The latest AMD CPUs have had the fans on edge for quite some time, and it seems like the mystery can finally be put to rest.
The new chip has been sighted on a few online retailer portals, like Hardwareschotte, with complete spec sheet and feature set. According to the information, the AMD Ryzen 7 1700 is an octa-core, 16-thread chip with a clock speed of 3.7 GHz and a $320 price tag. This puts it right in league with Intel’s Broadwell E i7 6900k. That’s right, AMD is launching a $320 CPU that is capable of competing with Intel’s $1099 chip. Not to mention that the Ryzen 7 1700 is rated at 65W, which is less than half of the i7’s 140W. The time for dropping jaws would be right about now.
What Ryzen 7 1700 is offering might as well be the most worthy in the Ryzen lineup, especially when you consider the price to performance ratio. Comparing it again to the Broadwell E i7 6900k, we’re talking the same number of cores, the same number of threads, and more or less similar performance, at about one-third the price. Even if the Ryzen 7 1700 turns out to be ten, twenty percent slower, it is quite a bargain. For some perspective: At the price point of $320, a VR-ready gaming PC will cost you less than one 6900k (Price of headset not included, of course).
| Product | Ryzen 7 1700 |
|---|---|
| Cores | 8 |
| Threads | 16 |
| Guaranteed Frequency | 3.7Ghz |
| Boost Frequency | Unlimited ( Cooling Dependent ) |
| Frequency Multiplier Adjustment ( for overclocking purposes ) | Unlocked |
| Power | 65W |
| Manufacturing Process | 14nm |
| L1-Cache | 8x 64 KiB |
| L2-Cache | 8x 512 KiB |
| L3-Cache | 16 MiB |
| Features & Instruction Set Extensions | MMX(+) • SSE • SSE2 • SSE3 • SSSE3 (Intel SSE4) • SSE4a (AMD SSE4) • SSSE4.1 • SSSE4.2 • AES • ABM • AVX • FMA3 • FMA4 • F16C • XOP • SMT (Simultaneous Multithreading) • AMD-V (Compute Virtualization) • VT-d/Vi (I/O MMU Virtualization) • x86-64/EM64T • NX-Bit/XD-Bit • EVP • TBT 3.0 (Turbo Core 3.0) |
| Power Efficiency Features | Cool’n’Quiet • CoolCore Technology • Enhanced Halt State (C1E) • Deep Power Down (C6) |
UNLIMITED POWER – Unlocked Multiplier and No Fixed Turbo Clock
Okay, I might be getting a little ahead of myself. Let’s just talk about the details. AMD claims that the all the Ryzen CPUs will have unlocked frequency multipliers, making overclocking a piece of cake (well, sort of). What this means that users will be able to overclock any one of the 17 SKUs easily, as long as they pair it up with a compatible motherboard that allows overclocking, by raising the multiplier from the motherboard’s BIOS/UEFI interface.
But the most fascinating bit about the latest range of chips is the incredible XFR feature. Short for Extended Frequency Range, it allows every Ryzen CPU to exceed its base clock speed whenever the thermal conditions allow. Meaning, if you invest in a better cooling solution, your Ryzen CPU will automatically work at higher work at higher clock speeds and offer better performance. In other words, you can say that the CPUs are effectively capable of overclocking themselves, provided the cooling conditions are favourable. What a time to be alive, right?
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