Skip to main content

We have good news about AMD’s upcoming Ryzen 9000 chips

A render of a Ryzen 9000 CPU.
AMD

Earlier this month we saw AMD unveiling its new Ryzen 9000 series desktop processors at Computex 2024. The new desktop processors feature AMD’s next-gen Zen 5 architecture, promising approximately 15% faster performance. During the announcement, AMD said that the new chips will arrive in July 2024, however, online retailer B&H suggests that preorders will only begin at 9 a.m. ET on July 31.

Additionally, we also have (unofficial) pricing information for the upcoming CPUs. According to a report, the flagship AMD Ryzen 9 9950X has been listed on Canada Computers for CAD 839 ($610), which is noticeably lower than the $699 launch price of the Ryzen 9 7950X. Another retailer from the Philippines has listed the entire Ryzen 9000 desktop CPU lineup with the Ryzen 9 9950X priced at 38,000 Pesos ($648), Ryzen 9 9900X at 35,000 Pesos ($597), Ryzen 7 9700X at 24,000 Pesos ($409), and the Ryzen 5 9600X at 18,500 Pesos ($315).

Recommended Videos

It is important to clarify that AMD has yet to confirm these prices.

Get your weekly teardown of the tech behind PC gaming
Check your inbox!

Performance-wise, the upcoming Ryzen 9000 series promises improvements despite maintaining similar core configurations and clock speeds to previous generations. The new Zen 5 architecture is built on a 4nm node, and AMD claims that it delivers a 16% increase in Instructions Per Clock (IPC) over its predecessors.

Gaming performance for AMD's Ryzen 9 9950X.
AMD

The reduction in power consumption is also noteworthy where the Ryzen 7 and Ryzen 5 parts now consume 65W, down from 105W, and the Ryzen 9 9900X requiring 120W, down from 170W. This efficiency boost, coupled with performance gains, is expected to deliver a noticeable improvement in Handbrake, Blender, and games like Horizon Zero Dawn, positioning the Ryzen 9000 series as a viable choice for gamers and content creators. With AMD’s new X870 and X870E chipsets supporting higher memory frequencies, full USB 4 support, and PCIe 5.0 for both graphics and storage, the platform likely has the potential to deliver a robust and future-proof computing experience.

AMD is also reinforcing its commitment to the AM5 platform with the launch of the Ryzen 9000 series, pledging support through at least 2027. This extended support means that the new Ryzen 9000 CPUs are fully compatible with existing 600-series motherboards, and likewise, older Ryzen 7000 CPUs will work with the new 800-series chipsets. This backward and forward compatibility ensures that users can upgrade their processors without needing to replace their entire motherboard setup, which is a significant advantage for those looking to extend the life of their current systems.

While the new Ryzen 9000 series CPUs bring numerous improvements and advancements, they are not expected to surpass the gaming performance of the previous generation’s Ryzen 7000X3D models. The information was recently shared by AMD’s senior technical marketing manager who said in an interview that these new chips will come close but won’t be able to match the gaming performance of their predecessors equipped with 3D V-Cache.

Kunal Khullar
Kunal Khullar is a computing writer at Digital Trends who contributes to various topics, including CPUs, GPUs, monitors, and…
AMD’s new CPU could silently replace the Ryzen 7 7800X3D
The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X3D CPU.

AMD just expanded its lineup of gaming CPUs, but it's not a Zen 5 chip. Instead, AMD launched a new Zen 4 CPU, the Ryzen 5 7600X3D. Once again a Micro Center exclusive, the CPU could be an interesting budget offering ... if not for the fact that it still costs a pretty penny. Meanwhile, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D seems to be disappearing from the market. What's going on?

The fact that AMD revisited the Zen 4 lineup is not surprising, as it still continues to release Zen 3 chips. It's also not shocking that the Ryzen 5 7600X3D is a Micro Center exclusive, as the Ryzen 5 5600X3D was also only available at that one retailer. In the case of the 7600X3D, though, it'll also be available in Germany through Mindfactory.

Read more
Your AMD Ryzen CPU is about 10% slower than it should be
The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X installed in a motherboard.

AMD's Zen 5 CPUs haven't been able to impress in gaming, showing only small generational improvements -- but there are still some free frame rates to be won here. According to a comprehensive set of gaming benchmarks, a new Windows Update might be all that it takes to improve the performance of AMD's best processors, and this includes Zen 4 CPUs, too.

Earlier this month, Hardware Unboxed revealed that AMD's latest CPUs might be missing out on some frames per second (fps) in games due to a Windows bug. Switching to an Admin account (which is a little harder than it seems to be) fixed the problem, boosting both Zen 4 and Zen 5 CPUs by a considerable amount. AMD also hinted that this might be the issue behind Zen 5's lackluster performance, although it also blamed other factors, such as using different test suites or not running on Admin mode.

Read more
I tested AMD’s latest claims about Ryzen 9000, and they don’t hold up
The Ryzen 9 9950X between someone's fingertips.

AMD says that gaming performance on Ryzen 9000 is actually better than what you've read. As you can read in our Ryzen 9 9950X and Ryzen 9 9900X review, AMD's new Zen 5 CPUs are the best processors you can buy when it comes to productivity. Gaming performance, on the other hand, is disappointing.

According to a new blog post from AMD, there are a few reasons why reviewers saw lower gaming performance than expected. Chief among them are the fact that AMD used an unreleased version of Windows 11 -- the 24H2 update, which is available to Windows Insiders -- and that it used an administrator account for its "automated test methodology." In light of that, I downloaded the Windows update, spun up an admin account, and retested the Ryzen 9 9950X. And I'm not seeing what AMD claims at all.

Read more