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Intel will finally face some serious competition in the PC processor sector.
Having dominated the PC CPU gaming scene for years with its range of i5 and 97 processors, the company may soon see its position threatened by AMD, which is finally about to roll out a range of new CPUs.
Around the time the PS4 and Xbox One were rolled out, some had predicted that AMD – which provides the innards for both consoles – would enjoy a PC resurgence, with games that were developed with consoles’ multi-core technology in mind in theory performing better on AMD’s PC chips than those of its rival.
This proved not to be the case, however, with the vast majority of titles still faring far better with Intel’s more powerful chips.
The new AMD Ryzen range might change that, however. The company is preparing to launch the 8-core, 16-thread Ryzen 7 1800X (around 490), Ryzen 7 1700X (around 390), and Ryzen 7 1700 (around 320) in the very near future. It claims the 1800X is the world’s best-performing 8-core CPU and the 1700 the least power hungry 8-core CPU.
Indeed, AMD’s own demos have shown the 1800X outperforming Intel’s 8-core i7-6900k, which is a 1,000 chip. Whether that remains the case in general test conditions outside of AMD’s hands remains to be seen, of course.
But the message thus far is pretty clear – better performance and lower power consumption at a better price than Intel.
"2017 will be an unforgettable year for AMD, its technology partners and the PC industry as a whole, and we’re thrilled to kick off the year at CES by showing wide arrays of high-performance motherboard and PC designs from our OEM partners for whom the future is Ryzen," senior VP and GM of AMD’s computing and graphics group Jim Anderson said.
"AMD and our partners are committed to supporting enthusiasts, gamers, and creators with a new generation of computing innovation and choice through AMD Ryzen processor-based motherboards, custom-built PCs, and coolers built to support these impressive systems."
Whether Ryzen can realistically make a dent on Intel’s overwhelming dominance of the CPU sector of course remains to be seen.
