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AMD Ryzen is giving a lot to talk about, but will these new processors be able to compete with Intel processors in power and price?
We are just days away from the arrival of the AMD Ryzen processors on the market and the first benchmarks are leaking. We are not going to take them as 100% reliable, that is clear, but they offer us a first information about where AMD processors will go with respect to Intel processors. The problem that is occurring, on the part of some unprofessional media, is to distort the data and offer a reality that does not correspond to the data of the processors of both companies.
AMD Ryzen
First of all, we must know that officially on March 7, only three processors will come out, in principle. The AMD Ryzen 1800 3.6X, which has eight cores and sixteen processing threads, with a base frequency of 4.0GHz and a Boost mode of 100GHz and has XFR technology, which improves the processor frequency in steps of 600MHz, up to a stop, which is marked by the temperature that the processor would take, therefore the better heatsink, the higher the temperature. This processor will have an approximate price of € XNUMX.
We continue with the AMD Ryzen 7 1700X processor, which also has eight cores and sixteen processing threads. This processor works at a frequency of 3.4GHz and a Boost mode of 3.8GHz. This processor also has XFR technology, which raises the frequency in steps of 100MHz, up to the temperature limit and always depending on the heatsink that we have installed. This processor will be priced at € 470.
The last processor that is known to be released on March 7 is the AMD Ryzen 1700 3.0, which will also be with eight cores and sixteen threads, with base working frequencies of 3.7GHz and a 390GHz Boost mode. Unlike the previous two, this one will not have XFR technology, which is reserved only for processors with the 'X' nomenclature. This processor will be priced at € XNUMX.
| MODEL AMD RYZEN | PROCESSING CORES / THREADS | BASE FREQUENCY RANGE | COMPETENCE WITH INTEL |
| Ryzen Ryzen 7 1800X | 8/16 | 3.6 GHz - 4.0 GHz | Intel Core i7-6900K |
| Ryzen Ryzen 7 Pro 1800 | 8/16 | ~ 3.0 GHz - 3.6 GHz | Intel Core i7-6800K |
| Ryzen Ryzen 7 1700X | 8/16 | 3.4 GHz - 3.8 GHz | Intel Core i7-7700K |
| Ryzen Ryzen 7 1700 | 8/16 | 3.0 GHz - 3.7 GHz | Intel Core i7-7700 |
| Ryzen Ryzen 7 Pro 1700 | 8/16 | ~ 3.0 GHz - 3.6 GHz | TBD |
AMD Ryzen VS Intel Kaby Lake and Broadwell-E
According to reports, the AMD Ryzen 7 1800X should compete with the i7 6900K (Broadwell-E). Intel's processor has eight cores and sixteen threads, with a base frequency of 3.2GHz and a boost mode of 3.7. Logically, this Intel processor does not have XFR, since it is an exclusive AMD technology, for now. This processor is around € 1150.
We move on to the Ryzen 7 1700, which competes with the i7 7700K (Kaby Lake), which has four cores and eight processing threads, with a base frequency of 4.2GHz and a Boost mode of 4.5GHz. Neither has XFR, which is even competition. We highlight the i7 7700K, which we have been able to analyze and that you have on the web, which has quite significant temperature problems, even with an RL and that we think is the best Skylake option, since it offers a minimal improvement in frequency and number of threads. This processor is around € 350.
Finally we have the Ryzen 7 1700K, which must compete with the i7 7700 (Skylake), which has four cores and eight processing threads, working at a base frequency of 3.6GHz and a Boost mode of 4.2GHz. Coincidentally, this processor does not have XFR either, since it is exclusive AMD technology. This processor is around € 330.
Which one should I buy?
The i7 6900K processor is an absurdity, because it is Broadwell-E, which offers Quad Channel of DDR4 RAM, so you would have to put at least four cores, not counting the price, which is around € 1200, almost double that of the AMD Ryzen 7 1800X. Both processors are an absurdity, nowadays for the gaming sector, since NO game will use all the cores. For photography or video rendering tasks, they can come in handy, although the Ryzen 7 1800X may be inferior in power and only support Dual Channel DDR4, right now, it is twice the better option than the Intel processor, for price.
We jump to the Ryzen 1700X, which, if when it hits the market, it fails to beat the Intel i7 7700K, in tests, we are facing an AMD failure. It's simple, doubling the processing cores and threads should be a win for AMD without the need for overclocking. Anything that does not happen to the Intel processor, it is a very bad data and more considering that the AMD processor is about € 100 more expensive. The Intel processor in temperature is quite bad, being clear, but in price they move the same. The big difference must be in work, since the AMD Ryzen processor should be much more powerful than the Intel processor. If they can't compete in power, AMD will have another problem.
Then we have the Ryzen 7 1700 and the i7 7700. The AMD processor should be far superior, since it also doubles in threads and processing cores, but it also has overclocking, which the Intel processor does not. If AMD cannot handle this processor under normal conditions, without the need for overclocking, we can be facing a relative failure of AMD.
AMD: point of no return
Let's be clear. Here it is not that you like more AMD or more Intel, the important thing here, at the moment is that Intel and AMD compete for the market. Intel has had many months of supremacy in the market and has set the prices it wanted, since only Intel had processors that supported DDR4. This is easy, if you have something that nobody has, you put the price you want and when someone takes something similar, you adjust prices. This is pure economics.
AMD's strategy has been to spend a while working 100% on the new processors, to surpass Intel. Ryzen is an all or nothing bet. If AMD can compete more or less well in performance and has cheaper processors than Intel, then the thing is clear, AMD will sell processors, especially by price and Intel will have to lower its processors. Now, if Ryzen is not up to the task, it may be that we are at the beginning of the Intel monopoly.
We want both to compete, we are not interested in Intel being above AMD, but that they are on par, to be able to build better equipment for less money. If the game does not go well for AMD, the company has a problem and is possibly precipitated to need the incorporation of an outside company to develop competent processors with Intel.
Coffee Lake and Cannon Lake
Okay, we've talked about Ryzen competing with Skylake, Kaby Lake, and Broadwell-E, but what about Coffee Lake and Cannon Lake? Well, things get complicated. If these processors are as good as you aim and Cannon Lake is at 10nm, it supports Quad Channel of DDR4 RAM and also supports SLI / CrossFireX configurations in x16 / x16 configuration, sorry a lot, AMD or throws out processors at full speed to match Intel or get closer, or it may end in catastrophe.
Conclusion
We are neither Intel nor AMD, we are realistic. We make budgets and many times make a budget between € 500-750, it is a headache, because we have to make a configuration and adjust prices, changing components to try not to get out. If the price of the processors goes down, we can mount a Core i5 or a future Ryzen 7, where before we would have put an i3 6300. Hopefully.
