AMD has confirmed the upcoming release of its flagship Ryzen 7 processors and the first three models will come out in 8-core/16-thread with starting price of $320. To counter Intel's Core i7 CPUs, AMD will soon ship out the Ryzen 7 1800X, 1700X and 1700 but it is the latter chip that likely will get the most attention.
WCCFTech has pitted the Ryzen 7 1700 against its likely Intel rival - the Core i7-6900K - as the two have nearly identical specifications and presumably high-end processing capabilities. The two chips share a base clock speed of 3.7GHz and both are packaged as muscle car CPUs - boasting of mighty eight cores in 16-thread.
But Ryzen 7 1700 and Intel i7-6900K will go separate ways when it comes to thermal design power (TDP) rating and pricing. It is the latter that gains the upper hand. The i7 chip is rated at 140W while the 1700's TDP is way below at 65W.
And when the pricing will define the AMD-Intel competition, it is downright that Ryzen that will win favor from consumers. The same report indicated that the Ryzen 7 1700 will sell for no more than $320 a pop and with the package "you can build an entire VR and 1440p ready gaming, rendering and editing workstation for less than what it would cost you to buy one 6900K."
Another thing going for Ryzen is the unlocked frequency multipliers feature that is available across the board, meaning buyers getting the Ryzen 7, 5 and 3 chips (formerly codenamed R7, R5 and R3) will experience nearly the same overclocking treat that is not freely available with Intel. In fact, the same report said that overclocking in Kaby Lake is limited to only three CPUs versus to 17 AMD Ryzen chips.
The process of overclocking any of the Ryzen chips has also been simplified by AMD. Users need only to get the compatible AM4 motherboards - any of the affordable B350 or the more premium X370 will do - and they are good to go. The chipmaker has repeatedly assured that from Day One, overclocking on Ryzen is a go since AMD motherboards will be readily available along with the necessary air and water cooling solutions.
Now users opting to utilize high-end air and water cooling accessories stand to greatly benefit from Ryzen's exclusive feature - XFR or Extended Frequency Range. WCCFTech said that when any of the Ryzen CPUs are paired with a premium cooling solution, XFR will automatically kick in when required.
The Ryzen 7 1700, for instance, will breach its normal clock speed for more optimal performance even without manual overclocking tweaks on the part of the user.
Leaked details have so far indicated that the Ryzen 7 1800X, 1700X and 1700 will become available between February 28 and March 2, a timeline that is in line with the recent hint from AMD CEO Lisa Su that release date of the Summit Ridge processors will happen early next month.