AMD releases Ryzen 9 3900X with 12 cores in July for $499

AMD announced its Ryzen 3000 processors with Zen 2 architecture during the opening keynote of the Computex. AMD presented five processors for the AM4 platform, with the Ryzen 9 3900X with twelve cores as the top model.

The top model does not have sixteen cores, as previously speculated, but has twelve. The Ryzen 9 series was created for this model. The first and as yet only processor in that series is the Ryzen 9 3900X. The twelve cores have a total of 70MB cache and still fit within a 105W TDP. The clock speeds range from 3.8GHz to 4.6GHz.

Two Ryzen 7 models appear: the Ryzen 7 3700X has eight cores and sixteen threads. The clock speed is 3.6GHz with a boost to 4.4GHz. Thanks to the 7nm process, AMD has limited the TDP to 65W. The total amount of cache is 36MB, with 512kB L2 cache per core and the 32MB shared L3 cache. All third-generation Ryzen processors also support the new PCI Express 4.0 standard. The second processor is also an octacore, but the Ryzen 7 3800X is clocked higher, with speeds ranging from 3.9GHz to 4.5GHz. The TDP is therefore 105W. The other details, such as cache and pcie 4.0 support, are equal to the cheaper model.

AMD positions the Ryzen 7 3700X against Intel’s 9700K and the 3800X against the 9900K. Performance is comparable, thanks to a significant improvement in IPC, a point where AMD lagged behind Intel. The new Zen 2 cores have a 15% higher IPC compared to the Zen 1 cores and, among other things, have twice the floating point performance compared to the original Zen cores. The top model, the Ryzen 9 3900X, would even compete with Intel’s hedt processor, the 9920X. It has twelve cores and costs $1,200 compared to the $500 of the 3900X.

AMD introduces two more Ryzen 3000 processors, which it did not show during the keynote. These are the Ryzen 5 3600 and 3600X. Both are hexacores with twelve threads and a TDP of 95W for the 3600X and 65W for the 3600. All processors support standard DDR4 memory with clock speeds of 3200MT/s and AMD ships Wraith Prism coolers with the three more expensive models. The Ryzen 5 3600 gets a Wraith Stealth bundled and the 3600X a Wraith Spire. The 3600 will cost $199 and the 3600X should cost $249.

The five third-generation Ryzen processors are produced at 7nm and will be available from July 7. At the same time, manufacturers are releasing AM4 motherboards with the new X570 chipset. It offers, among other things, extra PCI-e 4.0 lanes. The Ryzen 3000 processors will also work on X470 motherboards after a firmware update.