AMD Ryzen 5 AM4 6-Core and 4-core Processors Arriving April 11 Worldwide
Users who wished to grab a Ryzen 5 instead of a Ryzen 7 would not have to wait too long to upgrade or build a system on the AM4 platform now that AMD has announced an April 11 launch for their mainstream CPU segment line. The announcement was made in Beijing, China a few hours ago in front of press and partners. Processors on the $169 to $249 range represent the highest percentage of processors sold so this is an important market for AMD Ryzen’s success.
“Ryzen will ultimately bring innovation and competition to virtually every segment of the PC market, and Ryzen 5 is the next big step on that journey, designed to achieve new levels of compute performance for millions of PC users,” said Jim Anderson, senior vice president and general manager, Computing and Graphics Group, AMD. “AMD reinvigorated the high-performance desktop market with Ryzen 7 earlier this month, and AMD Ryzen 5 now brings the power and efficiency of the “Zen” core to users in the highly popular sub-$300 segment of the market.”
The AMD Ryzen 5 product line consists of the 6-core, 12-threaded Ryzen 5 1600X and Ryzen 5 1600 as well as the 4-core, 8-threaded Ryzen 5 1500X and Ryzen 5 1400. The 95-watt TDP Ryzen 5 1600X runs at 3.6GHz with a boost clock of 4.0GHz while the 65-watt TDP Ryzen 5 1600 starts at a base clock of 3.2GHz and boosts to 3.6GHz. The Ryzen 5 1500X meanwhile, runs at 3.5GHz to 3.7GHz and the Ryzen 5 1400 runs at 3.2GHz up to 3.4GHz boost, both having a 65W TDP. One core from each CCX is disabled to get the six-core variant and two cores from each CCX is disabled to get a four-core variant; makes you wonder if core enabling will make a return.
AMD Ryzen 5 Product Line:
| Product Line | Model |
Cores |
Threads |
Base Clock (GHz) | Boost Clock (GHz) | Included Cooler | TDP (Watts) | Suggested Price, SEP (USD) |
| AMD Ryzen 5 | 1600X | 6 | 12 | 3.6 | 4.0 | N/A | 95 | $249 |
| AMD Ryzen 5 | 1600 | 6 | 12 | 3.2 | 3.6 |
Wraith Spire |
65 | $219 |
| AMD Ryzen 5 | 1500X | 4 | 8 | 3.5 | 3.7 |
Wraith Spire |
65 | $189 |
| AMD Ryzen 5 | 1400 | 4 | 8 | 3.2 | 3.4 |
Wraith Stealth |
65 | $169 |
AMD recommends B350 chipset motherboards such as this Gigabyte AB350-Gaming 3 to pair with AMD Ryzen 5 CPUs for optimal value, although they can be used on high-end X370 chipset motherboards as well. AMD motherboards are much more affordable than Intel’s HEDT motherboard line anyway that you can most likely afford it without having to get a second mortgage. Three of the Ryzen 5 models will get bundled with a heatsink out of the box: Ryzen 5 1600 and Ryzen 5 1500X will get a Wraith Spire CPU cooler while the AMD Ryzen 5 1400 will get a Wraith Stealth CPU cooler. Unfortunately for RGB LED fans, that feature was limited only to the Ryzen 7 heatsink models, but you can always mod a Wraith Spire CPU Cooler to have one.
