AMD officially revealed its next-gen “Zen 5” processors (CPU) at Computex 2024 in Taipei, Taiwan. The company took a two-pronged approach to its initial unveiling, with Ryzen AI 300 mobile chips for laptops and Ryzen 9000 desktop chips for PC builders interested in gaming, creation, and beyond.
Let’s take a look at the list of Zen 5 chips so far announced by AMD.
What is AMD Zen 5?
“Zen 5” represents AMD's next-generation desktop and mobile processors. It’s the name of the architecture used for Ryzen 9000 and Ryzen AI 300 chips, bringing a number of improvements over last-gen “Zen 4” hardware.
As was rumored in the lead-up to AMD’s official announcement, Ryzen 9000 desktop CPUs offer up to 16% better instructions-per-clock (IPC) as well as more cache. They use the AM5 socket just the same as Zen 4 chips, and AMD says it plans on supporting the chipset “through 2027 and beyond.” That's good news for builders who hate upgrading every couple of years.
New X870E and X870 chipsets for AM5 motherboards were unveiled, sporting support for PCIe 5.0, DDR5 memory, USB4 connectivity, and Wi-Fi 7 wireless internet. The new motherboards are expected to launch later this year; rumors suggest late September or early October. Until then, the AM5 boards initially used for Ryzen 7000 chips remain the best option.
AMD Ryzen 9000 desktop CPUs
AMD showed off four new Ryzen 9000 desktop CPUs at Computex 2024, including Ryzen 5, Ryzen 7, and Ryzen 9 options. AMD says its Ryzen 9 9950X is the “fastest consumer desktop processor” as of May 2024.
The Ryzen 7 9700X, like its Zen 4 Ryzen 7 7700X predecessor, has eight cores and 16 threads. The Zen 5 chip has 40MB of cache (compared to 32MB), as well as a slightly higher 5.5GHz boost frequency. It runs at a 65W base TDP, which is impressive considering the Ryzen 7 7700X sits at a 105W default TDP.
The flagship Ryzen 9 9950X also brings a larger cache compared to its Zen 4 predecessor. However, it runs at a similar 170W TDP with a 5.7GHz boost clock compared to the Ryzen 9 7950X.
Here’s a look at the specs that make up the chips.
AMD's Ryzen 9000 CPUs suffered a short delay due to a mislabeling issue, but it quickly fixed its mistakes and launched the Ryzen 5 9600X and Ryzen 7 9700X on August 8, 2024 (about a week after the delayed original launch date). The Ryzen 9 9900X and Ryzen 9 9950X are expected to launch on August 15.
AMD Ryzen 9000 review highlights and benchmarks
Windows Central Editor Ben Wilson got his hands on the Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 7 chips to test and review, coming out with favorable results in both cases.
In his Ryzen 7 9700X review, in which he awarded it a Windows Central Best Award, Wilson remarked:
"AMD is delivering a multi-punch knockout with the Ryzen 7 9700X, as it drops the MSRP from its previous-generation 7700X and even returns to the 65W power draw of its 5700X. It comes with caveats, and the generational multi-core improvements are barely worth mentioning. However, its single-core performance is a thing to behold, ranking above most of Intel's comparable chips at 125W. Plus, it matches AMD's own gaming CPU champion, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D, while remaining cheaper and more power efficient — it's the new mid-range champion."
It looks like AMD took a safe approach to its Zen 5 desktop CPUs, with a focus on lowering the power draw and keeping the chips within a reasonable price range. The performance isn't wildly different, but there's a ton of room for overclocking. With Intel's 13th and 14th Gen chips suffering from instability and degradation issues caused by elevated voltages, one can only hope that AMD's desktop CPUs remain stable.
Wilson also reviewed the Ryzen 5 9600X; he wasn't as impressed with it as with the new Ryzen 7, but he handed it a Windows Central Recommended Award. Wilson said:
"In a masterclass of performance-per-watt efficiency, AMD offers incredible single-core performance scores that beat its intended 14600K rival and even challenge the 14700K. However, generational multi-core bumps are so minor that anyone running Ryzen 7000 chips or Intel 13th to 14th Gen won't see any real benefits. The 9600X is for entry-level builders starting with AM5, whether upgrading from much older platforms or starting from scratch; and even then, in-house competitors like the 7700X and 7800X3D will be more tempting to some crowds."
Here's a look at performance comparisons between the new Ryzen 9000 chips and their primary competition that we've also tested.
AMD's Ryzen 9 9900X and Ryzen 9 9950X CPUs are expected to launch on August 15, 2024, and we're expecting to put the chips through the same tests as the Ryzen 5 and 7. I'll update this guide when we have more information.
As for the Ryzen 9000 X3D chips built specifically for strong PC gaming, rumors suggest that the CPUs are coming ... we just don't know when.
AMD Ryzen 9000 pricing
AMD revealed pricing for its first four Ryzen 9000 desktop CPUs ahead of the official launch.
The Ryzen 7 9700X costs about $359, which is $40 cheaper than the Ryzen 7 7700X launch price. The Ryzen 5 9600X is about $10 cheaper than its predecessor, coming in at $279. At the time of writing, only Newegg has active product pages. Best Buy has listings, but the chips are still in the "Coming Soon" category. So far nothing has shown up at Amazon.
The Ryzen 9 9900X is expected to launch on August 15 with a $499 price tag, while the Ryzen 9 9950X pushes the price up to $649.
AMD Ryzen AI 300 laptop CPUs
The other side of AMD’s Zen 5 Computex announcement involves new Ryzen AI 300 chips for laptops. This is the “Strix Point” lineup of processors, with Zen 5 CPU cores, RDNA 3.5 GPU Compute Units (CU), and XDNA 2 NPU.
AMD lays claim to the “world’s most powerful NPU” with 50 TOPS of power for local AI acceleration, and that claim will stand for the foreseeable future. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus chips hit 45 TOPS, while even Intel’s next-gen “Lunar Lake” chips are expected to have a 45 TOPS ceiling.
This is especially important for Copilot+ features in Windows 11, which require an NPU with at least 40 TOPS. Laptops with AMD’s Ryzen AI 300 chips will eventually receive access to the advanced AI features just like our favorite Copilot+ PCs; until then, the major benefits of Ryzen AI 300 appear to be all-day battery life and strong performance.
Here's a look at the two Ryzen AI 300 chips announced so far by AMD.
The two Ryzen AI 300 mobile chips feature the same NPU with 50 TOPS but otherwise different specs. The Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 is the flagship chip with 12 cores and 24 threads. AMD has split the cores between Zen 5 and Zen 5c, the latter being more efficient and slightly less powerful than the former. The Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 has a boost frequency up to 5.1GHz, a 28W TDP (configurable between 15W and 54W for manufacturers), and AMD Radeon 890M graphics.
The Ryzen AI 9 365 falls to 10 cores and 20 threads, with a 5.0GHz boost clock and the same TDP numbers. Its Radeon 880M GPU is slightly less powerful than the 890M due to it having four fewer CUs.
The ASUS Zenbook S 16 is the first laptop we tested with AMD's new chips
While ASUS is the first laptop manufacturer to get AMD's new Ryzen AI 300 chips into our hands, other big brands like Acer, HP, Lenovo, and MSI are also building AI PCs around the new CPUs.
Windows Central's Ben Wilson reviewed the ASUS Zenbook S 16 (UM5606) favorably, handing it a Recommended Award. Here's what he had to say concerning performance:
"As expected, the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 sits comfortably between devices featuring Intel's Core Ultra 7 155H mobile processor in Geekbench 6, given that the Zenbook S 16 runs at the same 28W when its fan profile is set to 'Performance Mode' in the MyASUS companion app. It's exciting to see AMD pull ahead of Apple's M3 chip in a $1,999 14-inch MacBook Pro (16GB RAM) in multi-threaded performance, but single-core scores are still firmly in the macOS camp; not that many modern apps would utilize it."
Battery life is also stellar; Wilson said:
"If ASUS is using AMD's new processors to expand its place in the AI PC category, it needs to keep up with the extraordinary battery life offered by competing devices, including its own ARM-based Vivobook S 15. Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite chips boast a breakthrough in all-day battery life (and sometimes beyond) that eclipses more power-hungry x86-64 Ryzen chips. With that in mind, a 13-hour and 11-minute result from the 'Modern Office' battery drain benchmark in PC Mark 10 ranks among true "all day" devices, coming in only one hour behind the Vivbook S 15."
Coming at about $1,400 for a model with a Ryzen AI 9 365 CPU, 24GB of RAM, 1TB SSD, and 3K OLED touch display, ASUS is offering a lot of laptop at a competitive price.
AMD Zen 5 release dates
As was rumored, AMD unveiled its new Zen 5 hardware at Computex 2024. AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su kicked off the event with a keynote address that included news from third-party laptop manufacturers. AMD clarified that Acer, ASUS, HP, Lenovo, and MSI are on board with AMD Ryzen AI 300 chips, and were now seeing the mobile chips ship in laptop PCs.
As for Ryzen 9000 desktop processors, the Ryzen 5 9600X and Ryzen 7 9700X launched on August 8. The Ryzen 9 9900X and Ryzen 9 9950X are expected to launch a week later on August 15. That wraps up the four initial chips announced by AMD, but we're keeping an eye out for any information on the Ryzen 9000 X3D variants.
