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| Image: AMD |
AMD's Ryzen 4000 series was announced back at CES 2020, and its flagship Zen 3 architecture is almost here.
Once the undisputed market leader for desktop processors, Intel has been looking over its shoulder in recent years.
Officially unveiled at CES in January 2020, the Ryzen 4000 series includes the Zen 3, a CPU specifically designed for desktop PCs. Codenamed Vermeer, it's targeted primarily at gamers, but the performance it's expected to offer will be beneficial in a range of different use cases.
AMD Zen 3 release date
We have official confirmation that the Zen 3 will be launched in October 2020, courtesy of CEO Lisa Su:
It’s going to be an exciting fall for gamers... time to start a new journey with @AMDRyzen Zen3 and @Radeon RDNA2 pic.twitter.com/O9SXvLo4y0
— Lisa Su (@LisaSu) September 9, 2020
8 October is listed at the end of the 15-second clip, but it's unclear whether that's a release date or simply when the new chip will be officially announced. Even if it ends up being the latter, we'd still expect the Zen 3 to be available before the end of October.
AMD Zen 3 price
There are no concrete rumours about how much the Zen 3 will cost, so our best guess comes from the pricing of the Zen 2:
- AMD Ryzen 9 3950X: US$749 (approx £590/AU$1,080)
- AMD Ryzen 9 3900X: US$499 (approx £390/AU$720)
- AMD Ryzen 7 3800X: US$399 (approx £310/AU$580)
- AMD Ryzen 7 3700X: US$329 (approx £260/AU$480)
- AMD Ryzen 5 3600X: US$249 (approx £200/AU$360)
- AMD Ryzen 5 3600: US$199 (approx £160/AU$290)
- AMD Ryzen 5 3400G: US$149 (approx £139/AU$240)
- AMD Ryzen 3 3300G: US$99 (approx £94/AU$144)
The Zen 3 is also expected to have four main tiers of processing power, so we wouldn't expect AMD to deviate too far on price. This is already lower than Intel's equivalent, although efficiency improvements may drive the price down even further.
AMD Zen 3 features and spec rumours
We're expecting the Zen 3 to be a big step up over its predecessor, which was already among the most powerful CPU chipsets on the market.
Retaining the ultra-thin 7nm infrastructure, the Zen 3 is expected to move to extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. It is thought that this will allow for a 20% increase in performance as well as a 10% decrease in power consumption. There may also be higher clock speeds, especially with Zen 3 is expected to max out at an eye-watering 12 cores in the Ryzen 9 5900X.
However, AMD is also prioritising sustainability, in order to preserve the long-term performance of the chipset. This means the company may limit boost clocking speeds, but maintain them for a longer period of time. This shouldn't have any adverse effect on its ability to handle even the most demanding PC games.
In summary, we're expecting a significant performance boost and reduced power consumption within the same 7nm body, all while keeping pricing the same or even less than its predecessor. On paper, it sounds like a winning formula, but it remains to be seen how well it holds up in real-world usage.
We'll update this article as soon as we know more. In the meantime, check out AMD's upcoming series of GPUs, known as the Radeon RX 6000 Series.
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