AMD’s Ryzen 7 CPUs have made a splash for the workstation-class builder with their many threads at friendly prices , but not…
AMD’s Ryzen 7 CPUs have made a splash for the workstation-class builder with their many threads at friendly prices , but not all of us need eight cores and 16 threads to churn through our computing tasks. The logical step down for more mainstream folks is the Ryzen 5 series of chips. AMD revealed two of those parts—the Ryzen 7 1600X and the Ryzen 5 1500X—alongside the Ryzen 7 family, and today we’re learning more about a new pair of Ryzen 5 CPUs that complete the midrange tier of AMD’s new processor lineup.
At the top of the range, the Ryzen 5 1600X is joined by the Ryzen 5 1600. The 1600X will likely be pitted against Intel’s entry-level six-core CPU, the Core i7-6800K. The aggressively-clocked 1600X boasts what AMD calls a “full” XFR range, although the company says the definition of “full” isn’t being revealed at this time, and our guess is that it could vary from chip to chip in this lineup. Of the Ryzen 5 CPUs being announced today, the 1600X is the only one that will slot into a 95W TDP. Meanwhile, the modestly-clocked Ryzen 5 1600 retains XFR, but it likely won’t benefit as much as its sibling from a bigger cooler on top.
