Today, AMD is celebrating 5 years of Ryzen CPUs which not only disrupted the entire segment but made AMD the undisputed king of the mainstream and enthusiast segments.
AMD Celebrates 5 Years of Ryzen, Dominating The Desktop, Mobile & HEDT Segment One Zen At A Time
Yes, it's now 5 years since AMD released its first information on its Zen core architecture that would go on to power it's Ryzen CPUs. Everyone was excited about AMD's Zen which was being developed under the leadership of AMD's CEO, Lisa Su, and by legendary chip architect, Jim Keller. Ryzen CPUs changed everything when they launched and each iteration brought even better performance and new features which were unlike what their competitor was doing. Even the likes of Zen+ and Zen 3 which weren't meant to be major architectural overhauls ended up bringing a significant amount of performance improvements.
In a mere 3 years since the launch of Ryzen CPUs, AMD ended up dominating the mainstream and enthusiast segments. And It wasn't just the mainstream desktop platforms where AMD was giving Intel a tough time but also the laptop segment and the HEDT segment. The AMD Ryzen mobile line almost instantly demolished Intel's high-end reign with Ryzen 4000 and Ryzen 5000 CPUs, offering better performance at far better efficiency. On the HEDT front where Intel had very strong roots & went all the way back to 2008, Ryzen Threadripper disrupted the market in such a way that it is the only HEDT option currently available with no competition in sight (until late 2022).
AMD also turned around the mindset with markets that were reluctant to purchase its CPUs during the Bulldozer era now lining up in droves to get hands-on the brand new Ryzen chips at launch day. Several online retailers now list AMD Ryzen CPUs and Ryzen laptops as their Top 10 purchases and the company's market share has continued to drive up thanks to the success of Zen and Ryzen.
AMD Confirms AM5 Platform With DDR5, PCIe 5.0 and Zen 4 Support In Late 2022, 3D V-Cache Comes To AM4 In Early 2022
Looking into the future, AMD's Director of Technical Marketing, Robert Hallock, confirmed that their next-generation AM5 platform will feature new technology support such as DDR5, PCIe 5.0 & will be compatible with the brand new Ryzen CPUs codenamed 'Raphael' featuring the next-gen Zen 4 core architecture in late 2022. AMD will also be introducing its Zen 3D V-Cache Ryzen CPUs in early 2022 which are confirmed for AM4 socket.
AMD Ryzen 'Zen 3D' Desktop CPU Expected Features:
- Minor optimization on TSMC's 7nm process node
- Up to 64 MB of Stacked cache per CCD (96 MB L3 per CCD)
- Up To 15% Average performance improvement in gaming
- Compatible With AM4 Platforms and existing motherboards
- Same TDP as existing consumer Ryzen CPUs
AMD Ryzen 'Zen 4' Desktop CPU Expected Features:
- Brand New Zen 4 CPU Cores (IPC / Architectural Improvements)
- Brand New TSMC 5nm process node with 6nm IOD
- Support on AM5 Platform With LGA1718 Socket
- Dual-Channel DDR5 Memory Support
- 28 PCIe Gen 4.0 Lanes (CPU Exclusive)
- 105-120W TDPs (Upper Bound Range ~170W)
The upcoming years are going to get even better as a reignited Intel brings much-needed competition back in the CPU space and AMD continues to excel at what it has been doing so far with its future Zen cores.
AMD Mainstream Desktop CPU Generations Comparison:
| AMD CPU Family | Codename | Processor Process | Processors Cores/Threads (Max) | TDPs (Max) | Platform | Platform Chipset | Memory Support | PCIe Support | Launch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryzen 1000 | Summit Ridge | 14nm (Zen 1) | 8/16 | 95W | AM4 | 300-Series | DDR4-2677 | Gen 3.0 | 2017 |
| Ryzen 2000 | Pinnacle Ridge | 12nm (Zen +) | 8/16 | 105W | AM4 | 400-Series | DDR4-2933 | Gen 3.0 | 2018 |
| Ryzen 3000 | Matisse | 7nm (Zen 2) | 16/32 | 105W | AM4 | 500-Series | DDR4-3200 | Gen 4.0 | 2019 |
| Ryzen 5000 | Vermeer | 7nm (Zen 3) | 16/32 | 105W | AM4 | 500-Series | DDR4-3200 | Gen 4.0 | 2020 |
| Ryzen 5000 3D | Warhol? | 7nm (Zen 3D) | 8/16 | 105W | AM4 | 500-Series | DDR4-3200 | Gen 4.0 | 2022 |
| Ryzen 7000 | Raphael | 5nm (Zen 4) | 16/32 | 170W | AM5 | 600-Series | DDR5-5200 | Gen 5.0 | 2022 |
| Ryzen 7000 3D | Raphael | 5nm (Zen 4) | 16/32 | 120W | AM5 | 600-Series | DDR5-5200 | Gen 5.0 | 2023 |
| Ryzen 9000 | Granite Ridge | 3nm (Zen 5) | 16/32 | TBA | AM5 | 800-Series | DDR5-5600+ | Gen 5.0 | 2024 |
About the author: A Software Engineer by training and a PC enthusiast by passion, Hassan Mujtaba serves as Wccftech's Senior Editor for hardware section. With years of experience in the industry, he specializes in deep-dive technical analysis of next-generation CPU and GPU architectures, motherboards, and cooling solutions. His work involves not only breaking news on upcoming technologies but also extensive hands-on reviews and benchmarking.
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