AMD also releases Ryzen 5000U processors with Zen 2 cores

Not all Ryzen 5000U laptop processors use Zen 3 cores. Three of the five models in the new lineup still use Zen 2 cores, making them comparable to Ryzen 4000U processors. However, all new models have smt.

In its CES presentation, AMD announced new laptop processors with Zen 3 cores, but the new variants with Zen 2 cores were not mentioned. They are in a press release that was put online after the presentation. Last year it was already rumored that AMD would release Ryzen 5000U processors based on both Zen 3 and Zen 2 cores, and that appears to be true.

Only the Ryzen 7 5800U and Ryzen 5 5600U have the new Zen 3 cores. The Ryzen 7 5700U, 5 5500U and 3 5300U still use Zen 2 cores. The clock speeds are largely comparable to existing Ryzen 4000U processors and it appears to be the same chips with new names. However, all Ryzen 5000U processors have smt. With the 4000U series, some models did not have that.

Using Zen 2 and Zen 3 cores in the same series of CPUs is confusing for consumers. On paper, the variants with Zen 2 cores don’t seem much slower, as they have nearly the same clock speeds. However, the Zen 3 cores have a much better IPC, making them faster per clock tick than variants with Zen 2 cores.

AMD presented Ryzen 5000U processors with Zen 3 cores, but did not mention the Zen 2 variants.