AMD has announced the new Ryzen 5000XT series update for its older AM4 socket comprising two new processors at Computex 2024 in Taipei, Taiwan. From July, you'll be able to get your hands on the Ryzen 9 5900XT and the Ryzen 7 5800XT, both with boosts over their predecessors.
You won't necessarily be punishing your wallet too badly, either. That's because the Ryzen 9 5900XT is set to retail for $359 (about £280 / AU536) and the Ryzen 7 5800XT will sell for $249 (around £195 / AU$373). For context, that's far cheaper than what the 5900X ($549 / £420 / AU$760) and 5800X ($499 / £399 / AU$700) sold for at release.
While AMD just unveiled the Ryzen 9000 series for the AM5 socket, Team Red clearly hasn't forgotten about its customers running older CPU hardware. The upcoming Ryzen 9 5900 XT features 16 cores and 32 threads with a max boost clock of up to 4.8 GHz, and 72MB cache on a 105W TDP.
Conversely, mid-range gamers after an upgrade aren't left in the dark either as the Ryzen 7 5800XT features eight cores and 16 threads with up to 4.8 GHz boost clock and 36MB cache and a 105 TDP. The boost clocks here are the big draw, as Team Red can squeeze the last drops of life out of the hardware dating back four years.
As a frame of reference, the 5800X from 2020 features the same eight cores and 16 threads, but a weaker boost clock of 4.7 GHz. You'll get slightly improved performance through this new chip at a price that's hard to beat. It also comes with a bundled-in Wraith Prism RGB cooler.
Things are more exciting with the jump up from the older 5900X to the 5900XT, however. That's because this new chipset bumps up the core count from 12 of its predecessor up to 16, the same core count as the 5950X. If you're running an older AM4 chipset with less under the hood, this upgrade could be a cost-effective way to far greater gaming and productivity performance.
AM4 lives on
It's an excellent pro-consumer move from AMD to continue to support customers still gaming on AM4 who haven't made the jump yet. With this socket type first appearing in 2017, it has a huge install base across three different Ryzen CPU generations, with last-generation gamers able to get huge boosts with the XT models.
Team Red appears commited to socket longevity and we've seen what this means with its AM5 socket at Computex 2024 with the unveiling of the Ryzen 9000 series. As the second-generation to use AM5, there's no signs of slowing down, as AMD promises to support the platform until at least 2027. That's a similar time frame with AM4, so if you're running an older Ryzen 2000, 3000, or weaker 5000 then this could be an excellent time to upgrade.
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