AMD Ryzen 3 Speeds, Launch Date Announced; Ryzen Threadripper Prices and Specs Confirmed

AMD has taken the wraps off its highly anticipated Ryzen 3 and Ryzen Threadripper CPUs. The budget-focused Ryzen 3 line will target entry-level users, while the enthusiast-class Ryzen Threadripper is designed for those who want monstrous amounts of processing power in a desktop. AMD is hoping to gain an edge over Intel's offerings in the same space by offering higher performance and lower prices.

There are two Ryzen 3 models, which join the mid-range and high-end Ryzen 5 (Review) and Ryzen 7 (Review) families, completing AMD's new desktop platform. The Ryzen 3 1300X and Ryzen 3 1200 both have four cores but are not multi-threaded unlike all other CPUs announced so far. However, AMD will be counting on four physical cores as an advantage over Intel's Core i3 range which are all dual-core and use Hyper-Threading to deliver four threads. The Ryzen 3 1300X has a base speed of 3.5GHz and can boost up to 3.7GHz, while the Ryzen 3 1200 is clocked at 3.1GHz and 3.4GHz respectively. AMD has not announced other specifications such as cache sizes, but the names and speeds are consistent with the Ryzen 3 Pro lineup announced late last month, so we can expect 65W TDPs.

Pricing for the low-end chips has not been announced either, but with the most affordable Ryzen 5 priced at Rs. 12,199 in India, we can expect AMD to target the sub-Rs. 10,000 market. The biggest challenge for AMD will be that Ryzen 3 CPUs lack integrated graphics, which will drive the cost up for anyone choosing one of these CPUs over an Intel Core i3. These two CPUs are set to become available globally on July 27.

At the opposite end of the market, AMD has confirmed that its 16-core, 32-thread Ryzen Threadripper 1950X CPU will cost $999 (approximately Rs. 64,380), and there will also be a 12-core, 24-thread model called the Ryzen Threadripper 1920X, priced at $799 (approximately Rs. 51,485). The flagship 1950X model will run at a base speed of 3.4GHz and can boost up to 4.0GHz, while the slightly-cut-down 1920X can manage a higher 3.5GHz base speed but has the same boost ceiling.

Threadripper CPUs have Intel's new Core X-series processors, including the high-end Core i9 models, in their sights. With its announcement, AMD showed off demos of a $799 Ryzen Threadripper 1920X defeating the $999 10-core, 20-thread Intel Core i9-7900X by a comfortable margin in the Cinebench R15 benchmark which can take full advantage of multiple threads.

The Ryzen Threadripper platform brings workstation-class features to consumer desktops, such as 64 lanes of PCIe connectivity for up to four high-end graphics cards and multiple I/O devices running at full speed. All CPUs are also unlocked for overclocking.

While consumers will be able to buy boxed Threadripper CPUs, Dell will be the exclusive launch partner for pre-built PCs. Preorders for the Alienware Area 51 Threadripper Edition will open on July 27 in the US. More details about the Threadripper launch and AMD's upcoming Radeon Vega graphics cards will be announced at the annual SIGGRAPH conference which begins on July 30.