Skip to main content

AMD’s Ryzen 9000 CPUs just got a lot faster

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X installed in a motherboard.
Jacob Roach / Digital Trends

AMD just announced that some of its best processors are about to become even better. The company unveiled a number of Ryzen 9000 improvements, ranging from a much higher TDP for some of the CPUs to the core-to-core latency improvements we’ve already heard about. AMD is also now supporting higher-clocked DDR5 RAM, and that’s not even all of today’s announcements.

The latest BIOS update, named AGESA PI 1.2.0.2, brings a few things, but if you ask me, the biggest change is that AMD is increasing the thermal design power (TDP) of two of its CPUs.

Recommended Videos

The Ryzen 7 9700X and the Ryzen 5 9600X were initially both locked at a TDP of 65 watts, which many found quite limiting when compared to the 120-watt TDP of the Ryzen 9 9900X, not to mention the 170-watt Ryzen 9 9950X. AMD’s explanation for that design choice is that it envisioned the lower-end CPUs as options for efficient performance. To make them more viable for enthusiasts, AMD has now given the 9700X and the 9600X a new TDP of 105 watts.

Raising the TDP by over 60% through a firmware update sounds dangerous, but AMD clarifies that the CPUs have been validated at 105W. What’s more, the 105-watt limit is warrantied — so you can safely unlock it without worrying about voiding the warranty. AMD does note, however, that you’ll need a better CPU cooler to keep all that extra heat at bay.

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X between two finger tips.
Jacob Roach / Digital Trends

AMD hasn’t specified how the higher TDP might affect things like clock speeds or performance, and reviewers will likely have to re-test these two CPUs to check what’s going on in that department. Still, given the minimal generational gains from Zen 4 to Zen 5, this TDP change sounds like a good move.

Next is the aforementioned core-to-core latency boost. Early adopters and reviewers alike noticed that the inter-CCD (core complex die) latency on the Ryzen 9000 was about 50% higher than on the Ryzen 7000. Those who already got the new firmware and tested it last week have already confirmed that AMD has addressed the issue, meaning a 50% lower latency on the Zen 5 — as it should be.

Now, for some hardware improvements: AMD has enabled EXPO support for DDR5-8000 memory. RAM clocked that high is among some of the best RAM currently out there, and most gamers don’t currently need these kinds of frequencies. AMD notes that switching from DDR5-6000 to DDR5-8000 boosts the latency by around 1 to 2ns.

A chart of all the AM5 motherboards.
AMD

AMD also talked about the new X870 and X870E motherboards that are here, offering the most out of what the AM5 socket can supply right now. These motherboards will include support for full-speed PCIe Gen 5.0, both graphics and storage — just in time for the RTX 50-series, which is said to use that interface.

Benchmarks of the new Ryzen 9000 CPUs usually show that they’re great for productivity but they fail to offer any significant improvements in gaming. It also turns out that the CPUs were about 10% slower than they should have been, but all of that should now be fixed with the mandatory Windows Updates that offer branch prediction optimizations. Once all the new updates have been taken into account, we’ll know whether they make a dent in CPU performance or not.

Monica J. White
Monica is a computing writer at Digital Trends, focusing on PC hardware. Since joining the team in 2021, Monica has written…
New Ryzen 7 9800X3D leak: ‘This legend is unbeatable’
The Ryzen 7 7800X3D installed in a motherboard.

AMD may have just released its new Zen 5 lineup less than two months ago, but the processor that all gamers are waiting for is definitely the Ryzen 7 9800X3D -- and it seems to be a lot closer than we thought. A few days after an initial report that the 9800X3D would launch this year, another leak reaffirmed this by sharing promotional material about the CPU. It really looks like AMD is banking on the 9800X3D to be the best processor of the year. This isn't the only sign of an imminent launch.

A leaked slide comes from Moore's Law Is Dead, who also cited his own anonymous sources as he talked about the CPU. Before we dive in, remember that all of this has yet to be confirmed by AMD, although the promotional material certainly looks legitimate.

Read more
AMD’s Ryzen 7 9800X3D might show up sooner than expected
AMD CEO holding 3D V-Cache CPU.

AMD might be moving on 3D V-Cache versions of its Ryzen 9000 CPUs faster than expected. According to a leaker on the Chiphell forums, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, which could be among the best processors when it releases, might arrive as soon as next month.

VideoCardz dug up the news, which started on the Chiphell forums. The leaker goes by the name zhangzhonhao, but VideoCardz notes that they went under a different alias previously, and that they have a long history of leaking company road maps. The forum post claims AMD will release the Ryzen 7 9800X3D at the end of October, while the Ryzen 9 9900X3D and Ryzen 9 9950X3D will arrive later. The leaker suspects they'll show up in early 2025 with "some new features."

Read more
AMD’s Ryzen 9000 series faces disastrous sales post-launch
The Ryzen 9 9950X between someone's fingertips.

AMD’s Ryzen 9000 series is facing a challenging reception in the desktop CPU market. Just over a month since its release, new reports indicate that the Ryzen 9000 series has experienced low sales, making it one of AMD's most disappointing launches since the ill-fated Bulldozer architecture in 2011.

This downturn has significant implications for AMD's fight against Intel, especially given the momentum it gained with its previous Ryzen generations.
Retail struggles and global impact
Retailers across various regions are reporting poor sales numbers for the Ryzen 9000 series. For instance, TechSpot reports that Australian retailers have described this as the worst Ryzen launch since AMD first introduced the brand. Sales were so low that some stores reported single-digit figures for units sold within the first few weeks.

Read more