AMD is expanding its processor offerings today, announcing three new CPUs aimed at both the current-gen AM5 and the venerable AM4 platforms: the Ryzen 7 9700F, the Ryzen 5 7400, and the Ryzen 5 5600F.
First up for the AM5 platform is the Ryzen 7 9700F. This CPU had already surfaced in retailer listings, and its specifications are now confirmed. Built on the "Granite Ridge" Zen 5 architecture, this 8-core, 16-thread processor is essentially a Ryzen 7 9700X but without the integrated graphics. This makes it an ideal, cost-effective choice for gamers and builders who are pairing their CPU with a discrete graphics card.
Breathing new life into the long-standing AM4 platform is the new Ryzen 5 5600F. Remarkably, AM4 has been on the market for nine years since its debut in September 2016, and this release raises the question of whether the 5600F will be the final processor for the beloved platform. The 6-core, 12-thread chip is based on the "Vermeer" (Zen 3) die, not the "Cezanne" APU die, which is great news for performance and PCIe support. Its clock speeds are set at a 3.0 GHz base and 4.0 GHz boost, a slight reduction of 100 MHz and 400 MHz, respectively, compared to the standard Ryzen 5 5600.
Finally, AMD introduced a rather unorthodox AM5 product: the Ryzen 5 7400. What makes this chip intriguing is its L3 cache configuration. Compared to a typical Zen 4 desktop CPU like the Ryzen 5 7400F which has 32MB, the 7400 comes with only 16MB—a characteristic typically seen in AMD's APUs. However, the Ryzen 5 7400 is confirmed to be a "Raphael" chip, not an APU. This strongly suggests that AMD is salvaging Zen 4 CCDs with partially defective L3 cache, disabling the faulty half to create a new product SKU. In addition to the reduced cache, the Ryzen 5 7400 also features lower clock speeds than the 7400F but, unlike its "F" series cousins, it does include integrated graphics.
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