AMD is making a comeback and it looks like Intel has a fight on its hand. Image: AMD
Intel has lorded over the desktop PC CPU market for several years now while direct competitor AMD struggled to keep up. This time around, the age old rivalry between the two chip manufacturers is about to be rekindled through Ryzen 7.
Based on AMD’s Zen chip architecture, the Ryzen 7 is able to handle 52 percent more work than a similarly clocked predecessor, reports Engadget.
Ryzen 7 is made through a new 14-nanometer manufacturing process. This gives fives times more bandwidth plus some much-needed architectural upgrades. It is also AMD’s very first processor with simultaneous multithreading (Intel calls this Hyper-Threading).
Staying true to form, AMD continues to promise value for money even with the high-end focus of Ryzen 7. Sitting at the lowest end of the spectrum, the Ryzen 7 1700 is the cheapest desktop chip to be made available at $329 (over P16,000) starting March 2. It’s supposed to be a direct competition to its pricier Intel Core i7 7700K counterpart. Some benchmark reports show the AMD 3.4GHz 1700X could outperform the Core i7 6800K for a lower price tag.
AMD fans would be giddy at a chance to outdo Intel chips on a level playing field, but if some are skeptical, it wouldn’t be unwarranted. AMD performance claims usually stem from one benchmark (Cinebench R15), so that doesn’t really make the tests comprehensive. Such comparisons will have to wait until Ryzen 7 ships out to eagerly awaiting test benches.
To finally have AMD and Intel butting heads evenly once again would be refreshing for the industry. Consumers will be the real winners, as there will be more options and better prices to choose from, if AMD maintains their momentum. Alfred Bayle/JB