Leaked Roadmap Reveals AMD's Ryzen CPU Lineup May Include Seventeen Units Starting March

Leaked roadmap shows AMD may release three classes of Ryzen desktop processors

By Kevin Parrish February 6, 2017

amd zen architecture ces 2017 ryzen 004 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

The first wave of AMD’s new Ryzen processors are expected to become available at the beginning of March for system builders and boutique PC vendors. However, the company has been rather quiet with regard to the number of available Ryzen desktop processor models and their clock speeds. All we’ve seen thus far is the eight-core sample used in demos, but now we have a supposed leaked list of 17 Ryzen processors AMD intends to introduce this year.

According to the list, Ryzen will be divided into three classes: the R7 models serving the top-end range, the mid-range R5 units, and the entry-level R3 units. All R7 processors will have eight cores and 16 threads while all R3 processors will sport four cores and four threads. The R5 range is the largest group of the three, with half consisting of six cores and 12 threads and the other half packed with four cores and eight threads.

Here they are:

Model	Cores	Threads	Clock Speeds	Intel Competitor
R7 1800X	8	16	3.0GHz to 3.6GHz	Core i7-6900K
R7 Pro 1800	8	16
R7 1700X	8	16		Core i7-7700K / 6800K
R7 1700	8	16		Core i7-7700
R7 Pro 1700	8	16
R5 1600X	6	12	3.2GHz to 3.5GHz	Core i5-7600K
R5 Pro 1600	6	12		Core i5-7600
R5 1500	6	12		Core i5-7500
R5 Pro 1500	6	12
R5 1400X	4	8	3.2GHz to 3.5GHz	Core i5-7400
R5 Pro 1400	4	8
R5 1300	4	8
R5 Pro 1300	4	8
R3 1200X	4	4	3.1GHz to 3.4GHz
R3 Pro 1200	4	4
R3 1100	4	4
R3 Pro 1100	4	4

Notice that each group includes “X” and “Pro” variants. The “X” designation could indicate that the processor is ideal for overclocking even though all Ryzen chips are unlocked. The “Pro” designation could mean that the processor targets workstations and servers in the enterprise market. As an example, AMD tacked on the “Pro” label to its latest APUs targeting businesses in October of 2016 that include AMD’s Secure Processor technology for creating a secure environment throughout the PC.

Unfortunately, that’s all we have for the Ryzen lineup. Only a number of these will be provided at launch, presumably the units without the “Pro” designation. OEMs like Dell and HP won’t have solutions ready to purchase at launch, thus business customers will have to wait until sometime after March before new Ryzen-based workstations and servers hit the market.

That said, AMD is targeting enthusiasts with the first wave of its Ryzen processors: those who want to build or purchase a high-end desktop or notebook for Ultra HD gaming and other high-performance computing needs. These will be complemented by graphics cards based on AMD’s next-generation Vega chip architecture, which are expected to arrive in the second quarter of 2017. These graphics cards will also target the enthusiast market and compete with Nvidia’s latest GeForce GTX 10 Series graphics cards.

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