AMD Ryzen processors at CES will run at 3.6GHz

AMD has a test setup at CES with a Ryzen processor and a Vega video card. In the setup, which previews the performance of both new architectures, the processor will run at a clock speed of 3.6GHz and a turbo speed of 3.9GHz.

The test setup shows Doom running at 4k resolution on ‘ultra’ settings. The game runs at a frame rate of about 60fps, which according to the German website Hardwareluxx is comparable to how an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 performs. In the settings of the game, the editors of the site also saw that the graphics card has 8GB of ram. AMD released details about Vega on Thursday, showing that the new architecture uses hbm2. With the first generation hbm, no more than 4GB could be used.

The editors also left the game to look up the properties of the computer and Windows Device Manager. This showed that the Ryzen processor installed in the computer runs at a clock speed of 3.6GHz. The type number 1D3601A2M88F3_39/36_N suggests that the turbo clock speed is 3.9GHz. It is not known how many cores actually achieve that clock speed.

If AMD manages to actually get the clock speed of the final version of the Ryzen processor at 3.6GHz or more, there would be a good chance that the performance will be comparable to an Intel Core i7-6900K.

French magazine Canard PC published an article in December that tested a sample Ryzen processor running at a base speed of 3.15GHz with a turbo speed of 3.5GHz. In the tests, the i7-6900K was found to outperform the Ryzen test sample by about fifteen percent. In gaming tests, the processor was hampered by the relatively low clock speed. Relative to that test sample, the clock speed of the sample at CES has increased by about 14 percent, theoretically bringing performance very close to that of the 6900K.

It is still unclear at what clock speed the processor will eventually run and what the effect of this will be on performance. AMD has promised during the ‘New Horizon’ event in December that the final processor will run at a minimum of 3.4GHz. It is rumored that the first processors based on the Zen architecture will appear in February.

Screenshot of Windows Device Manager and system properties of the test computer with Ryzen processor