AMD is reportedly planning a refresh to its popular Ryzen 5000 processors, but they may be less impactful than we initially expected.
In a statement to Benchmark.pl, AMD revealed that it plans on releasing a revision for Ryzen 5000 processors, but that these new models won’t bring any performance improvements or additional functionality.
“As part of our continued effort to expand our manufacturing and logistics capabilities, AMD will gradually roll over AMD Ryzen 5000 Series Desktop Processors to [the] B2 Revision over the next six months. It does not bring functionality or performance improvements, and no BIOS update is required.”
Last generation, AMD updated some Ryzen 3000 processors with special “XT” variants. These updated models didn’t change anything about the processors they replaced outside of an extra 100MHz on the boost clock. In real-world use, the XT and non-XT models performed identically.
That looks like what’s happening here. Rumors suggest that AMD is updating the Ryzen 5 5600X and Ryzen 9 5950X with new models, and that the 5950X will have a 100MHz increase to its boost clock speed (just like last-gen’s 3900XT). AMD’s statement suggests that these updates won’t carry any explicit branding and will slowly work their way through the market. As for the 100MHz boost, that’s still up in the air.
Revisions like this could solve a host of issues that can’t be solved through software updates. In April, AMD warned users about a vulnerability in Zen 3 processors similar to the Spectre and Meltdown exploits from 2018. This exploit comes with Predictive Store Forwarding (PSF), which is implemented at the hardware level to speed up code execution. The Ryzen 5000 refresh will likely solve these problems.
A refresh can also help get more processors into the hands of people who want them. Although Ryzen 5000 processors are easier to find than graphics cards, AMD is still feeling the pull of the global semiconductor shortage and high demand for its latest range.
Regardless, it’s clear now that AMD isn’t releasing more powerful Ryzen 5000 processors. It looks like AMD has its sights set on Zen 4 and Ryzen 6000, which is rumored to bring features like PCIe 5.0 and DDR5 to a new AM5 socket.
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