Ryzen 5 & 7 First Generation Retested on X470 Review

Final Thoughts

Pricing

The AMD Ryzen range launched just over a year ago, with the top of the range Ryzen 7 1800X costing around £488/$499. That’s all changed now, as you can pick up a 1800X for as little as £255, a 1700X for £224. If that’s not fantastic value, the Ryzen 5 range is now between £100-160 overall. Of course, the new prices are in response to the launch of the new Gen 2 Ryzen 5 2600X and 2700X which are launching today for around £200 and £300 respectively.

Overview

So there we have it, just over a year and it seems almost every aspect of the Ryzen first generation processors has shifted slightly. Of course, that’s exactly what we expected and I’m sure you did too. I’m sure many of you will be tempted by the new X470 series of motherboards and the features they offer, but you may not want the new CPUs just yet.

AM4

The great thing about AM4 is that it is forwards and backwards compatible. The first generation CPUs will work in all AM4 motherboards regardless of their chipset. Even better, AMD said they’ll keep this socket in the main rotation for at least four years, and I’d still expect some support beyond that too; likely an AM4+ configuration.

That means you can buy your new motherboard now, and move over your first gen processors. Of course, you could also go out and buy a first gen processor now and make good on those sweet prices. Gen 2 Ryzen has only just launched, and we are impressed with the performance gains overall. However, as we’ve seen today, you can teach an old dog new tricks.

What Will You Buy?

What are you going to pick up next? Are you going to invest in either generation of ryzen, perhaps an X370 or newer X470 motherboard? Let us know in the comments section below!