AMD Ryzen 7000 CPUs: 5 key things you need to know

 AMD says its Ryzen 5 processor can stand toe-to-toe with Intel's best chip.

- ALAINA YEE

It's official: Ryzen 7000 has arrived. In late August, AMD took the wraps off its upcoming Zen 4 processors, giving us the details on price, availability, launch processors, and much more during its live stream from Austin, Texas. In late September, they launched. We've got the full technical rundown for you in our recap of AMD's Ryzen 7000 launch event (fave.co/3BPNoVb), but if you're looking for the highlights, here are the top five takeaways.

PRICING, RELEASE DATE, AND LAUNCH LINEUP UNVEILED

The first Ryzen 7000 processors hit shelves on September 27. The initial lineup of AMD's first 5nm chips almost mimics that of its predecessor, Ryzen 5000, but with some interesting deviations.

The Ryzen 9 7950X, Ryzen 9 7900X, Ryzen 7 7700X, and Ryzen 5 7600X sport the same number of cores and threads as their last-gen counterparts, but their TDP ratings have risen across the board. The top two CPUs now sit at 170W compared to 105W for the 5950X and 5900X. Meanwhile, the 7700X and 7600X come in at 105W versus 65W for the 5700X and 5600X, respectively.

More juice means heavier-hitting chips, though. The flagship Ryzen 9 7950X boasts a whopping 800MHz uplift in boost clock speed compared to the 5950X, with a max of 5.7GHz. You'll see higher base and boost clock speeds across the board, with the 7600X also crossing the 5GHz boost clock threshold (and thus boldly going where 5600X had never gone before).

These performance increases come with a price increase for one chip-the $399 7700X costs $100 more than the 5700X. However, the 7900X and 7600X match their predecessors, while the flagship 7950X actually undercuts the 5950X's launch price by $100 (!). As with previous X-class chips, no cooler will be included with these processors.