AMD Ryzen CPU Release Date, Specs, Price News: AMD Confirms Launch in March, 6-Core Variant Spotted in New Leak
Tech aficionados are brimming with excitement after it was revealed that the highly anticipated AMD Ryzen central processing units (CPUs) will finally be released this March.
This particular release window was confirmed by CEO Lisa Su during the company's fourth-quarter and annual 2016 earnings call. According to reports, Su also said, "there will be widespread system availability from day one." This means that AMD's next-generation chips will be made available to channel vendors first before more traditional hardware vendors.
In terms of a specific release date, rumors suggest that the AMD Ryzen's launch will take place in the first three days of March. This speculation gained traction online as it was revealed that AMD is scheduled to present an "Optimizing for AMD Ryzen CPU" panel on Thursday, March 2, during the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco.
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Meanwhile, when it comes to technical specifications, the Zen-based Ryzen chips were previously rumored to only be offered as four-core or eight-core products. Thankfully, a new leak debunks the speculation that AMD would not be offering a six-core variant of the Ryzen CPU. Videocardz has compiled proof sourced from three different sources to support this development.
According to WCCFTech, there are at least four versions of the AMD Ryzen that have been entered into the benchmark database.
One AMD Ryzen eight-core model with the label "ZD3406BAM88F4_38/34_Y" has 16 threads of simultaneous multithreading (SMT) with a base clock speed of 3.4 GHz and a boost clock speed of 3.8 GHz. It features 16 MB of level 3 (L3) cache and 4 MB of level 2 (L2) cache. Furthermore, the CPU has a thermal design power (TDP) of 95 watts and supports overclocking via an unlocked multiplier.
Meanwhile, another eight-core variant was seen earlier this year during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). This specific CPU has a "1D3601A2M88F3_39/36_N" codename and features a 3.6 GHz base clock speed and a 3.9 GHz boost clock speed. There is also a third eight-core model, "ZD3601BAM88F4_40/36_Y," with a 3.6 GHz base clock speed and a 4.0 GHz boost clock speed.
Finally, one AMD Ryzen six-core model with the label "ZD3301BBM6IF4_37/33_Y" was also spotted with 12 SMT threads, 12 MB of L3 cache, 3.3 GHz base clock and 3.7 GHz boost clock speeds and support for overclocking.
It was mentioned that these are only initial versions and that more models will be available at a later date.
The AMD Ryzen eight-core CPUs are expected to come with a price range of about $580 to $720. Meanwhile, the six-core variants could cost about $250.
