AMD has announced the release of its Ryzen 9000 series CPUs and Zen 5 architecture, which will be available for purchase in July. These new processors offer incremental improvements over the previous Ryzen 7000 series and Zen 4 architecture. According to AMD, Zen 5 is approximately 16% faster than Zen 4 at the same clock speeds, although there are certain workloads that demonstrate even greater performance improvements. However, this increase falls short of the 29% jump between Zen 3 and Zen 4.
Unlike past generations, which compensated for slight single-core performance improvements by adding more cores, the Ryzen 9000 series does not offer more cores. The range includes chips with 6 to 16 full-size Zen 5 cores, which is consistent with the previous desktop lineup. Images of the processors reveal that they still utilize two or three separate chiplets, including one or two CPU chiplets with up to 8 cores each, as well as a separate I/O die for connectivity.
Contrary to earlier rumors, the Ryzen 9000 series does not feature Zen 5c E-cores. Zen 5c is a version of Zen 5 optimized for occupying less space on a silicon die, albeit at the expense of higher clock speeds. However, Zen 5c cores will be incorporated into the Ryzen AI 300-series laptop chips also announced by AMD. Intel has utilized E-cores to match or surpass AMD’s multi-core performance, while AMD has consistently outperformed Intel in terms of power consumption and efficiency. Apple also combines P-cores and E-cores in their high-end desktop CPU designs.
Another point of interest is that the Ryzen 9000 series does not include a neural processing unit (NPU), and AMD has not specified whether there are any upgrades to the integrated RDNA 2-based GPU found in the Ryzen 7000 series.
In addition to the new processors, AMD is introducing the X870 and X870E motherboard chipsets. The X870E chipset is essentially two chipsets on one motherboard, resulting in increased USB ports, M.2 slots, and PCIe slots. The main change is that the X870-series boards are now USB4 compatible and offer higher EXPO memory overclocking speeds. Both chipsets support PCIe 5.0 speeds for the main PCIe slot and M.2 slot, with the previous X670 chipsets already providing this functionality.
Fortunately, users with 600-series motherboards will still be able to use Ryzen 9000 CPUs after a BIOS update, as the processors’ power requirements remain the same.
AMD has also stated that it plans to keep the AM4 socket as a budget platform until at least 2025. To support this, the company will release additional variations of the Zen 3-based Ryzen 5000 series, providing more options for budget builders and upgraders. However, the high cost of the AM5 platform relative to Intel systems, the current AM4-based systems, and even AM4-based systems at a similar point in their lifespan has not been resolved. Motherboards and DDR5 memory remain more expensive, and there are currently no AM5 processors available for under $200.
Although AMD’s decision to extend the lifespan of the AM4 socket until 2025 allows for a decent budget platform, consumers are still faced with the dilemma of choosing between an expensive platform with a future or a cheaper platform that is essentially a dead end.
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