AMD Ryzen review: New processor line provides more power at a lower cost

Melanie Sison Wednesday, March 08, 2017

A promotional image for the AMD Ryzen processor | AMD

Intel is the brand that comes to mind for most people when asked about processors for PCs. The introduction of the AMD Ryzen, however, can very well change that.

Ryzen does not refer to a single processor, but rather a range, and comprised of five models: Ryzen 7 1800x, Ryzen 7 1700x, Ryzen 7 1700, Ryzen 5 1600x, Ryzen 5 1500x. As pointed out by PC Advisor, the naming scheme of these chips are intended to coincide with Intel's, thereby making it easier to compare the specifications of both brands. These processors will be available not just for desktop PCs, but also for laptops and servers.

The eight-core 16-thread Ryzen processors were built with the careful blending of power and efficiency in mind. The SenseMI technology and the 14nm FinFET manufacturing process each chip comes bundled with allows the processor to use only as much power as needed in order to run the system effectively. This means that it does not waste power, without any latency or queue drain. The Ryzen processor is said to consume 95 watts only, making it a power-efficient chip.

The SenseMI technology is also packaged as a smart system, which learns from the player's software usage and predicts what data or resources will need to be allocated in advance. These technologies allow the Ryzen processors to do a lot more work per clock cycle, improving by as high as 40 percent compared to the previous processors it released. The chips also support DDR4 memory, which can potentially mean a much faster system.

Admittedly, the AMD Ryzen processors were not quite able to reach the speed of the Intel variants these were pitted against each other in a test, at least for gaming. However, what the former have that the latter do not is affordability. The most expensive item in the product line, Ryzen R7 1800x, is priced at less than $500, making this a good option for users who want a fast processor but are careful about their budget.

The AMD Ryzen processors were launched on March 2.