It’s something of an open secret that AMD plans to launch Zen 5 Ryzen CPUs imminently, with more details expected about the core architecture in June during Computex 2024. How much (or little) the company will reveal about its new processors, though, remains a question mark. Thankfully, we at least have confirmation that AMD plans to share more details about Zen 5 as part of a Hot Chips 2024 keynote.
Given how impressed we are with the AMD Zen 4-clad Ryzen 7000 series processors in our best CPU shortlist, we naturally have high expectations for Zen 5. In lieu of official details, rumours aplenty have helped fill the void. Still, there’s no way of knowing whether Ryzen 7 7800X3D (mine included) is in danger of being usurped until we get chip to socket ourselves.
Starting August 25, Hot Chips will host dozens of keynotes and tutorials across three days, with contributions from the likes of Intel, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, Qualcomm, and, of course, AMD. The Zen 5 keynote takes place on the final day of the conference, August 27, presented by AMD CPU architect Brad Cohen and corporate fellow design engineer Mike Clark. Naturally, no finer details about the keynote are available, but we expect it will largely mirror the in-depth presentations of years past.
For now, the latest whispers on Zen 5 point to a more modest launch than the seismic shift that Zen 4 was. Earlier in May, Lenovo’s China Manager commented that Zen 5 IPC will only be 10% higher than Zen 4, citing Cinebench R23 single-core benchmarks. While the desktop lineup may be more of a refresh than a revolution, AMD Strix Point APU benchmarks paint Zen 5 in a more impressive light, paired with an RDNA 3.5 iGPU.
We’ll be on the show floor at Computex in June 2024, so expect first-hand coverage of everything AMD and more as details emerge. You’ll likely also see us at Hot Chips 2024, so stay tuned! In the meantime, though, give our Ryzen 9 7950X review a read, to learn more about our current favourite processor.
