AMD Ryzen is finally here, and with it brings some of the best competition and market shifting products we have seen in a long time. This is exactly what we were waiting for and AMD has delivered big time. AMD have been working on the Zen core for a good few years now and there have been delays, but the promises of what Zen would be were completely real.
Launching today is the new chipsets X370/B350 using AMD’s latest AM4 socket, along with Ryzen 7. Let’s make a quick note right now. Ryzen 7 is the enthusiast level processors from AMD and that’s what were taking a closer look at today.
This is our pre-review coverage, with benchmarks, performance tests, and full reviews to arrive later. So let’s dive right in and take a look at what Ryzen has to offer.
First let’s take a closer look at what processors that are launching today and what the main differences between each product. Just to note that all Ryzen 7 CPU’s are 8-core/16 thread processors, and feature 4 MB L2 & 16 MB L3 cache memory.
The 1800x is right there at the top and is the best AMD have to offer right now. It features a 95W TDP with 3.6GHz baseclock with a 4.0GHz turbo and 4.1GHz XFR boost. XFR means Extended Frequency Range, and we will detail that more below. The 1800x is priced at €559 euro.
The 1700x features the same 95W TDP with baseclock speed of 3.4GHz, turbo at 3.8GHz, and XFR of 3.9-4.0GHz. Pricing for the 1700x is €449.
Lastly, we have the 1700, which is the lowest end Ryzen 7 CPU. It features a 65W TDP, baseclock of 3.0 GHz, with 3.7 GHz Turbo, and another 100Mhz to 3.8GHz for the XFR.
Model Numbers
The above graph is a great way to show how exactly the naming works for AMD’s new processors. As we can see Ryzen 7 is aimed at Enthusiast level market.
X370 and B350
AMD will be launching more chipsets, with an emphasis on different form factors, and markets. The new avaialble at launch are the X370 and B350. The former being the top of the line chipset that offers the most currently avaialble to AM4 motherboards.
X370
The top of the line chipset will offer the best features and support and includes dual PCIe slots, native USB 3.1 support (gen2), 4 x SATA connection, with SATA Express and M.2 SATA support. This board includes Crossfire and SLI support, and includes 8 PCIe lanes of its own.
B350
The B350is offered as the cheaper and more mainstream chipset. It includes USB 3.1 Gen 2, SATA 3/Express, 4 + X2 NVMe support. It does also inlcude PCIe lanes, but 6 instead of 8. It also looses crossfire/SLI support.
SenseMI
A big feature set inlcude in Ryzen is SenseMI. This is made up of multiple different technologies and features together that offer better overclocking and efficiency. The main function below are Pure Power, Precision Boost, and Extended Frequency Range (XFR).
The above graph shows just how the new technology works, and allows for smoother and better overclocks, and in most cases completely automatically. While AMD are pressing the fact that all of their processors are unlocked and allow for overclocking. They also wanted to note that decent overclocking will occur automatically with better cooling.
The Pure power will reduce clocks during low usage and in turn reduce power consumption and heat. Of course this isn’t anything new, but AMD are stressing that the efficiency and speed of Pure Power is important.
Precision boost is the Turbo of the CPU, that will allow the CPU clock speed to increase beyond the baseclock when performance is needed more. The boost will effect cores differently and has an AllCoresMaxBoost as showing for the 1800x.
Lastly we have XFR, which AMD are including for those that using better cooling options. Once the CPU reaches in Turbo, it will automatically go beyond that turbo limit if the thermal threshold will allow. Basically the better the cooling you have, your Ryzen CPU will perform better.
All of this isn’t to say that you wouldn’t be better off with manual overclocking, but for those that wish to leave that to the board, AMD are promising even better performance if cooling will allow.
Ryzen names include a lot of X’s, and the above image is here to help you understand. Early on, alot of use assumed that the X at the end of a processor meant XFR support, but alas, it’s not quite that simple. While The X does mean better XFR support. All Ryzen 7 boards, and CPU’s support it. However, when combining an X boards (X370) with an X CPU (1700X/1800X) You will get even more performance, and more XFR headroom.
Software
AMD are also including some decent overclocking software straight out of the gate that will allow for better manual overclocking from within Windows.
Performance
Now it’s time for some numbers. It’s important to note that these numbers come from AMD, and so they should of course be taking with a pinch of salt, but based on early reviews and leaks, we can see this are very much accurate. The benchmarks below take great advantage of multi-core CPU’s , which is of course a big bonus for AMD when comparing them against the 7700k
POV-RAY
Here we can see the 1800x beating Intel’s 6900K CPU while being even more efficent. Let’s not forget we’re talking about a €550 euro CPU, vs €1,000 CPU. This are pretty impressive results.
The 1700 which is priced lower than the 7700K showed nearly 50-percent performance increase, while being around 15-percent more efficient.
Handbrake
Handbrake is used for converting video files, and definitely uses and needs a lot of performance. Here we can see the 1700X taking on the 6900K and out performing it by a huge margin, and again while being extremely more efficient.
Stock vs stock we can easily see AMD’s hardware having a massive leap in performance against Intel’s current offerings, and all while being more efficient and a lot cheaper. AMD have clearly leaped ahead in product offerings and we’re very eager to take a closer look at Ryzen and what it has to offer in the future.
