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!
Take a look at what’s new in the AMD Zen 3 microarchitecture, and what they borrowed from the last-gen Zen 2 microarchitecture!
AMD Zen 3 Architecture
Codename Vermeer, Zen 3 is the next evolution of the AMD Zen architecture.
While it obviously borrowed considerably from the existing Zen 2 architecture, AMD says it is a ground-up redesign that with major performance and functionality improvements in every area of the core.
These architectural changes allow Zen 3-based processors, like the Ryzen 5000 series, to deliver a 19% improvement in instructions per clock (IPC).
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).
AMD Zen 3 Transistor Count + Die Size
The new Zen 3 CCD has 4.15 billion transistors, with a die size of 80.7 mm². That’s up from the 3.8 billion transistors and a die size of 74 mm² for the Zen 2 CCD.
The Matisse-era IOD remains the same – 2.09 billion transistors, with a die size of 125 mm².
They will both be manufactured using the same 7 nm TSMC process for CCD, and 12 nm Global Foundries process for IOD.
Core Die
Zen 3
Zen 2
Process
7 nm TSMC
Transistors
4.15 billion
3.8 billion
Die Size
80.7 mm²
74 mm²
I/O Die
Zen 3
Zen 2
Process
12 nm GoFlo
Transistors
2.09 billion
Die Size
125 mm²
AMD Zen 3 Precision Boost : No Change
Precision Boost 2 in Zen 3 remains the same as that of Zen 2, just with higher frequencies to “play with”.
It is an opportunistic boost algorithm that drives the loaded cores to the highest possible frequency, until it hits any one of these limits :
socket power
VRM thermal limit
VRM current limit
maximum clock speed
Precision Boost 2 will dynamically analyse and boost or dither the core clock speeds every 1 ms using the Infinity Fabric command and control functions.
In this example of the new Ryzen 9 5900X with a base clock of 3.7 GHz and a boost clock of 4.8 GHz, Precision Boost 2 will typically result in frequencies of 4.4 GHz to 4.6 GHz, even with 24 threads running at the same time.
AMD Zen 3 Voltage Range : No Change
Despite the changes in the microarchitecture and SoC design, Zen 3 processors will continue to be engineered with the same voltage range as Zen- and Zen 2-based processors.
The typical voltage range will vary according to usage, but basically, Zen 3 processors, like the Ryzen 5000 series, will support 0.2 V to 1.5 V.
AMD Zen 3 Temperature Range : No Change
AMD Zen 3-based processors will also have the same temperature ranges as Zen- and Zen 2-based processors.
Note : The temperature range below assumes an enclosed chassis, and an air-conditioned room.
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 :
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 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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For easier comparison, here is a table comparing their key specifications :
Specifications
Ryzen 9
5950X
Ryzen 9
5900X
Ryzen 7
5800X
Ryzen 5
5600X
Architecture
Zen 3
Fab Process
7 nm (CCD) + 12 nm (IOD)
Cores / Threads
16 / 32
12 / 24
8 / 16
6 / 12
Base Clock
3.4 GHz
3.7 GHz
3.8 GHz
3.7 GHz
Boost Clock
4.9 GHz
4.8 GHz
4.7 GHz
4.6 GHz
L1 Cache
1 MB
768 KB
512 KB
384 KB
L2 Cache
8 MB
6 MB
4 MB
3 MB
L3 Cache
64 MB
32 MB
TDP
105 W
65 W
Cooler
None
Wraith
Stealth
AMD Ryzen 5000 Series : Performance
First up, Robert Hallock shared that the Ryzen 9 5900X delivers 28% better gaming performance (at 1080p) in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, compared to the Ryzen 9 3900XT.
On average, the Ryzen 9 5900X offers 26% faster gaming, compared to the Ryzen 9 3900XT.
The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X is the first desktop processor to break 600 points in CINEBENCH single-thread performance.
The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X is even better, with a single-thread score of 640, according to Dr. Lisa Su.
Compared to the Intel Core i9-10900K, the Ryzen 9 5900X offers up to 21% better gaming performance at 1080p.
AMD Ryzen 5000 Series : Price + Availability
All four Ryzen 5000 processor models will be available for sale starting 5 November 2020, at these RRP :
AMD Ryzen 5000 Series : Equipped To Win Game Bundle
Every purchase of the Ryzen 9 5950X, Ryzen 9 5900X and Ryzen 7 5800X between 5 November 2020 and 31 December 2020 will come with a free copy of Far Cry 6 Standard Edition for PC.
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AMD just unveiled the Ryzen PRO 4000 Series of desktop APUs, with integrated Radeon Graphics!
Here is what you need to know about the new AMD Ryzen PRO 4000 desktop APUs!
AMD Ryzen PRO 4000 Desktop APUs with Radeon Graphics
Like the recently released Ryzen PRO 4000 Mobile APUs, the Ryzen 4000 Series come with integrated Radeon Graphics cores. That makes them APUs, instead of pure processors.
While these new desktop APUs are called the 4000 series, they are still part of the 3rd Gen Ryzen processor family, and based on the AMD Zen 2 architecture.
At launch, AMD is introducing six Ryzen PRO 4000 Series desktop processors, three with a 65W TDP :
AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 4750G : 8C/16T | up to 4.4 GHz | 12 MB cache | 8 graphics cores
AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4650G : 6C/12T | up to 4.2 GHz | 11 MB cache | 7 graphics cores
AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 4350G : 4C/8T | up to 4.0 GHz | 6 MB cache | 6 graphics cores
And three desktop APUs with a 35W TDP :
AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 4750GE : 8C/16T | up to 4.3 GHz | 12 MB cache | 8 graphics cores
AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4650GE : 6C/12T | up to 4.2 GHz | 11 MB cache | 7 graphics cores
AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 4350GE : 4C/8T | up to 4.0 GHz | 6 MB cache | 6 graphics cores
AMD Ryzen PRO 4000 Desktop APUs : Specifications Compared!
We also summarised the key specifications of the six models in this table for easier comparison :
Specifications
Ryzen 7
PRO
4750G
Ryzen 7
PRO
4750GE
Ryzen 5
PRO
4650G
Ryzen 5
PRO
4650GE
Ryzen 3
PRO
4350G
Ryzen 3
PRO
4350GE
Cores / Threads
8 / 16
6 / 12
4 / 8
Base Clock
3.6 GHz
3.1 GHz
3.7 GHz
3.3 GHz
3.8 GHz
3.5 GHz
Boost Clock
4.4 GHz
4.3 GHz
4.2 GHz
4.0 GHz
L1 Cache
512 KB
384 KB
256 KB
L2 Cache
4 MB
3 MB
2 MB
L3 Cache
8 MB
4 MB
Graphics Cores
8
7
6
Graphics Clock
2.1 GHz
2.0 GHz
1.9 GHz
1.7 GHz
TDP
65 W
35 W
65 W
35 W
65 W
35 W
AMD Ryzen PRO 4000 Desktop APUs : Performance
AMD shared with us this chart to show how much of a performance advantage the new Ryzen PRO 4000 desktop APUs have over the last generation Ryzen PRO 3400G :
AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 4750G vs Intel Core i7-9700 vPro
In this comparison, the Ryzen 7 PRO 4750G offers significant performance advantage over the Intel Core i7-9700 vPro.
Of course, this isn’t really a fair fight, since they are comparing a 8C/16T processor against an 8C/8T processor.
AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 4650G vs Intel Core i7-9500 vPro
And the Ryzen 7 PRO 4650G is naturally much faster than the Intel Core i7-9500 vPro.
Again, this is a lopsided comparison of an 6C/12T processor against an 6C/6T processor.
AMD Ryzen PRO 4000 Series : Price + Availability
Unfortunately, all six desktop APUs will be limited to the OEM market initially.
AMD does not plan to introduce them to the retail market, until later. So there is no information on their price or retail availability.
AMD expects desktops with these processors to ship from system integrators starting today, 21 July 2020, and from AMD OEM partners like Lenovo and HP starting in Q4 2020.
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Together with the Ryzen PRO 4000 Series, AMD also unveiled the Athlon PRO 3000 Series with Radeon Graphics!
Here is what you need to know about the new AMD Athlon PRO 3000 desktop APUs!
AMD Athlon PRO 3000 Desktop APUs with Radeon Graphics!
Unlike the recently released Ryzen 3000 XT series, the Athlon PRO 3000 desktop APUs come with integrated Radeon Graphics cores. That makes them APUs, instead of pure processors.
These Athlon PRO models are part of the 3rd Gen Ryzen processor family, and based on the AMD Zen 2 architecture.
At launch, AMD is introducing three Athlon 4000 G-Series processors :
AMD Athlon Gold PRO 3150G : 4C/4T | up to 3.9 GHz | 6 MB cache | 3 graphics cores | 65W TDP
AMD Athlon Gold PRO 3150GE : 4C/4T | up to 3.8 GHz | 6 MB cache | 3 graphics cores | 35W TDP
AMD Athlon PRO 3000 Desktop APUs : Specifications Compared!
We also summarised the key specifications of the three models in this table for easier comparison :
Specifications
Athlon
Gold PRO
3150G
Athlon
Gold PRO
3150GE
Athlon
Silver PRO
3125GE
Cores / Threads
4 / 4
2 / 4
Base Clock
3.5 GHz
3.4 GHz
3.4 GHz
Boost Clock
3.9 GHz
3.8 GHz
NA
L1 Cache
256 KB
128 KB
L2 Cache
2 MB
1 MB
L3 Cache
4 MB
Graphics Cores
3
Graphics Clock
1.1 GHz
TDP
65 W
35 W
AMD Athlon PRO 3000 Series : Price + Availability
Unfortunately, all three Athlon PRO desktop APUs will be limited to the OEM market initially.
AMD does not plan to introduce them to the retail market, until later. So there is no information on their price or retail availability.
AMD expects desktops with these processors to ship from system integrators starting today, 21 July 2020, and from AMD OEM partners like Lenovo and HP starting in Q4 2020.
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Together with the Ryzen 4000 G-Series, AMD also unveiled the Athlon 3000 G-Series with Radeon Graphics!
Here is what you need to know about the new AMD Athlon 3000 G-Series desktop APUs!
AMD Athlon 3000 G-Series with Radeon Graphics Desktop APUs
Unlike the recently released Ryzen 3000 XT series, the Athlon 3000 G-Series come with integrated Radeon Graphics cores. That makes them APUs, instead of pure processors.
These Athlon models are part of the 3rd Gen Ryzen processor family, and based on the AMD Zen 2 architecture.
At launch, AMD is introducing three Athlon 4000 G-Series processors :
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On the heels of the Ryzen 3000 XT series, AMD just unveiled the Ryzen 4000 G-Series with Radeon Graphics!
Here is what you need to know about the new AMD Ryzen 4000 G-Series desktop APUs!
AMD Ryzen 4000 G-Series with Radeon Graphics Desktop APUs
Unlike the recently released Ryzen 3000 XT series, the Ryzen 4000 G-Series come with integrated Radeon Graphics cores. That makes them APUs, instead of pure processors.
While these new desktop APUs are called the 4000 series, they are still part of the 3rd Gen Ryzen processor family, and based on the AMD Zen 2 architecture.
At launch, AMD is introducing six Ryzen 4000 G-Series processors, three with a 65W TDP :
AMD Ryzen 7 4700G : 8C/16T | up to 4.4 GHz | 12 MB cache | 8 graphics cores
AMD Ryzen 5 4600G : 6C/12T | up to 4.2 GHz | 11 MB cache | 7 graphics cores
AMD Ryzen 3 4300G : 4C/8T | up to 4.0 GHz | 6 MB cache | 6 graphics cores
And three desktop APUs with a 35W TDP :
AMD Ryzen 7 4700GE : 8C/16T | up to 4.3 GHz | 12 MB cache | 8 graphics cores
AMD Ryzen 5 4600GE : 6C/12T | up to 4.2 GHz | 11 MB cache | 7 graphics cores
AMD Ryzen 3 4300GE : 4C/8T | up to 4.0 GHz | 6 MB cache | 6 graphics cores
We also summarised the key specifications of the six models in this table for easier comparison :
Specifications
Ryzen 7
4700G
Ryzen 7
4700GE
Ryzen 5
4600G
Ryzen 5
4600GE
Ryzen 3
4300G
Ryzen 3
4300GE
Cores / Threads
8 / 16
6 / 12
4 / 8
Base Clock
3.6 GHz
3.1 GHz
3.7 GHz
3.3 GHz
3.8 GHz
3.5 GHz
Boost Clock
4.4 GHz
4.3 GHz
4.2 GHz
4.0 GHz
L1 Cache
512 KB
384 KB
256 KB
L2 Cache
4 MB
3 MB
2 MB
L3 Cache
8 MB
4 MB
Graphics Cores
8
7
6
Graphics Clock
2.1 GHz
2.0 GHz
1.9 GHz
1.7 GHz
TDP
65 W
35 W
65 W
35 W
65 W
35 W
AMD Ryzen 4000 G-Series : Performance
AMD shared with us this chart to show how much of a performance advantage their Ryzen 4000 G-Series desktop APUs have over the 9th Gen Intel Core processors :
AMD Ryzen 4000 G-Series : Price + Availability
Unfortunately, all six desktop APUs will be limited to the OEM market initially.
AMD does not plan to introduce them to the retail market, until later. So there is no information on their price or retail availability.
AMD expects desktops with these processors to ship from OEM partners like Lenovo and HP starting in Q3 2020.
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AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO : Official Tech Briefing!
AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO : Available Models
As of today’s launch, AMD is launching only these four processor models :
AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3995WX
This is the flagship, with 64 cores capable of processing up to 128 threads simultaneously. It comes with 288 MB of L2 and L3 caches, a 2.7 GHz base clock and a 4.2 GHz boost clock, with a 280 W TDP.
AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX
This processor has 32 cores with the ability to process up to 64 threads simultaneously. It comes with 144 MB of L2 and L3 caches, a 3.5 GHz base clock and a 4.2 GHz boost clock, with a 280 W TDP.
AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3955WX
This processor has 16 cores with the ability to process up to 32 threads simultaneously. It comes with 72 MB of L2 and L3 caches, a 3.9 GHz base clock and a 4.3 GHz boost clock, with a 280 W TDP.
AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3945WX
This processor has 12 cores with the ability to process up to 24 threads simultaneously. It comes with 70 MB of L2 and L3 caches, a 4.0 GHz base clock and a 4.3 GHz boost clock, with a 280 W TDP.
There Is No Threadripper PRO 3965WX
Although earlier rumoured, this 24-core, 48-thread processor will not be released, at least not on 14 July 2020.
AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO : Specifications
In this table, we compare the key specifications of the four processor models :
Specifications
TR PRO
3995WX
TR PRO
3975WX
TR PRO
3955WX
TR PRO
3945WX
Fab Process
7 nm (CPU) + 12 nm (I/O)
Cores / Threads
64 / 128
32 / 64
16 / 32
12 / 24
Base Clock
2.7 GHz
3.5 GHz
3.9 GHz
4.0 GHz
Boost Clock
4.2 GHz
4.3 GHz
L1 Cache
4 MB
2 MB
1 MB
768 KB
L2 Cache
32 MB
16 MB
8 MB
6 MB
L3 Cache
256 MB
128 MB
64 MB
Memory Support
8 x DDR4-3200 channels 2 TB maximum
PCIe Support
128 x PCIe Gen 4 lanes
TDP
280 W
AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO : Performance
Threadripper PRO 3945WX
According to AMD, the “baby” of the family will offer 12% better single-threaded performance in CINEBENCH R20, and 28% better multi-threaded performance than a competing 12-core Intel Xeon processor.
They say that this is targeted at those whose software is licensed on a per-core basis. Its high performance per core will allow for better performance, without resorting to more cores and corresponding licence fees.
Threadripper PRO 3955WX
AMD also showed how the 16-core 3955WX can render 14% faster than an 18-core Intel Xeon processor.
Threadripper PRO 3995WX
AMD compared the flagship Threadripper PRO 3995WX with its 64 cores against two Intel Xeon Platinum 8280 processors, with 56 cores.
In the SPECviewperf13 benchmark, that 8-core, 16-thread advantage gave the 3995WX a performance advantage between 4% and 37%.
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Assassin’s Creed Valhalla – the upcoming AAA game from Ubisoft – will be FREE with the purchase of selected AMD Ryzen CPUs! Here are the details!
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla : A Quick Primer!
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is an upcoming action role-playing video game by Ubisoft, the twelfth major installment and the successor to the 2018 game Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.
Become Eivor, a Viking raider raised to be a fearless warrior, and lead your clan from icy desolation in Norway to a new home amid the lush farmlands of ninth-century England. Find your settlement and conquer this hostile land by any means to earn a place in Valhalla.
England in the age of the Vikings is a fractured nation of petty lords and warring kingdoms. Beneath the chaos lies a rich and untamed land waiting for a new conqueror. Will it be you?
Write Your Viking Saga
Blaze your own path across England with advanced RPG mechanics. Fight brutal battles, lead fiery raids or use strategy and alliances with other leaders to bring victory. Every choice you make in combat and conversation is another step on the path to greatness.
Lead Epic Raids
Lead a crew of raiders and launch lightning-fast surprise attacks against Saxon armies and fortresses. Claim the riches of your enemies’ lands for your clan and expand your influence far beyond your growing settlement.
Engage In Visceral Combat
Unleash the ruthless fighting style of a Viking warrior as you dual-wield axes, swords, or even shields against relentless foes. Decapitate opponents in close-quarters combat, riddle them with arrows, or assassinate them with your Hidden Blade.
Grow Your Settlement
Your clan’s new home grows with your legend. Customise your settlement by building upgradable structures. Unlock new features and quests by constructing a barracks, a blacksmith, a tattoo parlour, and much more.
Share Your Custom Raider
Recruit mercenary Vikings designed by other players or create and customise your own to share online. Sit back and reap the rewards when they fight alongside your friends in their game worlds.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla : FREE With Selected AMD Ryzen CPUs
From 7 July until 3 October 2020, you will receive a FREE copy of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla with the purchase of these AMD Ryzen processors :
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To sweeten the deal, AMD is offering a FREE copy of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla with every purchase of a Ryzen 9 XT or Ryzen 7 XT processor, from 7 July until 3 October 2020!
Unfortunately, the Ryzen 5 3600XT does NOT qualify for the free game… 🙁
AMD Ryzen XT : Specifications Compared!
In this table, we compare the new Ryzen 9 3900XT against the Ryzen 9 3950X and Ryzen 9 3900X processors.
Specifications
Ryzen 9
3950X
Ryzen 9
3900XT
Ryzen 9
3900X
Fab Process
7 nm (CPU) + 12 nm (I/O)
Cores / Threads
16 / 32
12 / 24
Base Clock
3.5 GHz
3.8 GHz
Boost Clock
4.7 GHz
4.7 GHz
4.6 GHz
L2 Cache
8 MB
6 MB
L3 Cache
64 MB
PCIe Support
PCIe Gen 4 (24 lanes)
TDP
105 W
Bundled Cooler
NA
Wraith Prism
RGB
Launch Price
$749
$499
$449
And here is the Ryzen 7 3800XT compared to the Ryzen 7 3800X and Ryzen 7 3700X.
Specifications
Ryzen 7
3800XT
Ryzen 7
3800X
Ryzen 7
3700X
Fab Process
7 nm (CPU) + 12 nm (I/O)
Cores / Threads
8 / 16
Base Clock
3.9 GHz
3.6 GHz
Boost Clock
4.7 GHz
4.5 GHz
4.4 GHz
L2 Cache
4 MB
L3 Cache
32 MB
PCIe Support
PCIe Gen 4 (24 lanes)
TDP
105 W
65 W
Bundled Cooler
NA
Wraith Prism RGB
Launch Price
$399
$399
$329
Finally, we compared the Ryzen 5 3600XT against the Ryzen 5 3600X and Ryzen 5 3600.
Specifications
Ryzen 5
3600XT
Ryzen 5
3600X
Ryzen 5
3600
Fab Process
7 nm (CPU) + 12 nm (I/O)
Cores / Threads
6 / 12
Base Clock
3.8 GHz
3.6 GHz
Boost Clock
4.5 GHz
4.4 GHz
4.2 GHz
L2 Cache
3 MB
L3 Cache
32 MB
PCIe Support
PCIe Gen 4 (24 lanes)
TDP
95 W
65 W
Bundled Cooler
Wraith
Spire
Wraith
Stealth
Wraith
Spire
Launch Price
$249
$249
$199
AMD Ryzen XT : Our First Impressions
To be honest, the AMD Ryzen XT processors don’t really excite us that much, and here’s why…
AMD Ryzen 9 3900XT
The Ryzen 9 3900XT has a slightly faster boost clock and loses its bundled cooler. Yet it costs $50 more than the Ryzen 9 3900X.
It would be better to stick with the cheaper Ryzen 9 3900 – you won’t notice the difference. And in case it’s not “fast enough” (seriously?), you can just overclock it.
AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT
This is the second-best Ryzen XT model of the trio, offering a 200 MHz faster boost clock than the Ryzen 7 3800X at the same price point.
You are basically trading the bundled Wraith Prism RGB cooler for a 200 MHz faster boost clock.
Frankly, unless you are planning to use water cooling, it might be a better idea to just buy the Ryzen 7 3800X and overclock using its Wraith Prism RGB cooler.
AMD Ryzen 5 3600XT
This is really the best Ryzen XT model, offering a slightly faster boost clock with a better Wraith Spire cooler, at the same price as the Ryzen 5 3600X.
That makes the Ryzen 5 3600X completely pointless. We wouldn’t be surprised if AMD drops price on the Ryzen 5 3600X, or removes it from the line-up.
AMD Ryzen XT : Free Game Changes Dynamics!
AMD’s surprise announcement that they will bundle a free copy of the upcoming AAA game – Assassin’s Creed Valhalla – changed everything.
If you are a gamer planning to buy this game, then it’s a great deal, because the game costs US$59.99 / £49.99 / RM 189.99!
Unfortunately, the Ryzen 5 3600XT does NOT qualify for the free game… 🙁
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The AMD Ryzen 5 3600XT (US | UK | AU | SG | MY) is a slightly faster variant of the Ryzen 5 3600X, with a better CPU cooler.
Find out how it fares against the other processors, and why it left us quite perplexed…
AMD Ryzen 3000XT : Turbocharged? Not Quite…
The Ryzen 9 3900XT, Ryzen 7 3800XT and Ryzen 5 3600XT are higher-speed variants existing 3rd Gen Ryzen processors. These XT variants are slightly different in their performance and the cooler they come with.
While the XT postfix implied these are turbocharged processors, that depends on the model :
3900XT vs 3900X : 100 MHz faster boost clock + $50 higher price tag, no Wraith Prism RGB cooler
3800XT vs 3800X : 200 MHz faster boost clocks, no Wraith Prism RGB cooler.
3600XT vs 3600X : 100 MHz faster boost clock, Wraith Spire instead of Wraith Stealth
AMD Ryzen 5 3600XT Specifications Compared!
In this table, we compare the Ryzen 5 3600XT against the Ryzen 5 3600X and Ryzen 5 3600.
Specifications
Ryzen 5
3600XT
Ryzen 5
3600X
Ryzen 5
3600
Fab Process
7 nm (CPU) + 12 nm (I/O)
Cores / Threads
6 / 12
Base Clock
3.8 GHz
3.6 GHz
Boost Clock
4.5 GHz
4.4 GHz
4.2 GHz
L2 Cache
3 MB
L3 Cache
32 MB
PCIe Support
PCIe Gen 4 (24 lanes)
TDP
95 W
65 W
Bundled Cooler
Wraith
Spire
Wraith
Stealth
Wraith
Spire
Launch Price
$249
$249
$199
AMD Ryzen 5 3600XT : Price + Availability
Here are the official prices for the AMD Ryzen 5 3600XT (US | UK | AU | SG | MY) processor, which will be available for purchase starting 7 July 2020.
The AMD Ryzen 5 3600XT (US | UK | AU | SG | MY) comes in a large retail box, bundled with an AMD Wraith Spire cooler inside.
When you fully unbox it, this is what you will find inside :
AMD Ryzen 5 3600XT processor
AMD Wraith Spire CPU cooler
AMD Ryzen 5 case badge
AMD desktop CPU installation sheet
AMD Ryzen 5 3600XT Hands-On Experience!
The AMD Ryzen 5 3600XT (US | UK | AU | SG | MY) has six Ryzen processor cores, with a 3.8 GHz base clock, and a 4.5 GHz boost clock.
It supports SMT (simultaneous multi-threading), and can therefore handle 12 threads simultaneously. It also has a 95W TDP.
Like the previous generations, it has 512 KB L2 cache per core, with a total L2 cache size of 3 MB. But thanks to a larger transistor budget, it has a very large 32 MB L3 cache – twice that of the last-generation 2nd Gen Ryzen processors!
Like all other 3rd Gen Ryzen desktop processors, AMD Ryzen 5 3600XT still uses the AMD AM4 socket, and is drop-in compatible with existing AM4 motherboards.
You can just swap out your existing 3rd Gen Ryzen processor and drop in this processor without a BIOS update. If you are upgrading an older motherboard, make sure first update its BIOS to support the 3rd Gen Ryzen processor.
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AMD Ryzen 5 3600XT Benchmarking Notes
In this review, we will take a look at the work and gaming performance of the AMD Ryzen 5 3600XT, comparing it to 6 other processors :
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.
Its high base clock and large L3 cache appears to give the Ryzen 5 3600XT an advantage over the other processors in the single core test, besting the Ryzen 7 2700X by 22.7%.
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 4.4% slower than the Ryzen 7 2700X, which is an 8-core, 16-thread processor.
But note that it is just 2.2% faster than the Ryzen 5 3600X. Its performance advantages are mainly due to microarchitecture improvements in the 3rd Gen Ryzen.
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 performing better than the Ryzen 7 2700X, the Ryzen 5 3600XT does not do as well as the Ryzen 3 3300X, which has all of its processor cores in the same CCD (Core Chipset Die).
AMD Ryzen 5 3600XT : 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).
Despite having just six cores, the Ryzen 5 3600XT is 91.3% as fast as the Ryzen 7 2700X, which has 8 cores.
But notably, it’s just 1.4% faster than the Ryzen 5 3600X.
AMD Ryzen 5 3600XT : 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 CC 14 using a single 13.5 megapixel photo, with a filesize of 4,910,867 bytes.
As a 6-core processor, the Ryzen 5 3600XT did well, coming within 17.6% of the 8-core Ryzen 7 2700X.
It also had a slightly wider 4% performance advantage over the Ryzen 5 3600X..
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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.
Time Spy – 2560 x 1440
The AMD Ryzen 5 3600XT was just 5.2% slower than the Core i7-8700K, and 16.9% slower than the Ryzen 7 2700X.
Of course, the CPU only has a slight influence on a game’s performance, so its effect on the overall gaming score is less significant.
Surprisingly, the AMD Ryzen 5 3600XT actually edged out the Core i7-8700K, and was just 2% slower than the Ryzen 7 2700X.
Time Spy Extreme – 3840 x 2160
At the higher 4K resolution, the AMD Ryzen 5 3600XT was just 3.2% slower than the Core i7-8700K, and 5.4% slower than the Ryzen 7 2700X.
Now check out the processors’ effect on the overall gaming score…
At 4K, it was neck-to-neck with the Core i7-8700K and the Ryzen 7 2700X. Obviously, CPU performance only has a small effect at this resolution.
F1 2019
F1 2019 is a relatively recent racing game by Codemasters, released on 28 June 2019.
We tested it on three resolutions at the Ultra High settings :
1080p : 1920 x 1080
1440p : 2560 x 1440
1080p Gaming Resolution
Look at that. This is why the number of CPU cores don’t really matter when it comes to games. CPU performance has only a small effect on the frame rate.
1440p Gaming Resolution
At the higher 1440p resolution, the importance of CPU performance was even smaller.
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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
1440p : 2560 x 1440
1080p Gaming Resolution
The AMD Ryzen 5 3600XT did well, tying with the Core i7-8700K and Ryzen 5 3600X. But as you can see, the effect of CPU performance on frame rate is small, even at 1080p.
1440p Gaming Resolution
When we bumped the resolution up to 1440p, it really didn’t matter that much which processor you used.
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
1080p Gaming Resolution
Showcasing the importance of single-core performance, the Ryzen 5 3600X came within 7% of the Core i7-8700K.
But note that it was just 1.5% faster than the Ryzen 5 3600X, and just 3.5% faster than the Ryzen 3 3300X!
1440p Gaming Resolution
At the higher 1440p resolution, the Ryzen 5 3600X was just 6.2% slower than the Core i7-8700K, and just 1.8% faster than the Ryzen 5 3600X, and 6.7% faster than the Ryzen 3 3300X.
AMD Ryzen 5 3600XT : Our Verdict!
Built around the Zen 2 microarchitecture, the AMD Ryzen 5 3600XT (US | UK | AU | SG | MY) uses a chiplet design which combines 7 nm and 12 nm parts to deliver a more powerful, and power-efficient processor at a great price point.
The end result is significantly better single-core and multi-core performance over previous generation Ryzen processors.
There is no doubt that this 6-core, 12-thread processor offers great performance at a great price point, with a better Wraith Spire cooler to boot.
That said, we cannot understand why AMD would bother coming up with it in the first place.
On paper, it only offers a 100 MHz faster boost clock and a better Wraith Spire cooler over the existing Ryzen 5 3600X.
In real life, that translates into a negligible 1%~4% performance advantage over the Ryzen 5 3600X that no one will really notice.
Think of the Ryzen 5 3600XT as the Ryzen 5 3600X with a better Wraith Spire cooler… and a FREE game!
So who should, or should NOT, buy the AMD Ryzen 5 3600XT (US | UK | AU | SG | MY)?
Buy : If it is the same price as the Ryzen 5 3600X, or at most 5% more expensive
Consider : If you are upgrading from a first-generation or second-generation Ryzen.
Avoid : If you are already using a 3rd Gen Ryzen processor, especially for a gaming system
Another alternative would be to purchase a Ryzen 5 3600X, especially if it is 10-15% cheaper.
AMD Ryzen 5 3600XT : Where To Buy?
Here are the official prices for the AMD Ryzen 5 3600XT (US | UK | AU | SG | MY) processor, which will be available for purchase starting 7 July 2020.
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Is it true that the upcoming AMD Ryzen 4000 (Zen 3) desktop processors will be fabricated on the 5nm TSMC process, instead of 7nm as announced? Let’s find out!
AMD is expected to introduce the Ryzen 4000 family of desktop processors, built on a newer Zen 3 microarchitecture, later this year.
AMD’s naming convention confuses people, because the Ryzen 4000 mobile processors are 3rd Gen Ryzen processors, while the upcoming Ryzen 4000 desktop processors will be 4th Gen Ryzen processors.
To make it easier for you to understand, we created this table to differentiate the two processor families.
Specifications
Ryzen 4000 Desktop
Ryzen 4000 Mobile
Ryzen Generation
4th Gen
3rd Gen
Microarchitecture
Zen 3
Zen 2
Fabrication Process
Improved 7 nm
7 nm
Launch Date
Late 2020
Jan 2020
DigiTimes : AMD Ryzen 4000 Will Use 5nm TSMC Process
A DigiTimes article, purportedly translated and posted by RetiredEngineer, claimed that the next-generation AMD Ryzen 4000 desktop processors, using the Zen 3 microarchitecture, will be fabricated on the brand-new 5nm process technology, instead of 7nm as announced earlier.
Rumor has it that AMD and TSMC have adjusted their foundry blueprints. The Ryzen 4000 series of desktop processors originally expected to launch at the end of 2020 will now use TSMC’s enhanced 5nm process (5nm Plus) instead of 7nm EUV, clearly demonstrating that AMD is now considered a tier-one customer for TSMC.
This new development confirms earlier news that TSMC, which only recently entered the 5nm era in April, is accelerating its enhanced 5nm process, bringing forward the mass production schedule to 4Q; and the enhanced 5nm Ryzen series processors will also put unprecedented pressure on Intel. Both TSMC and AMD declined to comment on rumors.
In the first quarter of 2020, AMD benefitted from the pandemic, which boosted demand due to the work-from-home economy. PC and server sales exceeded expectations; Ryzen and EPYC series processors shipments were strong, driving first quarter revenue up by 40% compared to the same period in 2019. Earnings were also better than market expectations.
Despite AMD’s conservative outlook for Q2, with revenue estimates between $1.75B and $1.95B, it is still up by 21% compared with the same period in 2019, and up 4% sequentially, still a good result despite the traditional low season for PCs and the impact of the pandemic.
As understood, AMD’s desktop and server shipments have strengthened across the board since the second half of 2019, and demand has exceeded market expectations. Even AMD themselves and TSMC were caught by surprise. This has led to significant improvements in AMD’s profitability. TSMC happily welcomes the growing strength of its chip customers.
According to sources in the semiconductor industry, AMD had announced a comprehensive partnership with TSMC for sub-7nm processes, and has also confirmed mass production schedules for 7nm, 7nm EUV, 5nm and 3nm products. However, beyond expectations, AMD’s performance took a Great Leap Forward over the last one and a half years. Board, PC and server manufacturers significantly increased their ‘weightage’ (adoption of AMD products relative to others), in part due to Intel’s chip shortages. More importantly, the partnership with TSMC resulted in drastically improved product performance and yield, as well as price competitiveness for AMD, leading to rising shipments and market share quarter after quarter.
In 2020, because of the huge increase in sales, AMD has been urgently chasing after TSMC to expedite orders. The size of those orders were not small, becoming the greatest fallback for TSMC, which got caught in the Huawei ban crisis, making demand and production planning extremely difficult. As a result, TSMC is also adjusting (broadening) its services for AMD, and in considering the optimum allocation of production capacity, modified the process plans for AMD’s products.
As understood, TSMC has entered the 5nm era since April. The enhanced version of 5nm will also enter mass production in Q4, ahead of market expectations, and the first customer to adopt it is AMD, with its new Ryzen 4000 series processors.
AMD’s new generation Ryzen 4000 series processor (codenamed Vermeer), originally planned to use 7nm EUV, will be unveiled around Sep-Oct, but in line with the mass production schedule of TSMC’s enhanced 5nm process, will only be launched at the end of the year or during CES in Jan 2021.
According to semiconductor industry players, AMD plonked down a lot of money to enter the enhanced 5nm era, hoping to build upon its success and expand its leadership in advanced process technology before Intel’s 10nm process is fully deployed and 7nm process is yet to debut, once again capitalising on the narrative around introduction of advanced process technology and performance/efficiency improvements, to narrow its market share with Intel.
Judging by AMD’s current momentum and product performance, the enhanced 5nm Ryzen series processors will put unprecedented pressure on Intel. If Intel does not cut prices or accelerate the introduction of 10nm desktop processors, its empire may be gradually eroded by AMD, ushering in the biggest change in the global PC platform competitive landscape in 15 years: AMD’s market share can be expected to reach historical highs.
Separately, Nvidia has finally joined the 7nm bandwagon recently, entering full production in the second half of the year, while 5nm capacity continues to be reserved for Apple and HiSilicon, although the status of HiSilicon’s orders after Q4 is unknown due to the heightened US ban on Huawei.
Now, we have not directly seen the DigiTimes article, so we cannot vouch for its authenticity. We only have this picture to go by :
5 Reasons Why AMD Ryzen 4000 Will NOT Use 5nm TSMC Process
We have no idea whether the DigiTimes article exists, or was translated accurately, but we seriously doubt it will happen. Here’s why…
Reason #1 : AMD Unlikely To Delay Ryzen 4000 Desktop Launch To 2021
AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su confirmed at CES 2020 that Zen 3 will debut in 2020, most likely around October to make it in time for the year-end holiday season.
While the COVID-19 pandemic has delayed the consumer launch of the Ryzen 4000 mobile processors, it is unlikely to delay the launch of the Ryzen 4000 desktop processors until early 2021.
While shrinking die size is generally a good thing, desktop processors like the upcoming 4th Gen Ryzen 4000 CPUs do not “need” a die shrink.
The focus will be on achieving high clock speeds at lower costs. That’s why the 3rd Gen Ryzen 3000 desktop processors use a chiplet design – the CPU dies are fabricated on 7nm, while the I/O die is fabricated on 12nm.
A matured and improved 7nm process would allow the 4th Gen Ryzen 4000 processors to deliver higher clock speeds at a much lower cost than a new 5nm process.
Reason #3 : Mobile Ryzen Processors Will Likely Be First To Use 5nm
AMD is strongest in the desktop and HEDT segment, outperforming Intel by sheer brute force, thanks to the higher number of cores in their desktop Ryzen and Threadripper processors.
They are weakest in the mobile market, with Intel mobile processors still controlling the vast majority of the market.
To seriously take on Intel in this critical segment, AMD would probably leverage the costly 5nm process to give their future Ryzen 5000 mobile processors a significant advantage in both performance and power consumption.
Reason #4 : 5nm Not That Advantageous Over Improved 7nm
While a 5nm transistor node sounds like it will offer 28.5% smaller transistors than a 7nm node, the difference in reality is much smaller.
That’s partly because the transistor sizes – 7nm, 5nm – are really marketing terms, not precise engineering definitions – and partly because of diminishing returns.
In any case, the TSMC 5nm process promises to offer 25% better performance over 7nm, but their improved 7nm process will offer at least 10% better performance over 7nm.
In other words, the net performance difference between the TSMC 5nm and improved TSMC 7nm (N7+) is just 13.6%. The cost of 5nm would, no doubt, be far more than improved 7nm.
Reason #5 : 5nm Yields Are Still Poor
Another thing to consider with a new transistor node is yield. This is the problem Intel had with their 10nm process technology – poor yield.
As of December 2019, the 5nm TSMC process has an average yield per wafer of ~80% with a tiny die size of 17.92 mm2. That yield goes down to an abysmal 32% with a 100 mm2 die size.
While no one knows how big the Zen 3 die will be, it is safe to say it will be closer to 100 mm2. The Zen 2 die, for example, is 74 mm2 in size.
Will AMD risk the success of their 4th Gen Ryzen 4000 desktop processors on TSMC hitting reasonable yields on 5 nm? We think not!
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The AMD Ryzen 3 3300X is more than just a slightly amped version of the Ryzen 3 3100. And it is quite the bargain at $120!
Find out why we gave this new AMD Ryzen 3 processor our Editor’s Choice Award!
AMD Ryzen 3 3300X : Official Tech Briefing
Let’s start with the official AMD Ryzen 3 3300X tech briefing by AMD Ryzen Product Marketing Manager, Erin Maiorino.
AMD Ryzen 3 3300X : Key Features
The AMD Ryzen 3 3300X is a quad-core processor, with a 3.8 GHz base clock, and a 4.3 GHz boost clock.
It supports SMT (simultaneous multi-threading), and can therefore handle up to 8 threads at the same time.
New Chiplet Design
Unlike the previous Zen and Zen+ microarchitectures, Zen 2 uses a chiplet design that combines separate CPU chiplets with an I/O chiplet, using Infinity Fabric to connect them.
This chiplet design allows the performance-critical CPU chiplet to be fabricated on the 7 nm TSMC process, while the I/O functions are fabricated on the less expensive 12 nm GlobalFoundries process.
The new I/O chiplet adds PCIe 4.0 support, offering 24 lanes that can be increased to 40 lanes, when paired with the new AMD X570 motherboard.
4+0 CCX Configuration
Unlike the Ryzen 3 3100, the Ryzen 3 3300X uses a 4+0 CCX configuration. That means it uses a single CCX (Core Complex).
Its four cores directly communicate with each other, and share the same 16 MB L3 cache, allowing it to deliver better performance with lower latencies, than the Ryzen 3 3100.
TDP + Bundled Cooler
The AMD Ryzen 3 3300X has a 65 watt TDP, which can be reduced to 45 watts using Ryzen Eco Mode. And it comes bundled with the Wraith Stealth cooler.
Socket AM4
The AMD Ryzen 3 3300X continues to use the AMD AM4 socket, and is backward compatible with AMD 400 Series motherboards, as well as the new X570 and B550 chipsets.
AMD Ryzen 3 3300X : Specifications
Specifications
Ryzen 3
3300X
Ryzen 3
3100
Process
7 nm + 12 nm
CCD Configuration
4+0
2+2
Cores / Threads
4 / 8
Base Clock
3.8 GHz
3.6 GHz
Boost Clock
4.3 GHz
3.9 GHz
L2 Cache
512 KB x 4
L3 Cache
16 MB
8 MB x 2
PCIe Support
24x PCI Express Gen 4
TDP
65 W
Bundled Cooler
Wraith Stealth
AMD Ryzen 3 3300X : Price + Availability
The AMD Ryzen 3 3300X has a launch price of US$120 / ~£97 / ~A$190 / ~S$172 / RM 549. and will be available for sale globally starting 21 May 2020.
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AMD Ryzen 3 3100 : 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.
Will you look at that? The AMD Ryzen 3 3300X is actually 9.6% faster than the Intel Core i7-8700K, and 18.7% faster than the Ryzen 7 2700X in single-core performance!
CINEBENCH R20 Multi Core Performance
The Multi Core test shows the processor’s real-world 3D rendering performance.
Of course, the 3300X is still a quad-core processor, which means it will not perform as fast as 6-core processors, or 8-core processors.
Even so, it was actually as fast as the Ryzen 5 1600X (6 cores), and 72% as fast as the Ryzen 7 1800X (8 cores).
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 it may appear that the Ryzen 3 3300X has superior SMT (Simultaneous Multi-Threading) capabilities to the Intel Core i7-8700K, this is due to the fact that all four cores are in the same CCD (Core Chipset Die).
And it appears to have lower MT boost than the Ryzen 3 3100 because of its significantly better single-core performance.
AMD Ryzen 3 3300X Video 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).
Despite having only four cores, the Ryzen 3 3300X was 89% as fast as the Ryzen 5 1600X (6 cores), and 75% as fast as the Ryzen 7 1800X (8 cores).
In other words, it was 30% to 45% more efficient per core, than both first-gen Ryzen processors.
AMD Ryzen 3 3300X 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 CC 14 using a single 13.5 megapixel photo, with a filesize of 4,910,867 bytes.
Despite being a quad-core processor, the AMD Ryzen 3 3300X actually beat the Ryzen 5 1600X, a 6-core processor!
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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.
Time Spy – 2560 x 1440
The AMD Ryzen 3 3300X was 7% faster than the Ryzen 3 3100, and just 14% slower than the Ryzen 5 1600X.
Of course, the CPU only has a slight influence on a game’s performance, so its effect on the overall gaming score is less significant.
F1 2019 is a relatively recent racing game by Codemasters, released on 28 June 2019.
We tested it on three resolutions at the Ultra High settings :
1080p : 1920 x 1080
1440p : 2560 x 1440
1080p Gaming Resolution
Will you look at that! This is why the number of CPU cores don’t really matter when it comes to games.
The cheap Ryzen 3 3300X delivered average frame rates on par with the 8-core Ryzen 7 2700X!
1440p Gaming Resolution
At the higher 1440p resolution, the importance of CPU performance was greatly reduced. It didn’t matter which processor you used – they all delivered about the same frame rates.
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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
1440p : 2560 x 1440
1080p Gaming Resolution
At 1080p, the AMD Ryzen 3 3300X performed as well as the 8-core Ryzen 7 2700X, and was 14.6% better than the Ryzen 3 3100.
1440p Gaming Resolution
When we bumped the resolution up to 1440p though, it really didn’t matter that much which processor you used.
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
1080p Gaming Resolution
This showcases the importance of the Ryzen 3 3300X’s greatly-improved single-core performance. It actually delivered 23% and 24% better frame rates than the Ryzen 7 2700X and Ryzen 5 2600X processors!
1440p Gaming Resolution
At the higher 1440p resolution, the Ryzen 3 3300X was 20% and 28% faster than the Ryzen 7 2700X and Ryzen 5 2600X processors!
AMD Ryzen 3 3300X : Our Verdict + Award!
Built around the Zen 2 microarchitecture, the AMD Ryzen 3 3300X uses a chiplet design which combines 7 nm and 12 nm parts to deliver a more powerful, and power-efficient processor at a great price point.
The end result is significantly better single-core and multi-core performance over previous generation Ryzen processors.
Overall, the AMD Ryzen 3 3300X is roughly equivalent to the Ryzen 5 1600X, a first-gen 6-core Ryzen processor. In some benchmarks, it is perhaps 10% slower, and yet it is equal or faster in other benchmarks.
At first glance, the AMD Ryzen 3 3300X may seem to be an amped-up Ryzen 3 3100, but its 4+0 configuration does confer it additional performance benefits above and beyond its higher clock speeds.
Now if you do a lot of 3D or video rendering, you should definitely get something like the Ryzen 7 3700X with 8 cores and 16 threads of processing power.
But if you want something cheap to power a gaming system, the Ryzen 3 3300X is a great, GREAT option. The money you save can go towards a better graphics card!
And we should point out again that this 4-core, 8-thread processor only costs US$120 / RM 549, and it’s bundled with a Wraith Stealth cooler to boot!
While not quite the steal that the Ryzen 3 3100 really is, it is still a darn good bargain. So we are giving it our Editor’s Choice Award too!
AMD Ryzen 3 3300X : Where To Buy?
The AMD Ryzen 3 3300X has a launch price of US$120 / ~£97 / ~A$190 / ~S$172 / RM 549..
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It may be the baby of the 3rd Gen Ryzen family, but it delivers a lot of computing power for just $99! What a steal!
Find out why we gave this entry-level Ryzen processor our Editor’s Choice Award!
AMD Ryzen 3 3100 : Official Tech Briefing
Let’s start with the official AMD Ryzen 3 3100 tech briefing by AMD Ryzen Product Marketing Manager, Erin Maiorino.
AMD Ryzen 3 3100 : Key Features
The AMD Ryzen 3 3100 is a quad-core processor, with a 3.6 GHz base clock, and a 3.9 GHz boost clock.
It supports SMT (simultaneous multi-threading), and can therefore handle up to 8 threads at the same time.
New Chiplet Design
Unlike the previous Zen and Zen+ microarchitectures, Zen 2 uses a chiplet design that combines separate CPU chiplets with an I/O chiplet, using Infinity Fabric to connect them.
This chiplet design allows the performance-critical CPU chiplet to be fabricated on the 7 nm TSMC process, while the I/O functions are fabricated on the less expensive 12 nm GlobalFoundries process.
The new I/O chiplet adds PCIe 4.0 support, offering 24 lanes that can be increased to 40 lanes, when paired with the new AMD X570 motherboard.
2+2 CCX Configuration
Unlike the Ryzen 3 3300X, the Ryzen 3 3100 uses a 2+2 CCX configuration. That means it uses two CCXs with two cores in each CCX, communicating through the Infinity Fabric interconnect.
TDP + Bundled Cooler
The AMD Ryzen 3 3100 has a 65 watt TDP, which can be reduced to 45 watts using Ryzen Eco Mode. And it comes bundled with the Wraith Stealth cooler.
Socket AM4
The AMD Ryzen 3 3100 continues to use the AMD AM4 socket, and is backward compatible with AMD 400 Series motherboards, as well as the new X570 and B550 chipsets.
AMD Ryzen 3 3100 : Specifications
Specifications
Ryzen 3
3300X
Ryzen 3
3100
Process
7 nm + 12 nm
CCD Configuration
4+0
2+2
Cores / Threads
4 / 8
Base Clock
3.8 GHz
3.6 GHz
Boost Clock
4.3 GHz
3.9 GHz
L2 Cache
512 KB x 4
L3 Cache
16 MB
8 MB x 2
PCIe Support
24x PCI Express Gen 4
TDP
65 W
Bundled Cooler
Wraith Stealth
AMD Ryzen 3 3100 : Price + Availability
The AMD Ryzen 3 3100 has a launch price of US$99 / ~£80 / ~A$157 / ~S$142 / RM 449 and will be available for sale globally starting 21 May 2020.
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AMD Ryzen 3 3100 : 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.
On paper, the Ryzen 3 3100 has slower base and boost clock speeds than the Ryzen 7 2700X, but in reality, it has 5% better single-core performance!
CINEBENCH R20 Multi Core Performance
The Multi Core test shows the processor’s real-world 3D rendering performance.
Of course, it is still a 4-core, 8-thread processor, which means it will not perform as fast as 6-core processors, or 8-core processors.
Even so, the Ryzen 3 3100 was 91% as fast as the Ryzen 5 1600X (6 cores), and 65% as fast as the Ryzen 7 1800X (8 cores).
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 it may appear that the Ryzen 3 3100 has superior SMT (Simultaneous Multi-Threading) capabilities to the Intel Core i7-8700K, this is due to the fact that all four cores are in the same CCD (Core Chipset Die).
AMD Ryzen 3 3100 Video 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).
Despite having only four cores, the Ryzen 3 3100 was 86% as fast as the Ryzen 5 1600X (6 cores), and 72% as fast as the Ryzen 7 1800X (8 cores).
In other words, it was 30% to 45% more efficient per core, than both first-gen Ryzen processors.
AMD Ryzen 3 3100 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 CC 14 using a single 13.5 megapixel photo, with a filesize of 4,910,867 bytes.
For a quad-core processor, the Ryzen 3 3100 did very well, coming within 13% of a 6-core processor like the Ryzen 5 1600X.
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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.
Time Spy – 2560 x 1440
The AMD Ryzen 3 3100 was just 6.6% slower than the Ryzen 3 3300X, and 20% slower than the Ryzen 5 1600X.
Of course, the CPU only has a slight influence on a game’s performance, so its effect on the overall gaming score is less significant.
At the higher 4K resolution, the AMD Ryzen 3 3100 was 8% slower than the Ryzen 3 3300X, and 14% slower than the Ryzen 5 1600X.
Now check out the processors’ effect on the overall gaming score…
At 4K, it was just 2% slower than the Ryzen 3 3300X, and only 3% slower than the Ryzen 5 1600X. Practically no difference.
F1 2019
F1 2019 is a relatively recent racing game by Codemasters, released on 28 June 2019.
We tested it on three resolutions at the Ultra High settings :
1080p : 1920 x 1080
1440p : 2560 x 1440
1080p Gaming Resolution
Look at that. This is why the number of CPU cores don’t really matter when it comes to games.
The cheap Ryzen 3 3100 delivered 13% higher frame rates than the 8-core Ryzen 7 1800X!
1440p Gaming Resolution
At the higher 1440p resolution, the importance of CPU performance was greatly reduced. It didn’t matter which processor you used – they all delivered about the same frame rates.
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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 :
