AMD's Ryzen chip is the first in the Summit Ridge line of processors. (Photo : YouTube / Hardware Unboxed)
AMD finally revealed the first Zen processor in the form of the Ryzen chip which is expected to be released in Q1 2017. Ryzen is also seen as a formidable competitor to Intel's current line of CPUs.
Intel was the top player in the processor field for both consumer and enterprise-grade applications. AMD processors were just a choice for those who were on a budget but that could change thanks to the new Zen chips coming in 2017.
Going forward, the Zen architecture will now be called Ryzen. The first AMD Ryzen chip in the Summit Ridge family will have a true octa-core 16-thread CPU with a minimum clock of 3.4GHz, Ars Technica reported. It is not as fast as the Intel i7-6700K with its 4GHz base clock but not everything is about the core frequency. Benchmarks are still being expected and some fans believe that Ryzen can beat some of Intel's heavy hitters.
One advantage of the first Ryzen chip is that it only has 100W TDP which is far lower than the Intel Broadwell-E's 140W TDP. It could mean that the processor will run cooler and therefore have theoretically faster speeds while overclocked although that remains to be seen.
The Ryzen will be seen in Q1 2017, Extreme Tech quoted AMD's Lisa Su asa saying during their New Horizon event. It is not expected at CES 2017 as the company would have already said so if that was the case.
Also, the Ryzen boasts AMD's new SenseMi Machine Intelligence technology that promises a more efficient delivery of power to the CPU. This allows the clock speed and temperature to be adjusted accordingly without any problems.
AMD's Ryzen also has the Precision Boost technology that uses the information from the SenseMi to automatically adjust the clock speed in real time using 25MHz increments. The price has not been announced but AMD could also reveal it soon before its launch in 2017.
Find out more about the AMD Ryzen chip in the video below:
