be available for sale starting 5 November 2020, at these RRP inclusive of tax, in Malaysia :
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Built on the new Zen 3 architecture, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X promises to offer a leap forward in performance.
Find out in our in-depth review why we agree, and gave it our Reviewer’s Choice Award!
AMD Ryzen 5000 Series : Built On Zen 3
The AMD Ryzen 5000 series is designed using the new AMD Zen 3 architecture, which promises to deliver 19% more instructions per cycle (IPC) over the last generation, thanks to these new features :
improved load / store performance and flexibility
double the size of directly-accessible L3 cache per core
a unified 8-core complex (CCX) with direct access to the 32 MB L3 cache
wider issue in floating point and integer engines
Zero Bubble branch prediction
The new architecture also reduces memory latency through improved core and cache communication, and offer a higher maximum boost clock.
This allows the Ryzen 5000 series desktop processors to deliver up to 2.8X more performance-per-watt versus the competition.
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X : Price + Availability
The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X processor is available for sale starting 5 November 2020, at these RRP inclusive of tax :
Malaysia : RM 1,349 (~US$324) inclusive of 6% tax
United States : RM 299
Note : Unlike the Ryzen 9 5950X, Ryzen 9 5900X and Ryzen 7 5800X, the Ryzen 5 5600X will NOT come with a free copy of Far Cry 6.
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AMD Zen 3 Architecture
Codename Vermeer, Zen 3 is the next evolution of the Zen architecture, delivering a 19% improvement in instructions per clock (IPC) through these improvements :
Front-End Enhancements
Faster fetching, especially for branchy and large-footprint code
L1 branch target buffer doubled in size to 1024 entries for better prediction latency
Improved branch predictor bandwidth
Faster recovery from misprediction
“No bubble” prediction capabilities to make back-to-back predictions more quickly and better handle branchy code
Faster sequencing of op-cache fetches
Finer granularity in switching of op-cache pipes
Execution Engines
Reduce latency and enlarge structures to extract higher instruction-level parallelism (ILP)
New dedicated branch and st-data pickers for integer, now at 10 issues per cycle (+3 vs. Zen 2)
Larger integer window at +32 vs. Zen 2
Reduced latency for select float and int operations
Floating point has increased bandwidth by +2 for a total of 6-wide dispatch and issue
Floating point FMAC is now 1 cycle faster
Load Store
Larger structures and better prefetching to support the enhanced execution engine bandwidth
Overall higher bandwidth to feed the appetite of the larger/faster execution resources
Higher load bandwidth vs. Zen 2 by +1
Higher store bandwidth vs. Zen 2 by +1
More flexibility in load/store operations
Improved memory dependence detection
+4 table walkers in the TLB
SOC Architecture
Reduce dependency on main memory accesses, reduce core-to-core latency, reduce core-to-cache latency.
Unify all cores in a CCD into a single unified complex consisting of 4, 6, or 8 contiguous cores
Unify all L3 cache in a CCD into a single contiguous element of up to 32MB
Rearchitect core/cache communication into a ring system
AMD Zen 3 SoC Design
In addition to micro architectural improvements, Zen 3 (Vermeer) also features SoC design changes.
In Zen 2, each CCD (Compute Die) is made up of two CCX (core complexes), each with a 16 MB L3 cache.
Zen 3 uses a unified complex, in which each CCD now contains a single CCX with a unified 32 MB L3 cache.
On the other hand, AMD reused the chiplet design, with one or two CCDs (fabricated on 7 nm) paired with a 12 nm IOD (I/O Die).
Reads from CCD to IO are still 2X write, to conserve die area and transistor budget. And it uses the same IOD from Matisse (Zen 2).
The new Zen 3 CCD has 4.15 billion transistors, with a die size of 80.7 mm². The Matisse-era IOD remains the same – 2.09 billion transistors, with a die size of 125 mm².
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Benchmarking Notes
In this review, we will take a look at the content creation and gaming performance of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X, comparing it to 6 other processors :
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AMD Ryzen 5 5600X : 3D Rendering Speed
CINEBENCH R20 is a real-world 3D rendering benchmark based on the MAXON Cinema 4D animation software.
It is a great way to accurately determine the actual performance of a processor in 3D content creation.
CINEBENCH R20 Single Core Performance
This Single Core test is not reflective of real world performance, but it is useful to find out the performance of the individual core.
Look at that! What a phenomenal boost in single-core performance!
The Ryzen 5 5600X was 19.5% faster than the Ryzen 7 3700X, even though it only has a 4.5% higher boost clock!
That works out to a 14.3% better performance per clock, over the last-generation Ryzen.
CINEBENCH R20 Multi Core Performance
The Multi Core test shows the processor’s real-world 3D rendering performance.
This is very good performance for a 6-core processor, performing just 12.6% slower than the Ryzen 7 3700X, which is an 8-core, 16-thread processor.
More so when you realise that it was actually 12.3% faster than the Ryzen 7 2700X, which is an older 8-core, 16-thread processor.
Multi-Threading Boost
This is not a CINEBENCH benchmark result. The Multi-Threading Boost is our calculation of the performance boost that the processor’s Multi-Threading capability provides.
While the Zen 3 microarchitecture gave it a big boost in single core performance, its SMT performance appears to have taken a slight hit.
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X : Transcoding Speed
HandBrake is a free, open-source video transcoding utility, which converts a video file from one resolution / format to another.
As you can imagine, it’s very compute-intensive, which makes it a great benchmark for multi-core processors. In our test, we converted a 4K video of 1.3 GB in size into a 1080p video (HQ1080p30).
Look at that! Despite having just six cores, the Ryzen 5 5600X was slightly faster than the Ryzen 7 2700X, which has 8 cores.
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X : Radial Blur Speed
The radial blur filter adds the perception of motion to a picture. This is a compute-intensive operation that benefits from multiple processing cores.
This radial blur test was performed on Photoshop 2020 using a single 13.5 megapixel photo, with a filesize of 4,910,867 bytes.
Even though it was a 6-core processor, the Ryzen 5 5600X was just slightly slower than the Ryzen 7 2700X, which has 8 cores. Impressive!
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Synthetic Game Test : 3DMark
We used 3DMark’s Time Spy and Time Spy Extreme synthetic benchmarks, which supports DirectX 12, and the latest features like asynchronous compute, and multi-threading support.
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World War Z
Based on the 2013 movie, World War Z is a relatively recent third-person shooter game, released in April 2019.
We tested it on three resolutions using the Vulkan API at the High settings :
1080p : 1920 x 1080 pixels
1440p : 2560 x 1440 pixels
2160p : 3840 x 2160 pixels
1080p Gaming Resolution
Look at that! The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X delivered the best performance in this comparison, matching the Ryzen 7 5800X.
It delivered 17% higher frame rates than the Ryzen 7 3700X, and 21% higher frame rates than the Core i7-8700K.
1440p Gaming Resolution
When we bumped the resolution up to 1440p, it really didn’t matter that much which processor we used. They all performed about the same.
2160p Gaming Resolution
At 4K resolution, processor performance had absolutely no effect. The game was completely graphics-limited.
Strange Brigade
Strange Brigade is a third-person shooter game, released in August 2018. We tested it in three resolutions using the Vulkan API at the Ultra High settings :
1080p : 1920 x 1080 pixels
1440p : 2560 x 1440 pixels
2160p : 3840 x 2160 pixels
1080p Gaming Resolution
CPU performance had only a small effect on frame rates in Strange Brigade, even at 1080p.
1440p Gaming Resolution
At 1440p, they were virtually all equal in performance. The game was already graphics-limited.
2160p Gaming Resolution
It was the same at 4K, of course – the game was completely graphics-limited.
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Metro Exodus
Metro Exodus is a first-person shooter game, released in February 2019. We tested it in three resolutions using the Ultra settings :
1080p : 1920 x 1080 pixels
1440p : 2560 x 1440 pixels
2160p : 3840 x 2160 pixels
1080p Gaming Resolution
Metro Exodus is graphics-intensive, so CPU performance has limited effect on its frame rate.
1440p Gaming Resolution
All of the processors performed the same at 1440p, with a slight edge to the Core i7-8700K.
2160p Gaming Resolution
At 4K, the game was completely graphics-limited, so it didn’t matter which processor we tested.
Ashes of the Singularity
Ashes of the Singularity is a 2016 game that supports multi-core processing and asynchronous compute.
In this game, the single core CPU performance has a significant effect on the actual frame rate.
We tested it on three resolutions using the DirectX 12 API at the High settings :
1080p : 1920 x 1080
1440p : 2560 x 1440
2160p : 3840 x 2160
1080p Gaming Resolution
Nice! The Ryzen 5 5600X was almost as fast as the Ryzen 7 5800X, and delivered 9.4% higher frame rates than the Core i7-8700K, and 11.3% higher frame rates than the Ryzen 7 3700X.
1440p Gaming Resolution
At 1440p, the Ryzen 5 5600X delivered 12.8% higher frame rates than both the Core i7-8700K and the Ryzen 7 3700X.
2160p Gaming Resolution
Even at 4K, CPU performance mattered in Ashes of the Singularity. The Ryzen 5 5600X delivered 9.2% higher frame rates than both the Core i7-8700K and the Ryzen 7 3700X.
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AMD Ryzen 5 5600X : Our Verdict + Award!
There is no doubt that the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X is a leap forward for AMD, thanks to the new Zen 3 core and SoC design.
Its single-core performance has been improved significantly over its predecessors, offering a nice boost to content creation and gaming performance.
Gamers, in particular, will favour this model over the Ryzen 7 5800X because it delivers the same gaming performance at 2/3rds the cost.
It also handily beats the Ryzen 7 3700X in gaming performance, making it a better option for gaming systems.
Even though the Ryzen 5 5600X uses a new microarchitecture, it continues to use the AM4 socket and will support AMD 500 Series chipsets on launch day (with a BIOS upgrade).
That’s really great news for those planning to upgrade from their existing Ryzen processors.
Those on AMD 400 Series motherboards will have to wait until Q1 2020, before they receive BIOS upgrades to support Zen 3.
But while the Ryzen 5 5600X’s performance may be a leap forward, so is its price tag…
You may recall that the last-generation Ryzen 5 3600X had a launch price of $249 (RM859), with a Wraith Spire cooler.
The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X costs substantially more at $299 (RM1,349), and ships with the smaller and cheaper Wraith Stealth cooler.
That said, the Ryzen 5 5600X truly provides a significant boost in performance, and it deserves our Reviewer’s Choice Award.
So who should, or should NOT, buy the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X?
Buy : If you want the best possible 6-core processor for a new gaming system.
Buy : If you are upgrading from a first-generation Ryzen processor.
Consider : If you are upgrading from a second-generation Ryzen processor.
Skip : If you are already using a 3rd Gen Ryzen processor.
Those on a budget can consider purchasing a Ryzen 5 3600X. It may not be as fast, but the money you save can be used towards the upcoming Radeon RX 6000 series graphics card!
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X : Price + Availability
The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X processor is available for sale starting 5 November 2020, at these RRP inclusive of tax :
Malaysia : RM 1,349 (~US$324) inclusive of 6% tax
United States : RM 299
Note : Unlike the Ryzen 9 5950X, Ryzen 9 5900X and Ryzen 7 5800X, the Ryzen 5 5600X will NOT come with a free copy of Far Cry 6.
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May 25, 2017 — Since its release back in April, AMD’s Ryzen platform has quickly established itself as a viable option, delivering exemplary performance for daily computing and gaming.
ASUS was ready for the early unveil, releasing an array of motherboards for value-packed PCs to models geared for high-end rigs. However, pressing demand for Ryzen-based systems shows a need for more options in the middle of the ASUS product stack.
So today, ASUS is bolstering their portfolio with two new AM4 motherboards aimed squarely at gamers who wish to utilize Ryzen performance in their next PC build.
The Strix X370-F Gaming & Strix B350-F Gaming
The ROG Strix X370-F Gaming and Strix B350-F Gaming are new ATX gaming motherboards with AMD AM4 socket for Ryzen processors, engineered with core ROG features.
Features include 5-Way Optimization with one-click overclocking, third-gen T-Topology, SupremeFX S1220A audio, and Aura Sync illumination. Comprehensive software and firmware controls for fans, AIOs, and water pumps, for intelligently cooled gaming builds.
The Strix X370-F Gaming Specifications
Processor/CPU socket
AM4 socket for AMD Ryzen / 7th Gen A-series / Athlon processors
Chipset
AMD X370
Memory
AMD Ryzen processor
4 x DIMM, max. 64GB, DDR4 3200+(OC)/2666/2400/2133 MHz, Ecc and non-ECC, unbuffered memory*
* Due to AMD Ryzen processor limitations, only one DIMM per channel is supported for memory faster than DDR4-2666
* Hyper DIMM support is subject to the physical characteristics of individual CPUs
Expansion slots
AMD Ryzen processor
2 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16 (x16 or x8/x4)
AMD 7th Gen A-series/Athlon™ processor
1 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16 (x8 mode)
AMD B350 chipset
1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (max. at x4 mode)
3 x PCIe 2.0 x1
Graphics (VGA)
Integrated AMD Radeon R Series graphics in the 7th Gen A-series APU
Multi-VGA output support: HDMI and DisplayPort ports
Supports HDMI 1.4b with max. resolution of 4096 x 2160 at 24Hz
Supports DisplayPort 1.2 with max. resolution of 4096 x 2160 at 60Hz
Storage
AMD Ryzen processor
1 x M.2 Socket 3, with M key, type 2242/2260/2280/22110 storage devices supported (SATA & PCIe 3.0 x 4 mode)*
AMD Ryzen/7th Gen A-series/Athlon processor
2 x SATA 6Gbps ports, gray
AMD 7th Gen A-series/Athlon processor
1 x M.2 Socket 3, with M key, type 2242/2260/2280/22110 storage devices supported (SATA & PCIe 3.0 x 2 mode)*
AMD B350 chipset
4 x SATA 6Gbps ports, gray (supports Raid 0, 1, 10)
* When a SATA mode M.2 device is installed, the M.2 Socket shares bandwidth with the SATA6G_5/6 ports.
Networking/LAN
Intel I211-AT with ASUS LANGuard
USB
AMD Ryzen/7th Gen A-series/Athlon processor
4 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports (4 at back panel, blue)
AMD B350 chipset
2 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports (2 at back panel, red)
2 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports (2 at mid-board)
6 x USB 2.0 ports (2 at back panel, black, 4 at mid-board)
Audio
SupremeFX S1220A 8-channel HD audio codec
120dB SNR output and 113dB SNR recording input
SupremeFX shielding technology
Dual headphone amplifiers
Jack-detection, multistreaming and front panel jack-retasking
Dimensions / form factor
ATX, 12 x 9.6” (30.5 x 24.4cm)
Price & Availability
The ROG Strix X370-F Gaming is available now in Malaysia at SRP of RM 999 (inclusive 6% GST) / ~US$ 219.
The ROG Strix B350-F Gaming is available now in Malaysia at SRP of RM 697 (inclusive 6% GST) / ~US$ 149.
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May 8th, 2017 Taipei, Taiwan – BIOSTAR is thrilled to welcome the latest addition to its expanding lineup of specialized cryptocurrency mining motherboard with the introduction of the BIOSTAR TB350-BTC.
The BIOSTAR TB350-BTC Crypto Mining Motherboard
This motherboard supports AMD’s latest AM4 socket designed to work with the latest AMD AM4 APUs. With this latest motherboard, BIOSTAR is the first and only brand to offer a complete crypto mining motherboard lineup for any application making it the strongest family of specializing mining motherboards out right now.
Not to mention, BIOSTAR TB350-BTC is the first professional crypto mining motherboard for AMD AM4 platform. This is specially designed for AMD Ryzen lovers. They offer a performance and cost effective solution to make crypto mining easier for all.
BIOSTAR TB350-BTC with six PCI-e slots for enthusiasts who wish to create an ultimate mining rig to be loaded up with six graphics cards to boost up the mining speed for higher hash rate and make the mining performance most efficient. The uniquely designed two extra AUX power connectors support the sufficient power to enhance the performance of graphics cards for more stable operation.
TB350-BTC is designed to withstand extreme operating conditions that can cause stability issues on traditional components. The enhanced nature of the BIOSTAR PRO Series guarantees its motherboard can endure and avoid issues that can cause downtime and profit loss.
The new BIOSTAR TB350-BTC features support for AMD AM4 processors including AMD A-series APUs. The motherboard will support up to 32GB of DDR4-2667 memory in dual-channel configuration. The board features full Gigabit LAN from Realtek for faster and better network performance. The BIOSTAR TB350-BTC also features support for up to six PCI-e devices allowing maximum utilization of the motherboard for excellent ROI per system.
In terms of rear I/O connectivity, the BIOSTAR TB350-BTC has legacy PS/2 connector support, a single DVI for video output. There’s plenty of USB ports in there with USB3.1 ports and USB2.0 ports. There’s also the Realtek GB LAN port and audio output ports.
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The BIOSTAR TB350-BTC Specifications
MODEL
TB350-BTC
CHIPSET
AMD B350
CPU SUPPORT
Socket AM4 supports AMD A-Series APU/CPU
Maximum CPU TDP (Thermal Design Power) : 95Watt
MEMORY
Supports Dual Channel DDR4 1866/2133/2400/2667
2 x DDR4 DIMM Memory Slot, Max. Supports up to 32 GB Memory
Each DIMM supports non-ECC & ECC 4/8/16 GB DDR4 module
* DDR4 – 2667 only for Ryzen CPU.
Maximum
DIMMA1
DIMMB1
DDR4-2667
SR
–
DDR4-2667
DR
–
DDR4-2667
SR
SR
DDR4-2400
DR
DR
SR:Single-rank DIMM, 1R x4 or 1R x8
DR:Dual-rank DIMMs, 2R x4 or 2R x8
EXPANSION SLOT
3x PCIe 2.0 x1 Slot
2x PCIe 3.0 x1 Slot (for Bitcoin mining, please change the speed to PCI-E 1.0 in BIOS setting)
1x PCIe 3.0 x16 Slot : When using APU or NPU, the bandwidth is x8 speed
STORAGE
4x SATA III Connector (6Gb/s)
Supports AHCI & RAID 0, 1, 10
USB
6x USB 3.1 Gen1 (5Gb/s) port (4 on rear I/Os and 2 via internal headers)
6x USB 2.0 port (2 on rear I/Os and 4 via internal headers)
LAN
Realtek RTL 8111H
10/ 100/ 1000 Mb/s auto negotiation, Half / Full duplex capability
CODEC
ALC887
7.1 Channels, High Definition Audio
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AMD may have priced the Ryzen 7 CPUs very competitively against the Intel Core i7 processors, but the sub-$300 market is twice as large. So they are quickly introducing the AMD Ryzen 5 processors to try and win a bigger slice of the pie.
Here is a primer on AMD SenseMI by Mark Papermaster, Senior Vice President & CTO of AMD.
The AMD Ryzen 5 processors will also be multiplier-unlocked, allowing for easier overclocking. In fact, AMD has announced that all Ryzen processors will be multiplier-unlocked. Awesome!
The AMD Ryzen 5 processors will continue to support two threads per core. The only real difference is the number of processor cores they offer.
The first slew of AMD Ryzen 5 processors will offer either 6 processor cores, or 4 processor cores :
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How Fast Is The AMD Ryzen 5 Processor?
Until the NDA expires on launch day (11 April 2017), we won’t have any hard numbers. But AMD shared a single Cinebench R15 benchmarking result with us. They compared their flagship AMD Ryzen 5 processor – the Ryzen 5 1600X, against the Intel Core i5-7600K.
The AMD Ryzen 5 1600X is a 6-core, 12-thread processor, while the Intel Core i5-7600K is only a 4-core, 4-thread processor. Even though the Intel processor has higher clock speeds (4 GHz core, 4.2 GHz boost), the Ryzen 5 processor has twice as many processor cores.
Hence, it is hardly surprising to see the the Ryzen 5 1600X beat the Core i5-7600K by 69%. The AMD Ryzen 5 1600X scored 1195, while the Intel Core i5-7600K only scored 655, in this test.
This is obviously a grossly unfair comparison… until you consider the very likely possibility that AMD intends to price the Ryzen 5 1600X against the Core i5-7600K. In fact, considering how they priced the Ryzen 7 processors, the Ryzen 5 1600X will likely be cheaper than the Core i5-7600K.
The AMD AM4 Platform
Like the Ryzen 7 CPUs, the AMD Ryzen 5 CPUs can be paired with any Socket AM4 motherboard. This allows for easier and cheaper upgrades if you already have an existing Socket AM4 motherboard.
However, if you wish to overclock, and take advantage of the AMD Ryzen’s unlocked multiplier, you need to use a motherboard built around the AMD X370, X300 or B350 chipset. And only the X370 and X300 chipsets allows for dual PCI Express graphics cards.
The AMD Ryzen 5 1600X does not come with a bundled cooler, but the other Ryzen 5 models will come with a bundled AMD Wraith cooler. They are quieter, feature a new spring-screw clamping system and RGB LED lighting.
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AMD Ryzen 5 Price & Availability
All four AMD Ryzen 5 models will be available worldwide on 11 April 2017, at the following prices :
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