AMD Announces Ryzen 5 6 Core and 4 Core CPUs for April 11th

During the initial Ryzen 7 launch, AMD alluded to some future releases. The closest one was Ryzen 5 which had a Q2 launch date set. Two weeks later today, we now have the official confirmation about the launch date. AMD is set to reveal Ryzen 5 to the world on April 11th. In the meantime, the company has revealed some slides with some details they’re willing to share with us at this point. This builds on a leak yesterday that saw some of the slides come out.

The Ryzen 5 lineup consists of 4 processors, the 1600X, 1600, 1500X and 1400. The former two feature 6 cores and 12 threads while the later two have 4 cores with 8 threads in total. All 4 processors are unlocked and also feature XFR for an extra boost over the stated boost clock. AMD is claiming a gain of up to 200 MHz in some cases.Interestingly enough, the clocks are lower than the Ryzen 7, going against the trend of processors with fewer cores featuring higher clocks.

The 1600X features 3.6 GHz base and 4.0 GHz boost with a price tag of $249. The 1600 clocks at 3.2 GHz base and 3.6 GHz boost with a cost of $219. The 1500X clocks in at 3.5 GHz with a boost to 3.7 GHz and a price tag of $189. Last of all, we have the Ryzen 5 1400 which is the bottom of the stack at a meager 3.2 GHz base and 3.4 GHz boost for a tiny price tag of $169. The 1600X features a 95W TDP while the rest are 65W. AMD is equipping the 1600 and 1500X with the Wraith Spire and the 1400 with the Wraith Stealth. The  Spire is rated for 65-80W while the Stealth is 65W. The 1600X will use the Wraith Max for OEM builds but will not come with a cooler for retail purchases.

Compared to Ryzen 7, Ryzen 5 has many of the same features. We have DDR4 and DDR4 ECC memory support on the AM4 platform and same chipsets. Available PCIe lanes are also the same. Due to the 2x 4 core CCX, design, AMD has decided to consistently cut up their chips. The hexacore models will feature 3+3 and the quad core units 2+2. This keeps the performance impact on the L3 and inter-core Infinity Fabric communication but ensures performance is consistent. With relatively decent speeds, great IPC and low cost, they should provide superb value against Intel’s offerings in this segment. All that is left is for Ryzen 3 to launch sometime after June.