Editor's Note: AMD unveiled a few new CPUs in the Ryzen 7000 line at CES 2023, most notably the Ryzen 7040, the first (and so far only) laptop CPU in the lineup -- and the first AMD laptop CPU to ship with onboard Ryzen AI tech.
The AMD Ryzen 7000 desktop processors have arrived. AMD announced the pricing and availability of its upcoming Zen 4 architecture-based CPUs during the company's “Together we advance PCs” live stream in August 2022. As previously revealed during Computex 2022, the new chips will feature TSMC's 5-nanometer process and run on AMD's new AM5 platform.
AMD released four Ryzen 7000 series CPUs on September 27, 2022. As it did with the previous Ryzen 5000 chips, the company plans to release the higher-end (i.e. more expensive) CPUs first and then follow up with more budget processors later this year. Prices for the initial crop of CPUs ranges from $299 to $699.
Here's everything you need to know about the new AMD Ryzen 7000 processors.
AMD Ryzen 7000: Price and release date
AMD’s Ryzen 7000 series processors will launch on September 27, 2022. The line will consist of four CPUs.
The chips will start at $299 for the Ryzen 5 7600X, which is the same price as the Ryzen 5 5600X. The Ryzen 7 7700X is priced at $399, the Ryzen 9 7900X at $549 and the Ryzen 9 7950X at $699.
AMD Ryzen 7000: Performance and specs
The AMD Ryzen 7000 series chips are the first desktop chips based on a 5-nanometer process. During the live stream, the company claimed that the Zen 4 processors (codenamed "Raphael") have a 13 percent IPC (Instructions Per Clock cycle) uplift over the Zen 3 architecture-based Ryzen 5000 series. This is higher than the eight to ten percent IPC uplift the company claimed during Computex 2022.
AMD had previously said the new processors would be capable of reaching clock speeds over 5GHz and, based on the specs provided, that seems to be the case. The company also says the chips will have a 29 percent increase in single-thread performance over the previous gen. It also said the Ryzen 9 7950X will have a six to 35 percent performance boost in games compared to its last-gen equivalent. As always, we'll need to conduct our own benchmark testing to verify these claims.
| Ryzen 5 7600X | Ryzen 7 7700X | Ryzen 9 7900X | Ryzen 9 7950X | |
| Price | $299 | $399 | $549 | $699 |
| Cores/threads | 6-core / 12-thread | 8-core / 16-thread | 12-core / 24-thread | 16-core / 32-thread |
| Clock speeds (base/boost) | 4.7 / 5.3 GHz | 4.5 / 5.4 GHz | 4.7 / 5.6 GHz | 4.5 / 5.7 GHz |
| Cache | 38MB (6+32) | 40MB (8+32) | 76MB (12+64) | 80MB (16+64) |
| TDP | 105 W | 105 W | 170 W | 170 W |
AMD compared the Ryzen 9 7950X's performance to Intel's i9-12900K in the V-Ray benchmark test. AMD's CPU had a 47 percent better performance-per-watt over its rival. That's interesting, but keep in mind this is just a single test and isn't indicative that AMD's Raphael CPUs will outperform Intel's Alder Lake chips across all metrics.
AMD says the new processors will outperform last-gen CPUs by 35 percent when set to a 170W TDP, 37 percent when set to a 105 TDP, and 74 percent when set to a 65W TDP. Those are bold claims, which we will have to verify independently.
Since Ryzen 7000 CPUs use the AM5 socket platform, you'll need to upgrade your motherboard. AMD plans to sell AM5 motherboards starting at $125 and will support them until 2025. As The Verge notes, this coincides with the predicted launch of Zen 5 in 2024. Zen 4 CPUs and AM5 motherboards will require DDR5 RAM and there won't be compatibility for DDR4.
AMD Ryzen 7000: Outlook
Though AMD has been making notable progress with its CPU line in recent years, it will still face an uphill battle against the juggernaut that is Intel. But if the Ryzen 7000 series is as powerful as AMD claims, the new CPUs could give Intel a run for its money. Of course, we’ll need to see independent benchmark tests to see what the new CPUs are capable of. But if you’re a PC gamer, particularly one who is a fan of Team Red (as AMD is affectionately called), then the Ryzen 7000 series is worth keeping an eye on.
Of course, the ever-present elephant in the room is the ongoing semiconductor shortage. Though the Zen 4 CPUs are slated to launch on September 27, we're not sure how readily available they'll be. After all, we’ve already seen Intel delay its Arc desktop GPUs to the latter half of this year because of the effects of the global pandemic. With luck, AMD can launch its new processors without incident.
Incidentally enough, a new leak alleges that Intel will launch its Raptor Lake CPUs a month after AMD's processors. If this is accurate, prospective CPU buyers will have to choose between Team Red and Team Blue.
Stay tuned for more updates.
