Intel has been leading the processor business for decades and AMD has always been there but had been losing share to the company. AMD has finally found its game – as it 1st-gen Ryzen processors managed to easily beat Intel’s $1000+ top-end chips at less than half the price and got popular really fast.
Intel’s Spectre and other security issues didn’t help as it lost share value and AMD gained in both value and sales.
The company has now announced their 2nd-gen AMD Ryzen processor lineup and will come in four different models – two high-end Ryzen 7 and two midrange Ryzen 5.
What To Expect
For now, the company has not released any detailed specifications so their exact performance boost, as compared to predecessors cannot be evaluated. However, official statement says that the 2nd-gen Ryzen processors are built using a 12nm process which allows more transistors to be packed in a similar amount of area.
Other than that, they will be based on the Zen+ architecture. According to AMD’s CT, the 12nm process allows 10% performance boost and “additional opportunities to optimize performance per watt” when compared to the previous Ryzen processors.
Better Graphics Than Before
AMD also claims that the 2nd gen processors will be the most compact and fastest desktop processors ever made by the company and will be able to work at much higher clock speeds without wear. Previously, Ryzen processors proved that they were “more than capable” of 1080p gaming without needing a GPUÂ – the built-in GPU is based on Vega architecture and can easily run demanding games at decent framerates.
This time, the GPU department will surely get better and some enthusiasts expect that it will be able to perform ideally for eSports titles – without needing any external GPU – that depend more on processing power rather than graphics.
Specifications & Price
Top-end Ryzen 2700X has 8 cores and 16 threads clocked at 3.7 GHz base and up to 4.3 GHz boost. With a 105W TDP, the ‘Smart Prefetch Cache’ is 20 MB – 4 MB L2 cache and 16 MB L3. Moreover, it has four direct-contact heat pipes made of copper, a Wraith Prism cooler, and RGB blades. It has been given a price tag of $329.
Ryzen 2700Â also comes with 8 cores and 16 threads but has a relatively slower clock at 3.2 GHz base and 4.1 GHz boost. Its cache capacity is the same as 2700X. The TDP is 65W and has a Wraith Spire cooler instead. It costs $299.
Mid-range Ryzen 2600XÂ has 6 cores and 12 threads, clocked at 3.6 GHz base and 4.2 GHz boost. Cache size is 19 MB, TDP at 95W, and a Wraith Spire cooler is also present. This one is priced at $229.
Ryzen 2600Â also has 6 cores and 12 threads but a lower clock speed of 3.4 GHz base and 3.9 GHz boost. TDP is 65W and the cache size is the same as 2600X. It has Wraith Stealth cooler and price is $199.
The processors will officially hit the stores on April 19th but can be pre-ordered from international retailers such as Amazon.
Unlike most Intel chips, the AMD Ryzen chips are backward compatible and can be used with last year’s boards. AMD also announced the X470 chipset for motherboards which will support the new and the 1st gen processors. OEMs such as ASRock, ASUS, Gigabyte and MSI will soon announce the boards based on the X470 chipset.
More will be revealed on April 19th so stay tuned and keep watching this space for more info.
Pakistani market need to embrace the AMD now!
Why would Pakistani embrace the AMD? Intel is more readily available and there is not much price difference here in Pakistan. Not to mention the overheating problems with AMD (not sure if ryzen fixes these problems).
What overheating CPU did you use and when? You must be talking about years old CPUs. Ryzen CPU’s are as much capable as intel’s are.
Amd Ryzen have better temperatures than intel linup. Just look at any benchmark.
You’re delusional to believe Ryzen has overheating problems any more than intel. Intel’s i9 line is an absolute joke in performence, thermals and efficiency, and Coffeelake i7s need a crap ton of power to sustain their 5Ghz+ overclocks.
Wow. Do you people even read the comment before replying. I mentiond that “not sure about ryzen”. But the thing is there is not much price difference between Intel and AMD here in Pakistan. There are other factors too. There is 0 support by AMD for Pakistani market. That is another fact.
The only reason AMD and Intel prices have little difference in Pakistan is because currently Amd has no distributor in Pakistan and any Ryzen cpu you find will be imported.
Intel cpu on the other hand do have many distributors but due to monopoly they have deliberately jacked up the prices.
Just compare both cpu prices in the international market and youll end up agreeing that if amd amd starts distributing their cpu it will be alot better for Pakistani market.
Yes. Thats what I am trying to say. AMD has no official distributor so there is 0 support for Pakistani market. Thats why intel is still prefered and will be preferred by me and many other Pakistanis until AMD atleast bothers to give some support to the Pakistani market.
and that’s why I said Pakistni market need to embrace it NOW!
when they see the outcome, they will sure start supporting Pakistni market.
Overheat …AMD ?? AMD cpu beats intel in thermal. AMD desktop grade cpu are being used in laptop because of low thermals. AMD Ryzen is better than intel in price and performance and still supports 64 pci-e lanes where’s intel i9 high end model supports 48 pcie lanes.
There are a lot technical mistakes in your article. The most notable one: Ryzen processors don’t feature on-board Vega graphics, but it’s their recently launched Raven Ridge APUs, which combine the Ryzen CPU and Vega GPU on a single chip…
Amd Ryzen currently are way better than any intel cpu at any price point for any multithreaded operation.
Sadly amd currently will not be distributing any of the Ryzen gen 2 cpu in Pakistan.
AMD needs to come back officially to Pakistan. Heating and other issues are with some intel chips as well and AMD has overcome its past and is reliable enough for daily tasks. Also for some one on budget, AMD is the bang for the buck. Intels are way too expansive now.