A new era is upon us, an era that involves a reenvisioned focus on performance and efficiency leadership in the CPU landscape. There are two companies that are battling hard to hold the throne of this segment but given the incremental (and sometimes revolutionary) changes that each chipmaker is bringing to the field in a span of few quarters, there's no decisive victor. In return, the consumers keep on reaping the benefits of this heated battle between red and blue which is the most intense it's ever been.
While Intel may have managed to take the performance, value, and efficiency throne from AMD with its 12th Gen Alder Lake lineup, AMD isn't going to sit silent. They planned two brand new CPU launches this year, one being a demonstration of how 3D V-Cache can allow gamers to benefit from faster performance in a mainstream package. But that's just one chip, The bigger and the main CPU launch has always been scheduled for the second half of 2022 in the form of Ryzen 7000 and it's going to fundamentally change everything for the Ryzen Desktop CPU platform.
In the five years of Zen, the company went from performance leadership to core leadership, efficiency leadership, and gaming leadership. And today, the red team even manages to secure the clock speed leadership, something that we thought was impossible against a rival such as Intel. The clock leadership will be short-lived considering the competition has planned chips that are 6 GHz capable launching next month but it's an impressive feat for AMD regardless.
Intel 12th Gen vs AMD Ryzen 5000 Desktop CPU Prices:
| Intel CPU | Cores / Threads | Clocks (Max) | Price (MSRP) | Prices (Newegg) - 01/11/2021 | Prices (Newegg) - 01/11/2021 | Price (MSRP) | Clocks (Max) | Cores / Threads | AMD CPU |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | $749.99 US | $799 US | 4.7 GHz (105W) | 16/32 | AMD Ryzen 9 5950X |
| Intel Core i9-12900K | 16/24 | 5.2 GHz (241W) | $589 US (K) $564 US (KF) |
$649.99 K $629.99 KF |
$559.99 US | $549 US | 4.6 GHz (105W) | 12/24 | AMD Ryzen 9 5900X |
| Intel Core i7-12700K | 12/20 | 5.0 GHz (190W) | $409 US (K) $384 US (F) |
$449.99 K $419.99 KF |
$394.99 US | $449 US | 4.7 GHz (105W) | 8/16 | AMD Ryzen 7 5800X |
| Intel Core i5-12600K | 10/16 | 4.9 GHz (150W) | $289 US (K) $264 US (KF) |
$319.99 K $299.99 KF |
$309.99 US | $299 US | 4.6 GHz (65W) | 6/12 | AMD Ryzen 5 5600X |
So this year, AMD has decided to launch a second architecture overhaul, and oh boy! It's a big one. Enter AM5 & Zen 4, a brand new architecture with a prime focus on efficiency and multi-threading performance, and comes with a brand new platform that is outfitted with next-generation features such as DDR5 and PCIe 5.0. The AMD Ryzen 7000 "Zen 4" lineup will include the top to bottom Ryzen 9, Ryzen 7, and Ryzen 5 CPUs.
Main features of AMD's Ryzen 7000 Desktop CPUs include:
- Up To 16 Zen 4 Cores and 32 Threads
- +29% Performance Uplift In Single-Threaded Apps
- Brand New Zen 4 CPU Cores (IPC / Architectural Improvements)
- Brand New TSMC 5nm process node with 6nm IOD
- 25% Performance Per Watt Improvement Vs Zen 3
- >35% Overall Performance Improvement Vs Zen 3
- ~13% Instructions Per Clock (IPC) Improvement Vs Zen 3
- Support on AM5 Platform With LGA1718 Socket
- New X670E, X670, B650E, B650 Motherboards
- Dual-Channel DDR5 Memory Support
- Up To DDR5-5600 Native (JEDEC) Speeds
- 28 PCIe Lanes (CPU Exclusive)
- 105-120W TDPs (Upper Bound Range ~170W)
AMD is not just going up against Intel's 12th Gen but also the upcoming 13th Gen Desktop CPUs. The company sent us their Ryzen 9 7950X flagship and also the mainstream Ryzen 7 7700X CPUs for review. So let's get started at what AMD has to offer on its brand new AM5 platform.
Before we talk about CPUs, we have to talk about the platform itself. The AMD Ryzen 7000 CPUs will be migrating to a new home known as AM5, the successor to the long-lasting AM4 platform. It marks a fresh start for the Ryzen Desktop family and as such, existing Ryzen CPUs starting with Ryzen 1000 & all the way up to Ryzen 5000 won't be supported by the new platform we will tell you why it is so.
The AM5 platform will first and foremost feature the brand new LGA 1718 socket. That's correct, AMD isn't going the PGA (Pin Grid Array) route anymore and now focusing on LGA (Land Grid Array), similar to what Intel uses on its existing desktop processors. The main reason to go LGA is due to the addition of enhanced and next-gen features such as PCIe Gen 5, DDR5, etc that we will get to see on the AM5 platform. The socket has a single latch & gone are the days of worrying about pins underneath your precious processors.
In terms of features, the AM5 platform will initially support AMD's Ryzen 7000 'Zen 4' Desktop CPUs and extend that support to future Ryzen CPUs and APUs. The platform offers DDR5-5200 (JEDEC) memory support, up to 28 PCIe lanes (Gen 5 standard), increased NVMe 4.0, and USB 3.2 I/O lanes & we have also heard chatter about native USB 4.0 support which will be a game-changer.
A new feature called EXPO (AMD Extended Profiles for overclocking) will allow enhanced DDR5 memory OC on the new platform, similar to Intel's XMP. It has been a rough road for AM4 to offer decent DDR4 OC capabilities but that has more or less been sorted out by now, we can only expect DDR5 to have a much better OC and compatibility experience compared to DDR4 on AM4 platforms. Furthermore, it looks like the platform will only be DDR5 compatible and we won't see DDR4 options as we do on Intel's existing platform. But with DDR5 prices and availability improving, that won't be that big of a deal for most high-end consumers for who AMD will be aiming first.
AMD X670 Series Platform
The AM5 compliant AMD 600-series motherboards are currently being prepped up by the board makers, The 600-series lineup will initially consist of three chipsets, the X670E, X670, B650E, and B650.
In terms of features, the X670E (Extreme) is designed for the higher-echelon of motherboards with unparalleled capabilities, and extreme overclocking, and will have PCIe 5.0 support for both GPU and storage.
The X670 motherboards will be very similar in offering enthusiast-level overclocking but PCIe Gen 5.0 support for storage and graphics will depend on manufacturers. It is likely that some board makers will go to the cost-effective route and enable PCIe 5.0 support only for the GPU while keeping storage limited to PCIe 4.0. Both X670 chipsets will come in a dual-PCH solution on the motherboard to allow for the increased I/O for the next-gen platform.
AMD B650 Series Platform
Finally, there are the B650E & B650 chipsets which will be aimed as a mainstream motherboard solution with the Extreme series featuring both PCIe Gen 5.0 and M.2 while the non-E boards will adopt only PCIe 5.0 slot designs.
The B650 motherboards will be the successor to the B550 motherboards and come in a similar price range. Compared to the X670/E offerings, the B650 chipset will come in a single PCH design. The motherboards will carry support for RDNA 2 iGPU too which will be featured on Ryzen 7000 'Raphael' CPUs and offer both HDMI / DP outputs.
You can check out our full roundup of all the X670E & X670 motherboards that have been revealed so far here.
One of the highlighted features of the AMD AM5 600-series platform is SAS or Smart Access Storage. This technology will enable GPU decompression with supported Microsoft DirectStorage games. Although there aren't many of those out there yet but expect industry-wide support for this on newer platforms.
SmartAccess Storage gets you out of the load screen and into your gameplay
Traditional game loading takes a significant amount of compute power to decompress the game’s data, requiring the CPU to do the decompression and data transfer, which introduces latency and takes up considerable system resources.
To help bypass these bottlenecks, AMD has created SmartAccess Storage, a suite of technologies supporting Microsoft DirectStorage that utilizes Smart Access Memory with new AMD platform technologies along with Radeon GPU asset decompression to improve both game load times and texture streaming.
AMD AM4/TR4 Chipset Features and Specifications:
| Wccftech | X670E/X670 | X570 | X399 Refresh | X399 | X470 | X370 | B450 | B350 | A320 | X300 | A300 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CrossfireX/SLI | Triple CFX/2-Way SLI | Triple CFX/2-Way SLI | Quad SLI/CFX (Max 6 GPU Support) |
Quad SLI/CFX (Max 6 GPU Support) |
Triple CFX/2-Way SLI | Triple CFX/2-Way SLI | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| PCIe Gen 5 Lanes | 24 (with Ryzen 7000 CPUs & above) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| PCIe Gen 3/4 Lanes | TBD | 30 +16 (with Ryzen 7 CPU) | 60 (With Threadripper CPU) 4 Lanes Reserved for PCH |
60 (With Threadripper CPU) 4 Lanes Reserved for PCH |
16 (with Ryzen 7 CPU) | 16 (with Ryzen 7 CPU) 8 (with Bristol Ridge) |
16 (with Ryzen 7 CPU) | 16 (with Ryzen 7 CPU) 8 (with Bristol Ridge) |
16 (with Ryzen 7 CPU) 8 (with Bristol Ridge) |
16 (with Ryzen 7 CPU) 8 (with Bristol Ridge) |
16 (with Ryzen 7 CPU) 8 (with Bristol Ridge) |
| PCIe Gen 2 Lanes | N/A | N/A | 8 PCIe Lanes (reserved) | 8 PCIe Lanes (reserved) | 8 (plus x2 PCIe Gen3 when no x4 NVMe) | 8 (plus x2 PCIe Gen3 when no x4 NVMe) | 6 (plus x2 PCIe Gen3 when no x4 NVMe) | 6 (plus x2 PCIe Gen3 when no x4 NVMe) | 4 (plus x2 PCIe Gen3 when no x4 NVMe) | 4 (plus x2 PCIe Gen3 when no x4 NVMe) | 4 (plus x2 PCIe Gen3 when no x4 NVMe) |
| USB 3.1/3,2 Gen2 | TBD | 8 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| USB 3.1/3.2 Gen1 | TBD | 12 (PCH + CPU) | 13 (PCH+CPU) | 13 (PCH+CPU) | 10 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 4 |
| USB 2.0 | TBD | N/A | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| SATA 6Gb/s | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| SATA Express | TBD | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| DDR5 DIMMs | 4 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| DDR4 DIMMs | N/A | 4 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Overclocking Support |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| XFR2 Enhanced | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Precision Boost Overdrive | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| NVMe | Yes (Gen 5.0) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Form Factor | ATX | ATX, MATX | ATX, MATX | ATX, MATX | ATX, MITX | ATX | ATX, M-ATX | ATX, M-ATX | M-ATX, Mini-ITX | Mini-ITX | M-ATX, Mini-ITX |
Meet The LGA 1718 Socket - How Long Will This One Last?
As mentioned earlier, AM4's reign is finally over and the AM5 socket is here now. The new socket moves from a PGA (Pin-Grid-Array) design to an LGA (Land-Grid-Array) layout. The new LGA 1718 socket offers more pin connections to the CPU, allowing for more communication channels with the board itself and enabling support for enhanced features that the new platform has to offer.
As for longevity, AMD hasn't promised anything but they have stated that they want to see the new AM5 socket last at least four to five years, similar to AM4. While there has been a lot of controversy regarding Ryzen support on the initial AM4 motherboards, I believe that AMD has learned and will not follow the same route as AM5. With that said, the AM4 platform will still continue forward & will be supported in the foreseeable future (possibly with newer hardware and software launches).
Cooler Compatibility With AM5 Socket
The AMD Ryzen 7000 Desktop CPUs will feature a perfect square shape (45x45mm) but will house a very chonky integrated heat spreader or IHS. The CPUs will be the same length, width, and height as the existing Ryzen Desktop CPUs and are sealed across the sides so applying thermal paste won't fill the interior of the IHS with TIM. That's also why current coolers will be fully compatible with Ryzen 7000 chips.
Coming to the CPUs now, we have managed to get hold of the final specifications of AMD's Ryzen 7000 Desktop CPU family which, as expected, are going to feature four SKUs based on the Zen 4 core architecture. Once again, these SKUs include:
- AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
- AMD Ryzen 9 7900X
- AMD Ryzen 7 7700X
- AMD Ryzen 5 7600X
So before getting into the core specifications of these four SKUs, we have to point out that the AMD Ryzen 7000 CPUs are based on a TSMC 5nm process node with a CCD die size of 70mm2 compared to 83mm2 for Zen 3 and featuring a total of 6.57 Billion transistors, a 58% increase over the Zen 3 CCD with 4.15 Billion transistors, The CPUs adopt the Zen 4 architecture, bringing with it a 13% IPC uplift but the majority of the performance benefit comes from the higher clock speeds and a higher TDP that is supplemented to each chip versus the prior generation.
AMD has highlighted a +29% Single-Threaded, >35% Multi-Threaded and >25% Perf/Watt increases when comparing Zen 4 to Zen 3 cores. The IOD is fabricated on the 6nm process node and houses an iGPU which comes with 2 RDNA 2 Compute Units running at up to 2200 MHz as detailed here. It features a die size of 124.7mm2 which is almost the same size as the Zen 3 IOD which measured at 124.9mm2.
AMD Ryzen 7000 Desktop CPU Render (With/Without IHS):
As per AMD, the main improvements for IPC come from a new Front End & Load/Store + Branch Predictor that makes up for 80% of the gains while the L2 cache structuring and Execution Engines offer the remaining 20% uplifts.
AMD also highlighted that AVX-512 & VNNI add up to 30% faster FP32 (multi-thread) inferencing performance and a 2.5x gain in INT8 (multi-thread) CPU performance uplift. In addition to the larger caches, the Micro-op cache has been increased from 4 KB to 6.75 KB, the L1I and L1D cache stick to 32 KB, the L2 cache size has doubled to 1 MB and now runs at 14 cycles instead of 12 while the L3 cache also features slightly higher latency, going up from 46 cycles to 50 cycles. The L1 BTB has also been increased from 1 KB to 1.5 KB.
Compared to Zen 3, Zen 4 architecture is also going to be really efficient, offering 62% lower power at the same performance, and 49% more performance at the same power. The CPUs also feature 50% less area versus the competition (10nmESF Alder Lake) thanks to their 5nm process node and up to 47% higher power efficiency.
AMD Ryzen 'Zen 4' Desktop CPU Features:
- Up To 16 Zen 4 Cores and 32 Threads
- +29% Performance Uplift In Single-Threaded Apps
- Brand New Zen 4 CPU Cores (IPC / Architectural Improvements)
- Brand New TSMC 5nm process node with 6nm IOD
- 25% Performance Per Watt Improvement Vs Zen 3
- >35% Overall Performance Improvement Vs Zen 3
- ~13% Instructions Per Clock (IPC) Improvement Vs Zen 3
- Support on AM5 Platform With LGA1718 Socket
- New X670E, X670, B650E, B650 Motherboards
- Dual-Channel DDR5 Memory Support
- Up To DDR5-5600 Native (JEDEC) Speeds
- 28 PCIe Lanes (CPU Exclusive)
- 105-120W TDPs (Upper Bound Range ~170W)
The CPUs will come with an optimized cache restructuring, featuring double the L2 cache (1 MB vs 512 KB), a shared L3 cache like the previous generation, support for DDR5 memory with EXPO (AMD's Extended Profiles For Memory Overclocking), PCIe Gen 5.0 graphics card, and M.2 SSD support. Overclocking features such as PBO and XFR will also carry over from the past chips. So with all of that said, let's get on with the specifications.
AMD Ryzen 7000 CPU Box Packages:
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X 16 Core "Zen 4" Desktop CPU
Starting with the flagship of them all, we have the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X which retains its healthy 16 core and 32 thread count from the previous two generations. The CPU will feature an impressive base frequency of 4.5 GHz and a boost clock of up to 5.7 GHz (5.85 GHz F-Max) which should make it 200 MHz faster than Intel's Alder Lake Core i9-12900KS which has a boost frequency of 5.5 GHz on a single-core.
It looks like AMD is extracting every ounce of Hertz that it could within that 170W TDP (230W PPT) for the Ryzen 9 chips. As for the cache, the CPU comes with 80 MB of that which includes 64 MB from L3 (32 MB per CCD) and 16 MB from L2 (1 MB per core). The flagship is going to cost $699 US which means that it will be priced slightly higher than the Core i9-12900K while offering a significant performance leap in multi-threading apps such as Chaos V-Ray of up to +57% and doing so with up to 47% higher energy efficiency.
In terms of gaming performance, the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X will be offering up to 35% higher uplift in games such as Shadow of The Tomb Raider versus the Core i9-12900K.
AMD also showcased the performance of the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X against the Intel Core i9-12900K in both gaming and content creation tasks. The CPU was anywhere from -1% to +23% faster in the gaming benchmarks and +36 to +62% faster in creation workloads.
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X 12 Core "Zen 4" Desktop CPU
Next up, we have another AMD Ryzen 9 chip, the 7900X, which as the name suggests, would come equipped with 12 cores and 24 threads. The CPU comes with an even higher base clock of 4.7 GHz and a boost clock adjusted at 5.6 GHz across a single core. The CPU retains its 170W TDP and gets 76 MB of cache (64 MB L3 + 12 MB L2). The CPU will be positioned in the same ballpark as the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X but with performance that would shake the ground from below the Core i7-12700K. The Ryzen 9 7900X will retain the same prices as the Ryzen 9 5900X while offering better processor capabilities.
AMD Ryzen 7 7700X 8 Core "Zen 4" Desktop CPU
Moving over to the Ryzen 7 family, here we have the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X, an 8-core and 16-thread part. AMD positions this as the sweet spot for gamers and as such, the CPU will feature a base clock of 4.5 GHz and a boost clock of 5.4 GHz but at a lower 105W TDP (142W PPT). The CPU will get a 40 MB cache pool which consists of 32 MB L3 from the singular CCD &8 MB L2 from the Zen 4 cores.
Now one interesting thing to mention is that there is so far no update by AMD on a Ryzen 7 7800X chip. It is likely that AMD wants to replace that part with a successor to the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with Zen 4 cores (3D V-Cache). If that was the case, we can expect an update later this year to the CPU lineup since the V-Cache parts have been confirmed for a late Q4 2022 launch by AMD themselves. The Ryzen 7 7700X will be priced at $399 US and will be competing with the Core i7-12700K during launch.
AMD Ryzen 5 7600X 6 Core "Zen 4" Desktop CPU
Last up, we have the most budget-tier chip (if you can call it that but the pricing won't be reflective of that), the Ryzen 5 7600X. This will be a 6-core and a 12-thread part that features a high 4.7 GHz base clock and a 5.3 GHz single-core boost frequency. The CPU will also run at a 105W TDP (142W PPT) which is much higher than its 65W predecessor though once again, that's the sacrifice you've to pay to achieve the faster clock speeds. The CPU will carry 38 MB of cache that comes from 32 MB of L3 and 6 MB of L2 on the die. This chip is going to be priced at $299 US and will be offering a 5% performance gain over the Core i9-12900K in gaming.
AMD will be bringing back its PBO and XFR overclocking features to the Ryzen 7000 Zen 4 CPUs along with enhanced DDR5 memory and overclocking support through EXPO technology. The CPUs will also come equipped with RDNA 2 iGPU with up to 2 Compute Units running at 2.2 GHz which would be usable through HDMI 2.1 FRL and DP 1.4 connectors on the latest AM5 motherboards. In addition to the CPU & GPU, there will be an expanded instruction set for AI acceleration (AVX-512 anyone?).
AMD Ryzen 7000 'Raphael' Desktop CPU Specs (Official):
| CPU Name | Architecture | Process Node | Cores / Threads | Base Clock | Boost Clock (SC Max) | Cache | TDP | Prices (TBD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMD Ryzen 9 7950X | Zen 4 | 5nm | 16/32 | 4.5 GHz | 5.7 GHz | 80 MB (64+16) | 170W | $699 US |
| AMD Ryzen 9 7900X | Zen 4 | 5nm | 12/24 | 4.7 GHz | 5.6 GHz | 76 MB (64+12) | 170W | $549 US |
| AMD Ryzen 7 7700X | Zen 4 | 5nm | 8/16 | 4.5 GHz | 5.4 GHz | 40 MB (32+8) | 105W | $399 US |
| AMD Ryzen 5 7600X | Zen 4 | 5nm | 6/12 | 4.7 GHz | 5.3 GHz | 38 MB (32+6) | 105W | $299 US |
AMD's EXPO tech which stands for "Extended Profiles For Overclocking" for Ryzen 7000 Desktop CPUs will be aiming for the high-end "Extreme" series 600-series motherboards in the X670 and B650 family. The profile will be an extension for XMP (Extreme Memory Profile) which will also be available on the AM5 platform but to benefit from higher speeds, AMD has designed the EXPO technology.
Based on what AMD has shown, EXPO will enable one-click DDR5 overclock support on AM5 motherboards and offer up to 11% faster performance at 1080p resolution. The EXPO memory kits from various memory makers will be designed to hit low latencies of around 63ns and there will be a range of public certification reports that will provide users with full specifications and OC settings that they can work with.
New for the Ryzen 7000 Series Desktop processors and optimized for AMD Socket AM5 motherboards, AMD EXPO technology provides users with advanced profile settings for DDR5 memory overclocking. When optimized for high-performance gaming, consumers can expect to see up to 11% faster gaming performance with AMD EXPO technology in F1® 2022.
AMD EXPO technology was designed to achieve higher gaming performance from pre-configured overclocking profiles and is easy to implement. PC enthusiasts who want to understand the finer details of an AMD EXPO technology-enabled module can find public self-certification reports, which clearly lay out the module’s full timing table, components, and the system configuration used to finalize the memory’s specifications. AMD is offering EXPO technology to its industry memory partners without royalties or licensing fees.
AMD EXPO technology arrives to market alongside the AMD Ryzen 7000 Series processors, with offerings from ADATA, Corsair, GeIL, G.SKILL, and Kingston. Over 15 AMD EXPO technology-enabled memory kits will be initially available, with memory speeds up to DDR5-6400.
As for the first EXPO products, AMD announced that their memory partners such as ADATA, Corsair, GeIL, G.Skill, and Kingston, will have a total of 15 kits at launch with speeds of up to DDR5-6400. The native speeds will be rated at:
- 1x1R - 5200 MT/s
-
1x2R - 5200 MT/s
-
2x1R - 3600 MT/s
-
2x2R - 3600 MT/s
We also had previously reported that DDR5-6000 will be the sweet spot for AMD Ryzen 7000 CPUs based on the Zen 4 core architecture using the EXPO technology. The DDR5-6000 memory kits that are optimized with EXPO support will offer the best performance with the lowest latency in a 1:1 FCLK mode.
Now as per Robert, we now know that the default FCLK for AMD Ryzen 7000 CPUs is set to 1733 MHz. Robert also states that memory overclocking is a little bit different with Ryzen 7000 since 1:1:1 (FCLK:UCLK:MCLK) isn't important anymore. It is mentioned that to achieve the best results, you should leave the FCLK to auto and overclock the memory modules and memory controller in 1:1 mode. There will be some corner cases where users will be able to get better performance results by hitting over 2 GHz FCLK speeds but those aren't a big priority, as AMD mentions.
At the native setting, DDR5-5200 will operate in a 2:1:1 mode or 1733:2600:2600 clock. Robert also confirmed something that we had stated early on that DDR5-6000 will "Roughly" the sweet spot & by sweet spot, he means the best compromise to cost/stability/performance/availability/ease. So as of right now, we have the following sweet spots as mentioned directly by AMD:
- Ryzen 3000 "Zen 2" Sweet Spot - DDR4-3800 (Official AMD)
- Ryzen 5000 "Zen 3" Sweet Spot - DDR4-4000 (Official AMD)
- Ryzen 7000 "Zen 4" Sweet Spot - DDR5-6000 (Official AMD)
It is stated that DDR5-5200 C28 kits should go really well with Ryzen 7000 too as they are pretty fast but there aren't a lot of kits in those configurations available right now.
As Robert states:
The reason why we say "AUTO:1:1" is now ideal because the FCLK will automatically change depending on what memory speed is in the DIMM slots. There's no "one size fits all" ideal fabric frequency. For example: JEDEC 5300 fclk goes to 1767, 6000 RAM should go to 2000 fclk. Each memory speed has its own optimal fclk, which is why I'm gently guiding people to not worry about what the fclk is because it's going to change with RAM speed and the AUTO setting will usually give the most performant result unless you have an astonishing overclocker.
And "get the highest possible fclk" is no longer the rule like it was on AM4. In short.
In addition to these, MSI's in-house overclocker, TOPPC, has revealed that EXPO memory kits will be fully compatible with Intel XMP profiles. Simply put, Intel XMP memory can still support EXPO but it is worth it to have an EXPO-enabled kit to ensure the best possible profile for AMD's Ryzen 7000 CPU lineup.
As for the first EXPO products, AMD announced that their memory partners such as ADATA, Corsair, GeIL, G.Skill, and Kingston, will have a total of 15 kits at launch with speeds of up to DDR5-6400. The native speeds will be rated at:
- 1x1R - 5200 MT/s
-
1x2R - 5200 MT/s
-
2x1R - 3600 MT/s
-
2x2R - 3600 MT/s
The AMD EXPO DDR5 memory kits will launch alongside the Ryzen 7000 Desktop CPUs and AM5.
G.Skill is one of the top memory manufacturers known to gamers and enthusiasts in the PC industry. The company has been specializing in the memory industry for several years and its memory kits are very popular among the masses. There are memory lines from G.Skill that have been the eye-catcher since the company was formed, Trident and Ripjaws.
Both of these series have now become the choice of enthusiasts and overclockers as they come with an impressive specifications list and some of the best design schemes on the market. With the launch of the DDR5 standard, G.Skill is introducing its brand new Trident lineup, the Trident Z5 NEO, which comes in high-speed flavors with Samsung ICs and many options to choose from.
For this particular testing, G.Skill sent me its Trident Z5 NEO 'F5-6000J3038F16GX2-TZ5N' 32 GB (16 GB x 2) kit which comes with clock speeds of 6000 MT/s. The memory kit consists of dual 16 GB DIMMs which make up a total of 32 GB in capacity. Following are the full specifications of the kit I'll be testing:
- Memory Type: DDR5
- Capacity: 32GB (16GBx2)
- Multi-Channel Kit: Dual Channel Kit
- Tested Speed: 6000 Mbps
- Tested Latency: 30-38-38-96
- Tested Voltage: 1.35V
- Registered/Unbuffered: Unbuffered
- Error Checking: Non-ECC (On-Die)
- SPD Speed: 4800 Mbps
- SPD Voltage: 1.10V
- Fan Included: No
- Warranty: Limited Lifetime
- Features: AMD EXPO Ready
- Additional Notes: Rated XMP/EXPO frequency & stability depends on MB & CPU capability
The memory kit has a tested latency spec of CL36 and the timings are 36-38-38-96 for this specific kit. The voltage set at reference is 1.30V and the memory kit comes in an unbuffered package with a non-ECC (On-Die Error Correction) design.
The memory kit is fully compliant with AMD's EXPO and can be easily set to its rated clock speeds through the BIOS shipped on the latest Intel motherboards. Memory compatibility differs from motherboard to motherboard so make sure that your board is high-end and rated to support high-clock speed memory sticks.
G.Skill offers a limited lifetime warranty with their G.Skill Trident Z5 NEO series memory kits. They are a bit bulky and the heatsinks extend from the top making it harder to install these with a dual-fan heatsink cooler. Make sure there's enough space with an air cooler before installing these. The kit would go perfectly well with an AIO liquid cooling solution, leaving room for the RGB lighting showcase.
G.Skill Trident Z5 NEO 32 GB DDR4 Memory Kit Unboxing and Close Up
The G.Skill Trident Z5 series memory comes in a standard cardboard package. The box has the G.Skill Trident Z5 and DDR5 labels on the front and also tells you that it is AMD EXPO compliant.
We are looking at the F5-6000J3038F16GX2-TZ5N SKU which features 32 GB of RAM capacity and is clocked in at 6000 Mbps at CL30 timing.
Within the package are two DDR5 DIMMs along with a G.Skill case sticker badge.
Outside the package, the G.Skill Trident Z5 series offers a very aggressive look that features a high-end heat-spreader. The design choice that G.Skill has gone with is very eye-catching and will look great even without the RGB LEDs. Do note that an RGB flavor is also available.
G.Skill provided us with their silver-colored Trident Z5 series memory. Do note that there are both silver and black-colored DIMMs available. The top of the heatsink is colored black and looks great with almost any PC build.
G.Skill experimented a lot with its diffuser system on the previous generation DDR4 Tridents. The new Tridents come in both RGB and Non-RGB flavors but even without the LEDs, their design looks very premium and the heat spreader and the multi-sided curve at the top really stand out from the rest of the DDR5 offerings.
The heat spreader makes use of a black brushed-aluminum strip inset into a metallic silver or matte black body and is topped with a sleek black top bar.
The frame of the memory DIMMs is of a high-class design that uses polished aluminum heat spreaders of either black or silver color (silver in our case).
The memory modules are bulky and pack a solid heatsink that delivers optimal thermal performance. The sides feature a large Trident Z5 RGB logo. The DRAMs are fully covered by this aluminum shielded heatsink so higher temperatures won't be an issue on these sticks.
Following is how the memory looks when installed on a X670E motherboard. Do note that we will have an RGB kit with us soon so we can show you how that looks too soon!
Gigabyte has so far revealed a total of five motherboards, four within its AORUS lineup and one within its AERO lineup. The company has already detailed the prices of its motherboards during a previous event so let's take a look at the lineup itself which includes:
- Gigabyte X670E AORUS Xtreme
- Gigabyte X670E AORUS Master
- Gigabyte X670 AORUS Pro AX
- Gigabyte X670 AORUS Elite AX
- Gigabyte X670E AERO D
Gigabyte X670E AORUS Master Motherboard - The $360 US All-Rounder
The Gigabyte X670E AORUS Master is among Gigabyte's best-selling high-end series which offers a balance between pricing and enthusiast-class features. The VRM is laid out in a 16+2+2 (105A) power delivery that is powered by dual 8-pin connectors. The Aluminum Fin-Array stack covers the VRMs and just like the Xtreme, the motherboard comes in an E-ATX form factor.
In terms of I/O, the motherboard is equipped with three PCIe x16 slots (1x Gen 5 x16, 2x Gen 4 x 4) and a total of three PCIe Gen 5.0 M.2 slots. Storage options include six SATA III ports and aesthetics look great as ever with a more industrial approach this time around with a black and metal finish on the heatsinks.
Gigabyte X670E AORUS Master Motherboard Features:
- AMD Socket AM5: Supports AMD Ryzen 7000 Series Processors
- Unparalleled Performance: Twin 16+2+2 Phases Digital VRM Solution
- Dual Channel DDR5: 4*SMD DIMMs with EXPO & XMP Memory Module Support
- Next Generation Storage : 2*PCIe 5.0 x4 and 2*PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 Connectors
- Fins-Array III & M.2 Thermal Guard III: To Ensure VRM Power Stability & 25110 PCIe 5.0 M.2 SSD Performance
- EZ-Latch Plus : SMD PCIe 5.0 x16 Slot & M.2 Connectors with Quick Release & Screwless Design
- Hi-Fi Audio with DTS : X Ultra : ALC1220 CODEC
- Fast Networks : Intel 2.5GbE LAN & Intel Wi-Fi 6E 802.11ax
- Extended Connectivity: DP, HDMI, USB-C with DP Alt Mode, Dual USB-C 20Gbps, and Upcoming GIGABYTE USB4 AIC Support
- Q-Flash Plus: Update BIOS Without Installing the CPU, Memory, and Graphics Card
There are 12 USB (10 Gen 2) ports on the back along with a 2.5 GbE Ethernet LAN connector. Unfortunately, the addition of a third Gen 5 M.2 port means that you won't get USB 4.0 on this motherboard. Pricing is said to be similar to the X570S AORUS Master at around $360 US & which should make this board a go-to option for several high-end Ryzen 7000 PC builders.
Gigabyte X670E & X670 Motherboard Specs
| Motherboard Name | Gigabyte X670E AORUS Xtreme | Gigabyte X670E AORUS Master | Gigabyte X670 AORUS PRO AX | Gigabyte X670 AORUS Elite AX | Gigabyte X670(E) AERO D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chipset | X670E | X670E | X670 | X670 | X670(E) |
| Form Factor | E-ATX | E-ATX | ATX | ATX | ATX |
| PCB Color | Black | Black | Black | Black | Black |
| Motherboard Color | Black | Black + Grey | Black + Grey | Black + Grey | Silver |
| VRM Design | Direct 18 Phase (105A SPS) | Twin 16 Phase (105A SPS) | Twin 16 Phase (90A SPS) | Twin 16 Phase (70A SPS) | Twin 16 Phase (90A SPS) |
| VRM Heatsink | Fins-Array III (8mm Heatpipe) 12W/mK Therma Pad | Fins-Array III (Enlarged Heatsink + 8mm Heatpipe) 12W/mK Therma Pad | Full-Cover Heatsink (8mm Heatpiipe) 7W/mK Therma Pad | Full-Cover Heatsink (8mm Heatpiipe) 5W/mK Therma Pad | Full-Cover Heatsink (8mm Heatpiipe) 7W/mK Therma Pad |
| PWM Controller | Renesas RAA229628 | Renesas RAA229620 | Infineon XDPE192C3 | Infineon XDPE192C3 | Infineon XDPE192C3 |
| Active OC | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Power Delivery (CPU) | 8+8 Pin | 8+8 Pin | 8+8 Pin | 8+8 Pin | 8+8 Pin |
| Memory DIMMs | 4 DDR5 DIMM | 4 DDR5 DIMM | 4 DDR5 DIMM | 4 DDR5 DIMM | 4 DDR5 DIMM |
| Memory Support | DDR5-5600 (JEDEC) DDR5-**** (EXPO) |
DDR5-5600 (JEDEC) DDR5-**** (EXPO) |
DDR5-5600 (JEDEC) DDR5-**** (EXPO) |
DDR5-5600 (JEDEC) DDR5-**** (EXPO) |
DDR5-5600 (JEDEC) DDR5-**** (EXPO) |
| Memory Capacity | 128 GB (Max) | 128 GB (Max) | 128 GB (Max) | 128 GB (Max) | 128 GB (Max) |
| PCIe Gen 5.0 Slots | 1 (x16) | 1 (x16) | 0 | 0 | 1 (x16) |
| PCIe Gen 4.0 / 3.0 Slots | 1/1 (x4/x2) | 1/1 (x4/x2) | 2/1 (x16/x4/x2) | 2/1 (x16/x4/x2) | 1/1 (x4/x2) |
| M.2 Gen 5.0 Slots | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| M.2 Gen 4.0 Slots | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| M.2 Heatsinks | 1 4cm Height Heatsink 3 Enlarged Thermal Guard Heatsinks |
1 4cm Height Heatsink 3 Enlarged Thermal Guard Heatsinks |
1 4cm Height Heatsink 3 Enlarged Thermal Guard Heatsinks |
4 Enlarged Thermal Guard Heatsinks | 1 4cm Height Heatsink 3 Enlarged Thermal Guard Heatsinks |
| SATA III Ports | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 6 |
| WiFi Capabilities | WiFi 6E (AX210) | WiFi 6E (AX210) | WiFi 6E (AX210) | WiFi 6E (RZ616) | TBD |
| LAN Capabilities | 10 GbE (Aquantia AQC113c) | 2.5 GbE (Intel i225V) | 2.5 GbE (Intel i225V) | 2.5 GbE | TBD |
| USB 4.0 Ports (FP Header) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Total USB Ports | 21 | 21 | 22 | 22 | TBD |
| RGB Sync Software | RGB Fusion | RGB Fusion | RGB Fusion | RGB Fusion | RGB Fusion |
| Price | ~$500 US | ~$360 US | ~$300 US | ~$250 US | ~$300 US |
The X670E AORUS Master motherboard comes in the standard cardboard package. The front is themed in black and orange which has been part of the AORUS lineup for a while now. You can also note the AORUS Eagle logo on the front which looks great. The front side also lists down support for AMD's Ryzen 7000 "Zen 4" processors while the motherboard is clearly labeled as a gaming product.
The backside of the package lists down the specifications and special features of the motherboard such as the Direct 16+2+2 Phase Digital VRM Solution, Advanced Thermal Design with Fins Array III / M.2 Thermal Guard III heatsinks, PCIe 5.0 design, DDR5 & PCIe EZ-Latch Plus support.
Inside the package is another box that contains the accessories at the bottom. It is very easy to access although the accessories and each of them are nicely packed in three compartments.
Following is the full list of accessories in the package.
- Quick Installation Guide, User's Manual
- 4 x SATA Cables
- 2 x Thermistors
- 3 x Screws for M.2 Sockets
- 3 x Standoffs for M.2 Sockets
- 1 x Gigabyte G-Connector
- 1 x Antenna (WiFi)
The motherboard is housed above the accessories and has anti-static wrapping to protect it from any built-up electrical resistance that can affect the board.
The X670E AORUS Master is a really cool motherboard with a unique and aesthetically pleasing design that should go well with almost any PC build. The motherboard carries tons of I/O and features in the $400-$500 US segment.
The X670E AORUS Master motherboard features matte black and silver/grey colors. The pricing and quality of this product make it feel more premium than the previous generation Master offerings from AORUS. All of Gigabyte's recent AORUS Master motherboards have been upgraded to an E-ATX form factor. It also has a more futuristic look to it.
The board uses the LGA 1718 socket to support AMD Ryzen 7000 processors. The socket is compatible only with Ryzen 7000 CPUs for now but will also support future iterations on the AM5 platform.
Next to the socket are four DDR5 DIMM slots that can support up to 128 GB of dual-channel memory. These slots are rated to support EXPO profiles up to 6400 MHz (OC Plus). The DIMM slots feature metallic shielding around them for extra durability. Each slot is labeled, making it easier to install DIMMs in the proper orientation. DDR5 memory comes with a different latch position so forcing a DDR4 module into a DDR5 slot will cause permanent damage.
The X670E AORUS Master features a 19+2+2 (VCore/ VccGT/VccAUX) phase digital power delivery that makes utilizes the RAA229131 PWM controller and RAA2201105 (105A) MOSFETs for the VCore. The Vcc GT and Vcc AUX MOSFETs are spec'd at 60A & 70A respectively.
As you can see, the VRMs are getting ample cooling from the Fin-Array III heatsinks that are both beefy in terms of size and also feature actual cooling fins. This motherboard is designed for overclocking so expect a smooth & stable operation of the electrical circuitry when this board is running. The motherboard also comes with a backplate that features thermal pads for extra cooling performance.
The CPU is supplied power through an 8+8 pin power connector configuration. This will feed the CPU with up to 300 Watts of power. The Intel 12th Gen Unlocked CPUs are very power-hungry with the maximum package power rating of 230W & more if you are planning to overclock these chips.
Getting a closer look at the VRM heatsinks reveals an aluminum fin design on both heatsinks. Each heatsink has thermal pads located underneath for efficient transfer of heat. The thermal pads on the X670E AORUS Master are rated at 12w/mK. While the heatsinks don't feature any heat pipe-based interconnection, they do feature Direct-Touch Heatpipe II solutions underneath the fins that make direct contact with the VRMs.
Expansion slots include three PCI Express x16 (1 x Gen 5.0 x16 / 1 x Gen 4.0 x4 / 1x Gen 3.0 x 2) and four M.2 slots. The board can technically support three-way multi-GPU (CrossFireX / SLI) however we know that no existing gaming GPU offers 3-Way connectivity anymore. Two M.2 slots are rated to support NVMe PCIe Gen 5 x4 while the rest of the two slots operate at PCIe Gen 4 x4 speeds. The motherboard also offers 6 SATA III ports.
AORUS is using a metallic cover on the sides of the expansion slots which provides protection to some extent. It adds more retention and shearing resistance by reinforcing the slots with metal plates. Aside from adding more protection, they do look really sweet.
All five M.2 slots are cooled off by the thermal pad and aluminum baseplate cooling. This will ensure stable operation for M.2 storage devices. The thermal adhesive has a plastic cover over them which needs to be removed before being used with the storage devices.
The topmost M.2 slot that will house the primary M.2 is based on the new Thermal Guard III heatsink design that offers even more cooling performance through a larger heat sink. Following is the M.2 config on the motherboard:
CPU:
- 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, supporting PCIe 5.0* and running at x16 (PCIEX16)
* Actual support may vary by CPU.
* For optimum performance, if only one PCI Express graphics card is to be installed, be sure to install it in the PCIEX16 slot.
Chipset:
- 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, supporting PCIe 4.0 and running at x4 (PCIEX4)
- 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, supporting PCIe 3.0 and running at x2 (PCIEX2)
* The PCIEX2 slot shares bandwidth with the SATA3 4/5 connectors. The SATA3 4/5 connectors will become unavailable when a device is installed in the PCIEX2 slot.
The X670 dual PCHs are housed beneath a large heatsink with the AORUS eagle logo etched over it that looks great.
The PCH heat sink and the I/O cover feature RGB LEDs, as a part of the RGB Fusion 2.0 suite, embedded within it and there is also a wide range of RGB connectors on the motherboard if you want to set up your own lighting.
Storage options include six SATA III ports rated to operate at 6 GB/s. These can support 6 different storage devices at once. There are also two USB 3.2 front panel connectors (Gen 2x2 + Gen 1). USB 2.0 dual connectors are also included.
AORUS is using its AMP-UP Audio system for audio which is a combination of hardware, and software audio solutions. 7.1 CH HD audio with the latest Realtek ALC1220-VB CODECaudio codec.
There's just one button on the motherboard which serves as a Power On/Off switch. The DEBUG LED can be seen next to the button.
The full list of connectors on the motherboard is listed as follows.
- 1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector
- 2 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connectors
- 1 x CPU fan header
- 1 x water cooling CPU fan header
- 4 x system fan headers
- 4 x system fan/water cooling pump headers
- 2 x addressable LED strip headers
- 2 x RGB LED strip headers
- 1 x CPU cooler LED strip/RGB LED strip header
- 4 x M.2 Socket 3 connectors
- 6 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors
- 1 x front panel header
- 1 x front panel audio header
- 1 x USB Type-C header, with USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 support
- 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 headers
- 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers
- 1 x noise detection header
- 1 x THB_U4 add-in card connector
- 1 x Trusted Platform Module header (For the GC-TPM2.0 SPI/GC-TPM2.0 SPI 2.0 module only)
- 1 x power button
- 1 x reset button
- 1 x reset jumper
- 1 x Clear CMOS jumper
- 2 x temperature sensor headers
- Voltage Measurement Points
AORUS is using Intel's WiFi 6E 802.11 AX210 WiFi Module to power wireless connectivity such as 802.11ax WiFi (2.4/5/6 GHz WiFi) and Bluetooth 5.2. In terms of Ethernet, there is also a single 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet LAN port which is powered by Intel's network controller chip.
The motherboard comes with the following I/O connectors:
- 1 x Q-Flash Plus button
- 2 x SMA antenna connectors (2T2R)
- 1 x DisplayPort
- 1 x HDMI 2.0 port
- 1 x USB Type-C port (DisplayPort), with USB 3.2 Gen 2 support
- 1 x USB Type-C port, with USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 support
- 4 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports (red)
- 4 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports
- 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports
- 1 x RJ-45 port
- 1 x optical S/PDIF Out connector
- 2 x audio jacks
For testing, I used the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X $699 US & Ryzen 7 7700X $399 US CPUs which were sent to us by AMD. The motherboard used includes the Gigabyte X670E AORUS Master which was part of the NPRP kit sent to us by AMD too.
Intel 12th Gen Alder Lake CPU Test Platform:
| Processors | Intel Core i5-12400 Intel Core i9-12900K Intel Core i5-12600K Intel Core i9-11900K Intel Core i9-10900K Intel Core i7-10700K Intel Core i5-10600K Intel Core i9-10980XE Intel Core i9-9900KS Intel Core i9-9900K Intel Core i7-8700K Intel Core i5-8600K AMD Ryzen 9 5950X AMD Ryzen 9 5900X AMD Ryzen 7 5800X AMD Ryzen 9 3950X AMD Ryzen 9 3900X AMD Ryzen 7 3700X AMD Ryzen 5 3600X AMD Ryzen 7 2700X |
|---|---|
| Motherboard | MSI B660M Mortar WiFi DDR5 (i5-12400) Z690 AORUS Master (Intel 12th Gen) ASRock X570S PG Riptide (Ryzen 9 5950X) MSI MEG Z590 ACE (Intel 11th Gen) ASUS ROG Maximus XII HERO WIFI (Intel 10th Gen) MSI X299 Creator (Intel 10th Gen X Series) Z390 AORUS Master (Intel 8th/9th Gen) MSI MEG X570 Unify (AMD Ryzen 3000 / Ryzen 5000) ASRock X470 Taichi Ultimate (AMD Ryzen 2000) |
| Power Supply | ASUS ROG THOR 1200W |
| Solid State Drive | Samsung SSD 980 PRO M.2 (1 TB) |
| Memory | G.SKILL Trident Z5 32 GB (2 x 16GB) CL36 6000 Mbps (DDR5 Platforms) G.SKILL Trident Z Royal Series 16 GB (2 x 8GB) CL17 4000 Mbps (DDR4 Platforms) |
| Video Cards | MSI GeForce RTX 3090 SUPRIM X |
| Cooling Solutions | Corsair H115i (With LGA 1700 Mounting Kit) |
| OS | Windows 11 64-bit (Only Intel 12th Gen CPUs) Windows 10 64-bit |
Our test rig includes the Samsung 980 Pro 1 TB SSD that boots up our main OS while a 2 TB Seagate HDD is used for the storage of games and applications. In addition to these, we are running an MSI GeForce RTX 3090 SUPRIM X graphics card, and an ASUS ROG Thor 1200W power supply. For this specific review, we used G.Skill's latest Trident Z5 NEO DDR5-6000 memory kit running at CL30 timings. We also got an AM5 mounting kit for the Corsair H115i to use as a cooling solution for our test setup.
3DMark Time Spy CPU Performance
3DMark Time Spy is a widely popular video card benchmark test for Windows that is designed to measure your PC’s gaming performance. While the overall benchmark is great, the utility also provides a good indication of the CPU performance.
3DMark TimeSpy CPU (Higher is Better)
Blender
Blender is a free and open-source 3D creation suite. It supports the entirety of the 3D pipeline—modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing and motion tracking, and even video editing and game creation.
Blender 2.8 (Lower is Better)
Cinebench R20
Cinebench is a real-world cross-platform test suite that evaluates your computer’s hardware capabilities. Improvements to Cinebench Release 20 reflect the overall advancements to CPU and rendering technology in recent years, providing a more accurate measurement of Cinema 4D’s ability to take advantage of multiple CPU cores and modern processor features available to the average user.
Cinebench R20 (Higher is Better)
Cinebench R23
Cinebench is a real-world cross-platform test suite that evaluates your computer’s hardware capabilities. Improvements to Cinebench Release 20 reflect the overall advancements to CPU and rendering technology in recent years, providing a more accurate measurement of Cinema 4D’s ability to take advantage of multiple CPU cores and modern processor features available to the average user.
Cinebench R23 (Higher is Better)
CPU-Z
CPUz is a freeware that gathers information on some of the main devices of your system such as the Processor name and number, codename, process, package, cache levels, Mainboard, and chipset, Memory type, size, timings, and module specifications (SPD), and Real-time measurement of each core's internal frequency, memory frequency.
CPU-z (Higher is Better)
Geekbench 5
Geekbench 5, the latest major upgrade to Primate Labs’ easy-to-use cross-platform benchmark, is now available for download. Geekbench 5 allows you to measure your system’s power more accurately than ever before.
Geekbench 5 (Higher is Better)
HandBrake
HandBrake is a tool for converting video from nearly any format to a selection of modern, widely supported codecs.
Handbrake (Higher is Better)
PCMark 10
PCMark 10 is a complete PC benchmarking solution for Windows 10. It includes several tests that combine individual workloads covering storage, computation, image and video manipulation, web browsing, and gaming. Specifically designed for the full range of PC hardware from netbooks and tablets to notebooks and desktops, PCMark 10 offers complete Windows PC performance testing for home and business use.
PCMark 10 (Higher is Better)
POV-Ray
The POV-Ray package includes detailed instructions on using the ray-tracer and creating scenes. Many stunning scenes are included with POV-Ray so you can start creating images immediately when you get the package.
POV-Ray 3.7 (Higher is Better)
SuperPI
Super PI is used by many overclockers to test the performance and stability of their computers. In the overclocking community, the standard program provides a benchmark for enthusiasts to compare “world record” pi calculation times and demonstrate their overclocking abilities. The program can also be used to test the stability of a certain overclock speed.
SuperPi (Lower is Better)
WinRAR
WinRAR is a powerful archive manager. It can back up your data and reduce the size of email attachments, decompress RAR, ZIP, and other files downloaded from the Internet, and create new archives in RAR and ZIP file format.
Winrar 5.8 (Higher is Better)
X264 HD Encode Benchmark
This benchmark measures the encoding performance of the processor. It offers a standardized benchmark for the clip as well as the encoder used is uniform.
X264 HD Encode Benchmark (Higher is Better)
Battlefield V
Battlefield V brings back the action of the World War 2 shooter genre. Using the latest Frostbite tech, the game does a good job of looking gorgeous in all ways possible. From the open-world environments to the intense and gun-blazing action, this multiplayer and single-player FPS title is one of the best-looking Battlefields to date. The game was tested at max settings at 1440p.
Battlefield V (1440P)
DOOM Eternal
DOOM Eternal brings hell to earth with the Vulkan-powered idTech 7. We test this game using the Ultra Nightmare Preset and follow our in-game benchmarking to stay as consistent as possible.
DOOM Eternal (1440P)
GTA V
GTA V is one handsomely optimized title for the PC audience. It's scalable across various PC configurations and delivers an impressive frame rate. Rockstar did an amazing job with the PC build of GTA V and it comes with a large array of settings that can be configured by PC gamers. We tested the title at 1440P with everything set to Ultra and 4x MSAA.
GTA V (1440P)
Metro Exodus
Metro Exodus continues the journey of Artyom through the nuclear wasteland of Russia and its surroundings. This time, you are set over the Metro, going through various regions and different environments. The game is one of the premier titles to feature NVIDIA’s RTX technology and does well in showcasing the ray-tracing effects in all corners. The game was tested at Ultra setting with RTX settings turned off at 1440p.
Metro Exodus (1440P)
Shadow of The Tomb Raider
Sequel to The Rise of the Tomb Raider, Shadow of The Tomb Raider is visually enhanced with an updated Foundation Engine that delivers realistic facial animations and the most gorgeous environments ever seen in a Tomb Raider Game. The game is a technical marvel and really shows the power of its graphics engine in the latest title.
Shadow of The Tomb Raider (1440P)
Sid Meier's Civilization VI
Civilization VI is the pinnacle of the series. It features huge, sweeping changes, and nothing was left out. Everything has found a purpose, they all work together in tandem but also have a reason to stand alone. It uses a more fleshed-out engine that now supports DirectX 12 capabilities. We tested the game with every setting maxed out (4x MSAA, 4096x4096 shadow textures) at 1440P in DirectX 12.
Sid Meier's Civilization VI (1440P)
Watch Dogs Legion
Watch Dogs: Legion is a 2020 action-adventure game published by Ubisoft and developed by its Toronto studio. It is the third installment in the Watch Dogs series and the sequel to 2016's Watch Dogs 2. Set within a fictionalized representation of a futuristic, dystopian London, the game's story follows the hacker syndicate DedSec as they seek to clear their names after being framed for a series of terrorist bombings
Watch Dogs Legion (1440P)
Ashes of The Singularity (4K)
Stardock's Ashes of the Singularity RTS title is a new take on the historical genre. The game incorporates several things that many pc gamers have been curious about and anxious to try for themselves such as Explicit Multi-Adapter Support and full Asynchronous Compute under DirectX 12 API. We tested the game at 4K with 4x MSAA on Crazy Settings under DirectX 12.
Ashes of The Singularity (4K)
In these specific tests, I will be taking a look at the performance impact that DDR5 stock and over-clocked memory have on certain games and applications. The memory we used is G.Skill Trident Z5 NEO DDR5-6000 which can be easily pushed to DDR5-6400 by tuning the voltage to 1.35V (+.5V) while keeping the same timings of CL34.
You can see the performance impact that DDR5 makes in all the standard and overclocked configs in the following gaming and application tests.
Sid Meir's Civilization VI (1440P) 5.2 GHz Overclocked
DOOM Eternal (1440P) 5.2 GHz Overclocked
Winrar 5.8 (Higher is Better)
SuperPi (Lower is Better)
AMD's Ryzen 7000 Desktop CPUs utilize a brand new Zen 4 core architecture that is built on the 5nm process node as such, these chips are designed to be extremely efficient.
Power Consumption (Stock) Stress Test
Power Consumption (Stock) Gaming Test
Power Consumption Overclocked
The AMD Ryzen 7000 CPUs either have two or three chiplets, one or two of which are the aforementioned AMD Zen 4 CCDs fabricated on the 5nm process node, and then we have the larger die around the center which is the IOD and that is based on a 6nm process node. The AMD Ryzen 7000 CCD measures at a die size of 70mm2 compared to 83mm2 for Zen 3 and feature a total of 6.57 Billion transistors, a 58% increase over the Zen 3 CCD with 4.15 Billion transistors,
Scattered around the package are several SMDs (capacitors/resistors) that usually sit under the package substrate if we consider Intel's CPUs. AMD is instead featuring them on the top layer and as such, they had to design a new kind of IHS which is internally referred to as the Octopus. We've already seen the delidded IHS before but now we get to see a final production chip with no lid on it to cover those gold Zen 4 nuggets!
With that said, the IHS is an interesting component of the AMD Ryzen 7000 Desktop CPUs. The one picture shows the arrangement of the 8 arms which Robert Hallock 'Director of Technical Marketing at AMD' refers to as the 'Octopus'. Each arm has a small application of TIM beneath it which is used to solder the IHS to the interposer. Now delidding the chip is going to be really hard since each arm is right next to the massive array of capacitors. Each Arm is also slightly raised to make room for the SMDs and users shouldn't worry about heat getting trapped beneath.
The most interesting area of the AMD Ryzen 7000 Desktop CPU IHS, besides the arms, is the gold plated IHS which is used to increase thermal dissipation off of the CPU/IO dies and directly to the IHS. The two 5nm Zen 4 CCD's and singular 6nm IO die have liquid-metal TIM or Thermal interface material for better heat conductivity and the aforementioned gold plating does help a lot with heat dissipation. What remains to be seen is whether the capacitors will feature silicone coating or not but from the previous package shot, it kind of looks like they do.
The thermal testing was carried out with the Corsair H1150i AIO liquid cooler:
Temperatures (Stock)
Temperatures Overclocked
AMD has officially lifted the curtains off its next-generation Ryzen 7000 CPUs and AM5 platform. The red team is starting with a brand new and clean slate, one that offers a brand new processor lineup based on brand new architecture and designed around a brand new socket & supporting platform. There's a lot to cover and a lot of aspects to talk about but we will start with one of the most important things that users want to learn about and that's performance.
Zen 4 - Good Single-Threaded, Great Multi-Threading & Even Greater Gaming Performance
The AMD Ryzen 9 7950X & Ryzen 7 7700X are both killer CPUs in their own respective segment. The AMD Ryzen 9 7950X offers the best 16-core performance out of the box while the Ryzen 7 7700X comes with strong 8-core performance. The higher clock speeds & a solid double-digit IPC uplift bring with them a great performance improvement. While single-threaded applications see a nice boost, Zen 4 shows its strengths in multi-threaded and gaming applications.
The AMD Ryzen 9 7950X sits comfortably ahead the of Core i9-12900K, offering anywhere from 40-50% performance improvement in multi-threaded and also outperforming the 12th Gen lineup in gaming performance. The 7950X comes really close to the 5800X3D which is still a solid gamer chip but that just shows that we can expect a monumental uplift in games once the Zen 4 3D V-Cache parts arrive. To be fair, I wasn't expecting such a big leap over the Ryzen 9 5950X but Zen 4 is truly impressive in all regards.
The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X is also a solid entry in the 8-core segment, outclassing the Core i5-12600K and even the Core i7-12700K in a few benchmarks. The chip falls around 30-35% faster than Ryzen 7 5800X in multi-threaded performance and manages to come close to the Core i9-12900K which is definitely fantastic given its price. However, I do believe that its time to up the core count of the low-end Ryzen 7 and Ryzen 5 parts since this is a crucial and mass consumer segment where Intel has gained lots of ground due to its hybrid core designs offering much higher multi-threaded processor performance.
Ryzen 9 7950X at $699 Is Very Impressive, Ryzen 7 7700X Is A Solid Gamer Chip For $399 US
I have to say that AMD nailed the pricing of its flagship Ryzen 9 7950X CPU. We know the increased cost of the 5nm process node but despite that, AMD managed to offer a big bump in performance at a price lower than its 7nm predecessor. The Ryzen 9 7950X is a very performant chip and since it is much faster than the Core i9-12900K, it is well worth the $699 US price.
The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X on the other hand is a solid gaming option at $399 US. While the Ryzen 7 5800X3D still exists in the consumer space, the Ryzen 7 7700X could be seen as a balanced option if you are planning to move to the AM5 platform. Given the pricing of the Ryzen 7 7700X, it looks like a 3D V-Cache part might end up around $499 US.
Power Efficiency Keeps on RYZENING!
Coming To power consumption, this is another key aspect where AMD shows the strengths of its Zen 4 core architecture and simply blows the competition away. The CPU consumes almost 10-20 percent lower power than the competition at stock and in gaming, both chips are on a whole different level. Even at stock, the CPUs consume 20-30W lower power than the competition in gaming power consumption and that's taken to the next level with the 65W ECO mode which pushes the power down to sub-100W levels while retaining the same performance in gaming.
But if you plan on using the ECO mode in multi-threaded workloads, then you should expect performance drops compared to stock since the Zen 4 CPU cores require that extra juice to deliver the 40-50% performance boost over their predecessors. Despite that, the CPUs still end up being the most efficient processors on the market.
Now compared to the previous generation CPUs, the maximum power targets have been raised and the CPU package size and IHS have gotten smaller. As such, the higher transistor density and smaller thermal density mean that the chip is bound to get hot and so it does. Both CPUs run really warm around 70-90C depending on the load and require really high-end water-cooling to keep them cool.
It's Not About Being Stuck With DDR5, It's About Embracing The Future
Unlike Intel's Alder Lake platform, AMD's AM5 platform is only compatible with DDR5 memory kits. But unlike the Alder Lake launch, the same DDR5 memory kits are now priced much better and kits are available in a variety of configurations. It's great to see that memory manufacturers have been working with AMD to optimize their kits as part of the new EXPO standard. The resultant kits deliver the best optimization and performance for the AM5 platform.
As for what kind of memory you should be getting, AMD has officially stated DDR5-6000 as the sweet spot for Zen 4 CPUs in an Auto:1:1 configuration. We tested two configurations, for now, these included DDR5-6000 CL30 and DDR5-6400. The results are pretty much the same but we noticed that the DDR5-6000 provides the best balance of price and performance. Furthermore, there's no restriction on using an Intel XMP or non-XMP/EXPO kit on the AM5 platform so if you manage to find a cheaper kit using a different profile, then you should also be fine.
PCIe Gen 5.0 - Lots of Announcements But No Real Hardware Yet
Another key feature of the new AM5 platform is the addition of PCIe Gen 5.0 lanes. AMD offers support for both PCIe Gen 5 discrete GPU and PCIe Gen 5 M.2 SSD support whereas Intel only offers support for PCIe Gen 5 discrete GPU since there are no Gen 5 M.2 lanes coming directly from the CPUs themselves. In order for board makers to offer Gen 5 M.2 support on Intel platforms, they have to split the lanes between the dGPU and M.2 slots.
Yes, we know that new graphics cards are at some point going to come out & will feature support for PCIe Gen 5.0 hardware but existing graphics cards aren't even saturating the Gen 4 lanes entirely and we get another 2x bandwidth increase with Gen 5. Sure it offers future-proofing but I mean it would've been more beneficial as a consumer if those lanes were shared with one of the M.2 slots so next year when the new Gen 5 SSDs arrived, users could upgrade to make somewhat use of the new standard. But Intel decided to share all lanes to the PCIe slots & which to me is unnecessary and we will see if next-gen graphics cards are going to see any real-world benefit from it.
But all is not bad about having Gen 5.0 on the platform as certain motherboard vendors will be providing AICs with Gen 5 M.2 slots so you can slap that in one of the PCIe 5.0 slots and have a next-generation M.2 SSD running on your PC. But those AICs are only specific to the high-end motherboards.
Solid Platform, Solid CPUs: AM5 Kicks Off With A Solid Start!
AMD has definitely started off strong with its AM5 platform and CPUs. This reminds us of the AM4 and Zen 1 launch but on a grander scale. With Zen 1, AMD was able to close in on their competition with a higher core count and strong efficiency. With Zen 4, AMD sits 40-50% faster than its rival while retaining its high core counts (on the high-end chips), higher frequencies, strong efficiency, strong single & multi-threading performance, and all of that on a platform that out beats Intel's IO capabilities.
AMD has done the impossible and the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X and Ryzen 7 7700X CPUs are a hit. The 16-core 7950X is a brutally fast multi-threaded chip with an efficiency that's unmatched and pricing that is $100 cheaper than its predecessor. The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X is a fast gaming chip with an 8-core design that's balanced for mainstream users at $399 and is able to match the Core i9 12900K for several 100 bucks less.
Final Verdict - It's the dawn of the new CPUs and platforms and based on what we have seen from our tests, AMD has won the initial round with its well-price and very fast Ryzen 9 7950X & Ryzen 7 7700X chips while the AM5 platform puts Intel's IO capabilities to the same. Now it remains to be seen whether a certain Raptor would be enough to tackle Raphael.
The post AMD Ryzen 9 7950X & Ryzen 7 7700X CPU Review – A New Era of Zen Begins Today! by Hassan Mujtaba appeared first on Wccftech.