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Ryzen 7000 is here - and it sets new standards

AMD's 7000 CPU series supersedes all expectations.

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Let's try and make this brief and short. The new Ryzen 7000 series is the best CPU launch I remember. But here are some more details as to why.

The platform

The Zen4 platform, on which the 7000 series is based, is what AMD uses to introduce DDR5 memory and PCIe 5.0 storage and graphics to the hungry gamers. Despite it being a completely new platform, with no backwards compatibility due to external standards and demands, AMD has chosen to ensure that old brackets can be used with the coolers, therefore there is no need to buy new coolers or brackets. The new AM5 socket motherboards deliver lots of power, enable AMD's new EXPO overclocking for your DDR5 memory, and not just small bits, we are talking serious speed improvements, and this is all built on a 5nm manufacturing process.

Oh, did I mention that there is an "eco" mode that actually works? It basically moves power consumption down one tier, so 105W TDP CPU's become 65 Watt CPU's. It's a one-click button in consumer versions, reviewers had to do it manually, but the point is that you get half the power consumption, and only around 10% decrease in performance. If AMD can transfer this to the mobile market, they can make ultra-efficient laptops, and with desktops you already had the option to turn of cores permanently, so this is even better. And very impressive. It also gives us a 13% increase in IPC, instructions per clock - which is perhaps one of the most clear indicators of performance and efficiency.

I could write 10 pages about the new platform, but I'll keep it to "a lot of changes and improvements have been made at even the most basic level". There's an integrated GPU
in all models - but it's not something I personally care about.

Four CPU's have been released, the 6-core 7600X, the 8-core 7700X, the 12-core 7900X and the 16-core 7950X. We were supplied with the 6 and 12-core versions, but do expect to get our hands on the two others within a reasonable time. Pricing wise, the 7900X makes the most sense for gamers, as it has a higher base clock than the 7950X, and max boost clock is only 100GHz higher, while costing you an arm and a leg more.

This is an ad:
AMD Ryzen 7000

Well, that is not entirely true, as AMD has opted to play it safe, and release the 7000 series at the same prices as the equivalent 5000 series CPUs. Bravo. In terms of the rest of it, you will still need a new motherboard and memory, and there is no cooler for the entry level models, which is fine, as TDP has risen a lot since the last generation.

Generally speaking, there were very few hiccups. Despite the motherboard provided being locked in regards to overclocking (someone thought insane reviewers would try and push it to the max - and we would) I still managed to get 200Mhz over the official boost clock on both CPUs in seconds, and while this was written, several world records were broken in plain sight of US media cameras and reporters. This also includes a 6.45GHz all-16-core overclock on the 7950X using a 280mm standard AIO. Good luck doing that with the competition. We were provided with 32GB GSKill DDR5-4800, which the AMD EXPO tuned to CL30/6000Mhz in a second, and an Asrock Taichi 670XE motherboard. The air cooler was a dual 120mm from BeQuite, and a 360mm Corsair AIO for water-cooling. Storage was a WD Black 850 NVMe.

This is an ad:

AMD Ryzen 5 7600X

This little 6-core 12-thread CPU is an absolute gem, priced at £319.99, the review unit delivered 5.45GHz out of the box, and hit 5.55GHz with a one-click overclock in AMD Precision Boost Overdrive - all while limited by the motherboard. Pretty good for something rated at 5.3GHz boost clock officially. I have previously compared my own AMD CPU with press samples provided, and at least in my case, there is no sign of cherry picking. Also, I chose to use an air cooler, as a 200 Euro AIO might seem a bit over the top for this sort of CPU. It did get hot, 87.6 degrees, while idling at 42.1 degrees. and there is definitely something to gain using water-cooling instead.

This thing kicks ass though, there is no other way to put it. It beats the AMD 5900X in all tests, and even manages to beat the Intel 12900K in a lot of tests as well, even the synthetic ones. Yes, Raptorlake is just around the corner, but the 12900K was still the top model when Intel launched their current generation of CPU's. There was a little trouble with a few tests, such as Cyberpunk 2077 crashing constantly, same with Metro Exodus, but we we will try and update on this later.

AMD Ryzen 7000

Synthetic Benchmarks:

3D Benchmark
Time Spy: 16984
Time Spy Extreme: 8685
Port Royal: 13139
Fire Strike Ultra: 12732
Fire Strike Extreme: 23106
Fire Strike: 37896

Cinebench R23
15123 multi / 1933 single

Passmark 10 CPU
29411.1

FPS - all settings on max, no DLSS unless noted.

Total War: Warhammer III
1080p: 142.7
1440p: 106.6
4K: 59.1 - I have still not experienced any setup that can go 60+ FPS. Perhaps the upcoming AMD graphics cards can do this.

Hitman 3, Dubai - DLSS
1080p: 296.94
1440p: 252.72
4K: 169.8

Assassins Creed Valhalla
1080p: 112
1440p: 96
4K: 67

Far Cry 6
1080p: 109
1440p: 106
4K: 75

Dirt 5
1080p: 182.3
1440p: 146.5
4K: 100.9

AMD Ryzen 7000

AMD Ryzen 9 7900X

This is the successor to the acclaimed 5900X, 12-cores, 24-threads, and a max boost clock on paper of 5.6Ghz. Ours did 5.7 GHz out the box, and even with the limitations of the bios, I still hit 5.9GHz with one click in the Ryzen Master software. With a base clock of 4.7GHz, this chip starts even after the 5900X ends. Very impressive. The TDP has gone up, a lot. 170 Watt is the official number, I measured 184.6 and overclocked we were looking at 226.84 watt TDP which gave a max temperature of 83.25 degrees. It isn't cheap at £579.99, but still more or less the same price as the 5900X at launch.

Synthetic Benchmarks:

3D Benchmark
Time Spy: 19023
Time Spy Extreme: 10009
Port Royal: 13126
Fire Strike Ultra: 12896
Fire Strike Extreme: 23792
Fire Strike:39653

AIDA64 CPU Queen
111897

Blender - BMW CPU
1:20:41

Cinebench
R20: 11198
R23: 27201

Passmark 10
Benchmark: 10846.3
CPU Benchmark: 51016.6

FPS - all settings on max, no DLSS unless noted.

Total War: Warhammer III
1080p: 143.4
1440p: 103.7
4K: 59.2

AMD Ryzen 7000

Hitman 3, Dubai - DLSS
1080p: 332.72
1440p: 276.72
4K: 171.99

Assassins Creed Valhalla
1080p: 115
1440p: 97
4K: 65

Far Cry 6
1080p: 124
1440p: 115
4K: 75

Horizon Zero Dawn normal/DLSS
1080p: 171 / 190
1440p: 147 / 162
4K: 91 / 118

So, looking at the Intel i9 and the 12900K, and Ryzen 9 5900X, these are left in the dust, how much really depends on the application and game, but overall, it's a massive improvement. Blender reveals a huge leap forward in raw computing power, and many of the games have just reached their limits, such as The Division 2 which showed some, but not much improvement, while a game like Total War: Warhammer II had a massive 50+ FPS increase in 1080p, but only a few extra frames in 4K - simply because we have reached the limits of the game and the graphics card.

Given a new generation of graphics cards and upcoming updates for both firmware, drivers and motherboard bios, I cant help but feel that even more performance is to be had with the new Zen4 platform and the 7000 series of CPU's. AMD's entry into DDR5 and PCIe 5.0 is a clear success, and I can only applaud their launch, only hoping that enough inventory will be available.

10 Gamereactor UK
10 / 10
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