It’s been less than a month since AMD revealed its flagship octo-core Ryzen processor and now it has revealed its value-packed Ryzen 5-series chips.
At the top of the Ryzen 5 heap is the 1600X, which features 6-cores and 12-threads for just $249 (about £200, AU$320). By comparison, the cheapest hexa-core processor from Intel is the Core i7-5820K, which costs $319 (£260, AU$310).
With a base clock speed of 3.6GHz and a boost of 4.0GHz, it’s also a worthy competitor to the Intel Core i5-7600K, which costs $239 (about £190, AU$310). According to Cinebench benchmark test results provided by AMD, its flagship Ryzen 5 produced a score of 1,196cb whereas the aforementioned Intel chip could only achieve 669cb.
In real life these numbers should translate to faster rendering time for producing media and better performance in CPU-intensive games like Total War: Warhammer and Cities Skylines.
Raising a family
Like AMD’s Ryzen 7 family, Ryzen 5 processors come in pairs and just below the 1600X is the Ryzen 5 1600. It’s also outfitted with 6-cores and 12-threads, but clocks in at a slower 3.2GHz and maxes out at 3.6GHz.
However, it drops the 'X' suffix, which means the 1600 doesn't support AMD’s extended frequency range (XFR) technology that allows the 1600X’s cores to operate at 4.1GHz. The Ryzen 5 1600 will be priced at $219 (about £180, AU$280).
The Ryzen 5 lineup also introduces AMD’s latest pair of quad-core processors: the 1500X and 1400. Positioned for budget builds, both parts are under $200, with the 1500X being a step quicker, clocking in at 3.5GHz (3.7GHz boosted). The Rzyen 5 1400 is also a solid processor in its own right, offering a base speed of 3.2GHz and 3.4Ghz boost.
The 1500X and 1400 will be on shelves on April 11 along with all other Ryzen 5 processors for $189 (about £150, AU$245) and $169 (about £140, AU$220), respectively.
AMD has also promised to deliver Ryzen 3 processors in the second half of the year, and we'll keep you posted as soon as we hear more from AMD.
