AMD has confirmed that the launch of its Ryzen series processors, directed at the mainstream sect of the market, will happen in the second quarter of this year. Similarly, the budget Ryzen 3 series chips will hit the store shelves a bit later in H2.
Both Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 3 shares the same basic DNA as their higher-end sibling, Ryzen 7. However, unlike the latter, the Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 3 are more affordable and designed to woo gamers, as well as customers looking to build small form factor PCs.
As per AMD’s official statement, Ryzen 5 chips will comprise a number of four and six core options, all with SMT enabled. The prices of these chips will vary from $175 to $259 (in the U.S.). The Ryzen 3 lineup, meanwhile, will include several quad-core variants, but without hyper-threading. These chips will retail for $149 and less in the U.S.
AMD Ryzen 5 series specs and line up
| CPU Model | Core/Thread | Base Clock | Boost Clock | L3 Cache | TDP | Socket | Price (approx) |
| Ryzen 5 1600X | 6/12 | 3.3GHz | 3.7GHz | 16MB | 95W-SR3+ | AM4 | $259 |
| Ryzen 5 Pro 1600 | 6/12 | TBD | TBD | 16MB | 95W | AM4 | $249 |
| Ryzen 5 1500 | 6/12 | 3.2 GHz | 3.5GHz | 16MB | 65W | AM4 | $229 |
| Ryzen 5 Pro 1500 | 6/12 | TBD | TBD | 16MB | 65W | AM4 | $219 |
| Ryzen 5 1400X | 4/8 | 3.5 GHz | 3.9GHz | 8MB | 65W | AM4 | $199 |
| Ryzen 5 Pro 1400 | 4/8 | TBD | TBD | 8MB | 65W | AM4 | $185 |
| Ryzen 5 1300 | 4/8 | 3.2 GHz | 3.5GHz | 8MB | 65W | AM4 | $175 |
| Ryzen 5 Pro 1300 | 4/8 | TBD | TBD | 8MB | 65W | AM4 | $165 |
AMD Ryzen 3 series specs and line up
| CPU Model | Core/Thread | Base Clock | Boost Clock | L3 Cache | TDP | Socket | Price |
| Ryzen 3 1200X | 4/4 | 3.4GHz | 3.8GHz | 8MB | 65W | AM4 | $149 |
| Ryzen 3 Pro 1200 | 4/4 | TBD | TBD | 8MB | 65W | AM4 | $139 |
| Ryzen 3 1100 | 4/4 | 3.2GHz | 3.5GHz | 8MB | 65W | AM4 | $129 |
| Ryzen 3 Pro 1100 | 4/4 | TBD | TBD | 8MB | 65W | AM4 | $119 |
AMD Ryzen 5 1600X benchmarks leaked, Intel Core i5-7600K doesn’t stand a chance
The Ryzen 5 1600X is the flagship chip in the Ryzen 5 family. The six-core CPU was recently put through a series of tests, the benchmarks for which give us a pretty clear picture with regard to its would-be stature in the market when it finally gets its proverbial feet wet to lock horns with Intel counterpart Core i5-7600K and the likes.
In the benchmarks, the 1600X is seen outperforming, or rather annihilating the Core i5-7600K by a huge margin of 69% in multi-threaded performance. Note that despite the fact that Kaby Lake will come with some serious advantages in the single-threaded tests owing to its higher clock-speed, Ryzen also has a trick or two up its sleeves in the form of XFR and formidable OC capabilities. So, even the single-thread tests should end up either in a tie, or the 1600X winning.
As for the price, compared to Intel, which is charging you $242 for a quad-core, non-hyperthreaded chip, AMD is offering a hexa-core, hyperthreaded cheap for $259.