AMD Ryzen 2nd-gen is on its way
Boxed versions of the new Ryzen 7 2700 and Ryzen 5 2600 series processors are slated to ship next week.
AMD's second-generation updates to its mainstream Ryzen 7 and Ryzen 5 desktop processors isn't quite as dramatic as Intel's recent eighth-generation mobile launch; in part, that's because AMD been-there-done-that with multicore, such as the 8- and 6-core Ryzen 7 1700 and Ryzen 5 1600 series from last year last year. So its second-gen products replacing them feel transitional, eking slightly higher boost-clock speeds out of the move from the Zen 14nm process to the12nm Zen+ architecture, among other tech tweaks.
The new chips use the same Socket AM4 as their predecessors, though AMD is releasing a new X470 chipset to take advantage of the higher clock speeds. And to sweeten the deal, the chipset has AMD's StoreMI disk-acceleration technology built in and the boxed processors will include an AMD Wraith-series CPU coolers.
They're slated to ship April 19. The lineup is as follows:
Second-gen Ryzen CPUs
| CPU | Ryzen 7 2700X | Ryzen 7 2700 | Ryzen 5 2600X | Ryzen 5 2600 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cores/Threads | 8/16 | 8/16 | 6/12 | 6/12 |
| Boost clock/base clock (GHz) | 4.3/3.7 | 4.1/3.2 | 4.2/3.6 | 3.9/3.4 |
| Total cache | 20MB | 20MB | 19MB | 19MB |
| TDP | 105W | 65W | 95W | 65W |
| Bundled fan system | Wraith Prism (LED) | Wraith Spire (LED) | Wraith Spire | Wraith Stealth |
| Retail price | $329 | $299 | $229 | $199 |
| UK, AU directly converted prices | £232, AU$425 | £210, AU$385 | £160, AU$295 | £140, AU$255 |