AMD unveils Ryzen 3000-series processors with first Ryzen 9 category!

AMD unveils Ryzen 3000-series processors with first Ryzen 9 category!

First previewed at CES 2019, AMD opened Computex 2019 with a bang by launching its new 3rd generation Ryzen desktop processor family and the first to sport a high-performance tier part like the 12-core Ryzen 9 processor.

Unlike the AMD Ryzen 3000-series mobile CPUs launched in early 2019, the upcoming desktop Ryzen 3000-series utilizes a new Zen 2 core based on an advanced 7nm process technology, AMD says that it will beat the historical generational performance updates with an estimated 15% IPC (instructions per clock) uplift over their existing Zen based processor architectures. AMD also states that they've doubled the floating point performance capabilities and even doubled the cache size! These improvements are important as the Ryzen 3000-series is positioned as a solution for content creators who want to achieve much more and gamers who would appreciate lower latency from the high processing demands with a much larger cache. Also note that there is no updated 3rd Gen Thredripper at this point in time, so the improved 3rd Gen Ryzen is rising up to the challenge to fill in its shoes.

The new Zen 2 core not only powers the 3rd generation Ryzen desktop family, but also the upcoming 7nm EPYC processors.

First to support PCIe 4.0 connectivity

Paired with the new AMD X570 chipset, the world's first chipset to support PCIe 4.0, AMD's Ryzen 3000-series will be the first to boast the new standard for greater gaming performance throughput when compatible graphics cards launch. AMD will be launching their upcoming Radeon RX 5700-series graphics cards (Navi GPU cores - finally!) that sport GDDR6 memory and support for PCIe 4.0 interface in the coming weeks ahead (launch date set for July) and that will complete their new platform offering.

Currently, PCIe 3.0 supports data transfers at up to 1GB/s per lane and that amounts to 16GB/s on a typical PCIe x16 slot. PCIe 4.0 doubles the bandwidth to 32GB/s thanks to supporting up to 2GB/s per lane. Other than improved graphics performance, the increased bandwidth also means faster file storage, application loading, and speedier network interfaces as we go beyond gigabit Ethernet speeds. AMD claims up to 42% speedup in storage performance (sequential read/write in Crystal Diskmark) as tested in their labs with a Phison supplied PCIe 4.0 NVMe based 2TB drive. Whether everyone would benefit by the same degree remains to be seen, but AMD is working closely with Phison to enable the first PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe controllers for consumer storage devices and SSD vendors like Corsair, Galaxy and Gigabyte.
 

3rd Gen AMD Ryzen desktop processor and availability

The magic date for retail availability is 7th July, at least in the US. Going by past launches, we expect local availability to coincide with the US release schedule too.

Comparing an equivalent product from the currnet Ryzen 2000-series such as the Ryzen 7 2700X against a the upcoming Ryzen 7 3700X part, both are 8-core processors that can process up to 16 threads simultaneously, but the big difference is that the Ryzen 7 3700X has a far lower TDP of 65W against the 2700X's 105W, more than double the cache size (36MB vs. 16MB) and all that at the same asking price (US$329 roughly equates to the local price of S$485). All in, you're getting quite a big boost at the same price point and we haven't even looked at the finer details like what the Zen 2 core brings in addition to the speedier base and boost core clocks.

The star of the family is none other than the 12-core Ryzen 9 3900X that can crunch up to 24 threads, boost up to 4.6GHz, has 70MB of cache in total and all this at 105W TDP with a suggested retail price of just US$499. The bolstered capabilities of the Ryzen 3000-series can easily satiate powerful content creators and demanding gamers alike and is likely the reason why AMD doesn't see a need to release updated Threadripper processors.

At AMD's press conference, they pitted the Ryzen 9 3900X with an Intel Core i9 9920X in a quick demo running Blender, an open source 3D content creation suite for modeling, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing, motion tracking, even video editing, and game creation needs. The commonality between both processors is that they are 12-core parts, but Intel's option costs twice as much as the Ryzen 9 3900X.  However, AMD's option costs far less and completes the demo in 32 seconds versus the competitor's 38 seconds!

For those wondering how these price points might pan out in Singapore, we hope the leak from Bizgram some months back answers our doubts.
 

Platform/Socket Compatibility

The dekstop Ryzen 3000-series CPUs continue to use the AM4 socket, which has been around for some years now. This greatly increases system upgrade options for all those who have previously invested in AMD Ryzen processors and continues AMD's commitment to enthusiasts who believe in supporting platforms with long-term upgrade options.

However, if you intend to ride on AMD's wave to support the first platform to have PCIe 4.0 connectivity, you'll need to invest in a new AMD X570 chipset based motherboard. For everyone else, here's AMD's Ryzen desktop processor and motherboard chipset support matrix:-

In any case, new motherboards out in the market will also be marketed with an "AMD Ryzen 3000 Ready" badge (refer to the article's main image) to better help DIY enthusiasts identify the right mobos for their new processor.

Read Next (1): Bizgram leaks Ryzen 3000-series processor prices
Read Next (2):  AMD Zen 2 architecture