Last year the long-anticipated AMD Ryzen lineup shook the market and they are still going strong. The Zen+ CPUs have finally been released into the market with a great price to performance offer. Zen In The Computer, Zen In The Mind!
What does Ryzen 2nd Gen offer?
The refreshed Zen+ lineup is built on a 12nm process which brings improved performance and lowers power consumption to the table. Accompanying this will be the new X470 chipset which will provide better optimization for the 2nd gen CPUs, lower power consumption, and heat, Precision Boost 2 Technology, XFR 2.0. Overall a considerable improvement is to be expected. And X470 is also compatible with Zen 1st gen CPUs.
The Lineup
Ryzen 2nd generation has launched just in April 19, 2018, and it is in the forefront in the CPU space. Four AMD Zen+ chips were released, and with more to come, AMD is the best choice for building a new pc right now. The specs for the release are given below:
| Ryzen 7 2700X | Ryzen 7 2700 | Ryzen 5 2600X | Ryzen 5 2600 | ||
| Cores/Threads | 8/16 | 8/16 | 6/12 | 6/12 | |
| Base Clock | 3.7GHz | 3.2GHz | 3.6GHz | 3.4GHz | |
| Boost Clock | 4.3GHz | 4.1GHz | 4.2GHz | 3.9GHz | |
| L1 Cache | I: 64K. D: 32K | I: 64K. D: 32K | I: 64K. D: 32K | I: 64K. D: 32K | |
| L2 Cache | 512 KB/core | 512 KB/core | 512 KB/core | 512 KB/core | |
| L3 Cache | 16 MB | 16 MB | 16 MB | 16 MB | |
| DRAM Support | DDR4-2933 Dual Channel |
DDR4-2933 Dual Channel |
DDR4-2933 Dual Channel |
DDR4-2933 Dual Channel |
|
| PCIe Lanes (CPU) | 16 Free + 4 NVMe | 16 Free + 4 NVMe | 16 Free + 4 NVMe | 16 Free + 4 NVMe | |
| TDP | 105W | 65W | 95W | 65W | |
| Price | $329 | $299 | $229 | $199 | |
| Bundled cooler | Wraith Prism (LED) | Wraith Spire (LED) | Wraith Spire | Wraith Stealth | |
More About the Chips
Ryzen 7 2700 chips, going up against Intel i7s, are top of line 8 core/16 thread beast that rival even Intel’s i9 CPUs in terms of multi-core performance and have a respectable per core performance which is essential of gaming and many important programs. It’s a great choice for gamers and casual photo and video editing, encoding, rendering, CAD works, simulations etc. It’s also recommended for the popular art of internet streaming which requires good multi-core capabilities.
The Ryzen 5 2600 is a direct competitor to Intel’s i5 CPUs. With 6 cores and 12 threads, it does very well in games and leaps ahead of the i5 in multi-core workloads. The ‘X’ variants of these chips enable overclocking which, with proper cooling and power management, can considerably increase their performance. The included Wraith coolers with improved design can keep the CPU temperatures in check quite well. But a beefier aftermarket cooler is always recommended for overclocking, longevity and greater performance.
Conclusion:
This year AMD has gotten a great start with a fantastic new lineup of CPUs. Gigabyte, MSI, Asus etc. have already released a number of X470 motherboards to accompany the new Zen+. Such performance in these price points makes them a great bang for the buck. So whether it is a new pc build or a system upgrade, Zen+ is a very attractive choice for casuals and enthusiasts.
It seems like AMD will have great success in 2018. And with the upcoming ‘Zen 2’ design built on the 7nm process, AMD will finally be able to pull ahead of Intel’s long-reigning success in the CPU market. We all will have our eyes peeled, there is a great future of AMD.
