Four chips rolled off the Ryzen 7000 Series line late last year. Equipped with either 105W or 170W TDPs, maximum performance was the main aim of Ryzen 5 7600X through to Ryzen 9 7950X. Building on that momentum, AMD today announces three further Zen 4-based processors armed with energy-efficient, 65W TDPs. Let’s examine them.
Ryzen 7000 Series Desktop Models
| Model | Cores / Threads | TDP | L3 Cache | Base Clock | Boost Clock | Cooler | Launch MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryzen 9 7950X | 16 / 32 | 170W | 64MB | 4.7GHz | 5.7GHz | No | $699 |
| Ryzen 9 7900X | 12 / 24 | 170W | 64MB | 4.7GHz | 5.6GHz | No | $549 |
| Ryzen 9 7900 | 12 / 24 | 65W | 64MB | 3.7GHz | 5.4GHz | Yes | $429 |
| Ryzen 7 7700X | 8 / 16 | 105W | 32MB | 4.5GHz | 5.4GHz | No | $399 |
| Ryzen 7 7700 | 8 / 16 | 65W | 32MB | 3.8GHz | 5.3GHz | Yes | $329 |
| Ryzen 5 7600X | 6 / 12 | 105W | 32MB | 4.7GHz | 5.3GHz | No | $299 |
| Ryzen 5 7600 | 6 / 12 | 65W | 32MB | 3.8GHz | 5.1GHz | Yes | $229 |
Analysis
First off, Ryzen 9 7900 is effectively a power-limited version of Ryzen 9 7900, dropping from a maximum 170W TDP all the way down to 65W. Other than that headline chop – and it’s a very significant one – the same 12 cores and 24 threads remain. A huge reduction in power means base and boost frequencies are naturally hurt, but as we have seen in our Ryzen 9 7950X at 65W article, general performance is still robust.
Of course, one can opt for a full-fat 7900X and run it at 65W – one would imagine the benchmark numbers ought to come out at similar levels – yet non-X has a couple of tricks up its sleeve. The first is a much lower retail price, dropping from $549 to $429. The real-world implication isn’t that great, however, as 7900X is routinely available for a street price of $465. The second is more meaningful for the 65W TDP, as Ryzen 9 7900 is bundled with an AMD Wraith Prism LED cooler in the box. That’s extra value right there.
Dropping down to Ryzen 7 7700 tells a similar story, though the massaging down to 65W ought to have less of an impact as the X-suffixed model it is readily compared to has only a 105W power budget. Again, there is a decent SRP reduction, from $399 to $329, but as before, 7700X is today available for $345. Like 7900, new 7700 is also bundled with Wraith Prism LED.
Last but not least, and set to counter the growing Intel 13th Gen Core desktop threat at mid-range levels, AMD introduces the $229 Ryzen 5 7600. Equipped with the more basic Wraith Stealth cooler in the box, value is the strongest play as unlike the other two aforementioned X models, regular 7600X remains steadfast at $299.
What’s more, the unlocked nature of AMD AM5 processors means you can probably turn each of these new chips into the X-suffixed counterpart with manual overclocking.
Reviews coming soon, people.
