The specifications of AMD's upcoming Ryzen 7000 "Raphael Desktop CPUs based on the Zen 4 core are finally revealed to us by our sources and we can confirm that there are indeed going to be four SKUs at launch, the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, Ryzen 9 7900X, Ryzen 7 7700X and Ryzen 5 7600X.
AMD Ryzen 7000 "Raphael" Desktop CPU Specs Leak Out: Ryzen 9 7950X 16 Core Up To 5.7 GHz, Ryzen 9 7900X 12 Core, Ryzen 7 7700X 8 Core & Ryzen 5 7600X 6 Core
The AMD Ryzen 7000 Desktop CPU lineup, codenamed Raphael, will be launching on the 15th of September following an announcement later this month, as confirmed in our exclusive leak from the previous day. Now, we have managed to get hold of the final specifications of AMD's Ryzen 7000 Desktop CPU family which, as expected, are going to feature four SKUs based on the Zen 4 core architecture. Once again, these SKUs include:
- AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
- AMD Ryzen 9 7900X
- AMD Ryzen 7 7700X
- AMD Ryzen 5 7600X
So before getting into the core specifications, we have to point out that the AMD Zen 4 architecture brings with it a 8-10% IPC uplift but the majority of the performance benefit comes from the higher clock speeds and a higher TDP that is supplemented to each chip versus the prior generation. AMD has highlighted a >15% Single-Threaded, >35% Multi-Threaded and >25% Perf/Watt increases when comparing Zen 4 to Zen 3 cores.
The CPUs will come with an optimized cache restructuring, featuring double the L2 cache (1 MB vs 512 KB), a shared L3 cache like the previous generation, support for DDR5 memory with EXPO (AMD's Extended Profiles For Memory Overclocking), PCIe Gen 5.0 graphics card, and M.2 SSD support. So with all of that said, let's get on with the specifications.
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X 16 Core "Zen 4" Desktop CPU
Starting with the flagship of them all, we have the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X which retains its healthy 16 core and 32 thread count from the previous two generations. The CPU will feature an impressive base frequency of 4.5 GHz and a boost clock of up to 5.7 GHz which should make it 200 MHz faster than Intel's Alder Lake Core i9-12900KS which has a boost frequency of 5.5 GHz on a single-core. It looks like AMD is extracting every ounce of Hertz that it could within that 170W TDP (230W PPT) for the Ryzen 9 chips. As for the cache, the CPU comes with 80 MB of that which includes 64 MB from L3 (32 MB per CCD) and 16 MB from L2 (1 MB per core).
We don't know the pricing or performance of the Ryzen 9 7950X yet but based on the clocks alone, it should be a worthy successor to the Ryzen 9 5950X and will easily be able to topple Intel's current Core i9-12900K CPU.
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X 12 Core "Zen 4" Desktop CPU
Next up, we have another AMD Ryzen 9 chip, the 7900X, which as the name suggests, would come equipped with 12 cores and 24 threads. The CPU comes with an even higher base clock of 4.7 GHz and a boost clock adjusted at 5.6 GHz across a single core. The CPU retains its 170W TDP and gets 76 MB of cache (64 MB L3 + 12 MB L2). The CPU will be positioned in the same ballpark as the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X but with performance that would shake the ground from below the Core i7-12700K.
AMD Ryzen 7 7700X 8 Core "Zen 4" Desktop CPU
Moving over to the Ryzen 7 family, here we have the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X, an 8-core and 16-thread part. AMD positions this as the sweet spot for gamers and as such, the CPU will feature base clock of 4.5 GHz and a boost clock of 5.4 GHz but at a lower 105W TDP (142W PPT). The CPU will get a 40 MB cache pool which consists of 32 MB L3 from the singular CCD &8 MB L2 from the Zen 4 cores.
Now one interesting thing to mention is that there is so far no update by AMD on a Ryzen 7 7800X chip. It is likely that AMD wants to replace that part with a successor to the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with Zen 4 cores (3D V-Cache). If that was the case, we can expect an update later this year to the CPU lineup since the V-Cache parts have been confirmed for a late Q4 2022 launch by AMD themselves. Also, based on the segmentation alone, it looks like the Ryzen 7 7700X will be priced really well in the mainstream segment.
AMD Ryzen 5 7600X 6 Core "Zen 4" Desktop CPU
Last up, we have the most budget-tier chip (if you can call it that but the pricing won't be reflective of that), the Ryzen 5 7600X. This will be a 6-core and a 12-thread part that features a high 4.7 GHz base clock and a 5.3 GHz single-core boost frequency. The CPU will also run at a 105W TDP (142W PPT) which is much higher than its 65W predecessor though once again, that's the sacrifice you've to pay to achieve the faster clock speeds. The CPU will carry 38 MB of cache that comes from 32 MB of L3 and 6 MB of L2 on the die.
AMD Ryzen 7000 'Raphael' Desktop CPU Specs (Official):
| CPU Name | Architecture | Process Node | Cores / Threads | Base Clock | Boost Clock (SC Max) | Cache | TDP | Prices (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMD Ryzen 9 7950X | Zen 4 | 5nm | 16/32 | 4.5 GHz | 5.7 GHz | 80 MB (64+16) | 170W | $699 US |
| AMD Ryzen 9 7900X | Zen 4 | 5nm | 12/24 | 4.7 GHz | 5.6 GHz | 76 MB (64+12) | 170W | $549 US |
| AMD Ryzen 7 7700X | Zen 4 | 5nm | 8/16 | 4.5 GHz | 5.4 GHz | 40 MB (32+8) | 105W | $399 US |
| AMD Ryzen 5 7600X | Zen 4 | 5nm | 6/12 | 4.7 GHz | 5.3 GHz | 38 MB (32+6) | 105W | $299 US |
Users Only Allowed To Undervolt AMD Ryzen 7000 Desktop CPUs?
We have one more crucial piece of information that we were able to learn. According to the same sources, the AMD Ryzen 7000 Desktop CPUs based on the Zen 4 core architecture may only allow users to undervolt the chip itself. This would be similar to the Ryzen 7 5800X3D which also had a voltage limit that wasn't meant to be exceeded. It looks like AMD may already be running the CPUs at a high enough voltage to achieve the higher clock speeds that there might be little to no room left for further overclocking. We have heard about the 5.85 GHz frequency limit before and that leaves the top parts with just 150 MHz to work with.
With that said, we have seen AMD mention Extreme and Enthusiast overclocking for their X670E and X670 class motherboards. That might be in relation to DDR5 memory but that remains to be seen. I personally believe that overclocking such as PBO will be available but limited to some extent on the first AM5 generation.
That's all the information we got for you but we'll see you in a few hours during the AMD Meet The Experts webcast where we hopefully might learn a few tidbits about DDR5 EXPO support since that is one of the main highlights of the AM5 platform itself. There's no launch or announcement that's going to be made during the Livestream since that's planned for the 29th of August as we have already reported but we might learn a thing or two about the AM5 ecosystem itself.
