AMD is about to reveal its next-gen Zen 5 desktop CPUs, which are expected to be the Ryzen 9000 family, next week – and the processors should be on sale not long after that, if a leaker is correct.
VideoCardz noticed that on Chiphell, leaker wjm47196 – a regular contributor to the grapevine, albeit a clunkily named one – posted a not-all-that-cryptic reference to ‘Ferrari’s new engines’ that clearly refers to AMD’s Ryzen 9000 range.
We’re told exactly what the rumor mill has maintained for some time now – that the next-gen candidates for our list of the best CPUs will be built on 16-core (flagship), 12-core, 8-core, and 6-core models, mirroring current Ryzen 7000 desktop chips. There's also a claim that AMD is not going the way of Intel with power-efficient ‘small’ cores – not yet, anyway.
Wjm47196 then tells us that what should be the Ryzen 9000 line-up will debut at Computex next week, and that the CPUs will be on sale in July. So, we’re looking at a June launch followed by the chips being on shelves at some point in July.
Analysis: Faster than a speeding arrow
This is doubtless what Intel fears – an early launch for Ryzen 9000, and it looks like AMD is pushing for this to happen. Of course, we can’t be sure based on any one rumor, but the talk of Zen 5 CPUs arriving in Q3 has been pretty consistent of late. Furthermore, it’s been backed up by some motherboard makers issuing BIOS updates for their products – one of which called the release of Ryzen 9000 processors ‘imminent’ as you may recall.
So, this latest chatter very much reinforces the expectation that Ryzen 9000 will be happening soon enough, and an on-sale date of July is certainly believable at this point – and as mentioned, bad news for Intel.
That’s mainly because Intel’s desktop rival, Arrow Lake, isn’t expected until later in 2024, leaving AMD to pull ahead in the battle of the CPUs here. It also raises the prospect that by the time Arrow Lake arrives, AMD might even have 3D V-Cache processors (X3D) for Ryzen 9000 out – further extending its lead, particularly when it comes to PC gaming.
Intel could be left seriously struggling to catch up, in short, although Arrow Lake is expected to ramp up performance nicely, offering a hefty generational increase – though Team Blue might need it, frankly.
