The AMD Ryzen 7000 series desktop processors are finally here, but which one is the best? AMD unveiled the first Ryzen processors in 2017 and shook up the market. It was the first time AMD took a serious swing at Intel’s dominance of the desktop segment. And with the launch of each new desktop generation, it has continued to improve the performance of its chips and provide ever-increasing competition to Intel.
With the launch of the Ryzen 5000 series in 2020, AMD released a number of high-performance processors in every price range. The Ryzen 5 5600X CPU became one of the top recommended processors for building gaming PCs. Meanwhile, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D introduced 3D V-Cache technology, enabling extremely high performance in games. The new tech also enabled the 5800X3D to beat Intel’s crown jewel, the Core i9-12900K, in gaming benchmarks without an increase in TDP or clock speed.
AMD‘s new and improved lineup of Ryzen 7000 series desktop CPUs feature a host of new upgrades, including but not limited to a 13 percent IPC (Instructions Per Clock) uplift and up to 800MHz clock speed increase to 5.7GHz in single-core performance. The new Ryzen 7000 series CPUs are based on the Zen 4 architecture which utilizes 5nm process nodes and offers support for PCIe Gen 5.0 and DDR5 memory architecture. Additionally, the new Ryzen 7000 series processors now use the LGA (Land Grid Array) AM5 socket instead of the PGA (Pin Grade Array) AM4 socket. It means that the pins are now placed on the motherboard instead of the Ryzen processor, so users will have an easier time installing the new CPU.
The Best Ryzen 7000 CPU For Your Workload
The AMD Ryzen 7000 series includes four new desktop CPUs – Ryzen 5 7600X, Ryzen 7 7700X, Ryzen 9 7900X, and Ryzen 9 7950X. With regard to pricing, AMD is already off to a good start as its latest flagship, the Ryzen 7950X, costs $100 less than its previous top-spec CPU, the Ryzen 9 5950X, which had a price tag of $799. All these new processors belong to AMDs ‘X’ lineup and hence come ready for overclocking from the factory and include Radeon integrated graphics too.
Taking a closer look at each of these processors helps to decide the best for one’s workload. The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X costs $299 and replaces the previous gen 5600X. It is 21 percent faster on average while gaming at 1080p resolution as per official AMD benchmarks. In terms of specifications, the Ryzen 5 7600X is a 6-core 12-thread processor with a 4.7GHz base clock and up to a 5.3GHz boost clock. It features the same 32MB of superfast L3 cache memory as the previous gen but has a higher default TDP of 105W.
Next up is the $399 Ryzen 7 7700X, which is an 8-core processor with support for up to 16-threads and a max boost clock of 5.4GHz. Thanks to a higher core count, the Ryzen 7 7700X is more helpful when it comes to handling demanding tasks like gaming and professional content creation. However, for all hardcore gamers and creators who like to game and stream at the same time, the Ryzen 9 7900X, which costs $549, is a great choice. In terms of specs, it is a 12-core CPU with support for 24-threads and also features 64MB of superfast L3 cache memory.
For users who want the ultimate performance from their desktop in gaming, content creation, streaming, and other demanding workloads, the $699 Ryzen 9 7950X is the best processor from the new lineup. The 16-core CPU features 32-threads and a boost clock of 5.7GHz, and is one of the best performing consumer-grade Ryzen desktop processors on the market. The best part is that despite having a higher core count and boost clock, the Ryzen 9 7950X still has the same 170W TDP as the Ryzen 9 7900X. While all of AMD‘s Ryzen 7000 chips bring performance gains over the previous generation, choosing the best one ultimately comes down to budget and workload.
Source: AMD