We’re presently within the technique of testing the Ryzen 7 5800X3D on numerous first technology AM4 motherboards (coming quickly), which prompted me to return and have a look at a couple of of our earlier AMD vs. Intel battles over time, together with consumer feedback. I observed a typical theme amongst… “anti-Ryzen” readers.
For me, a giant incentive to go together with Ryzen was the AM4 platform, although it’d appear fairly a couple of did not agree with that 3 or 4 years in the past. AMD did promise platform assist till a minimum of 2020 and bar a small hiccup that was rapidly reversed, it has been largely clean crusing for many who wager on Ryzen early and had a transparent improve path in subsequent generations.
The plan as we understood it again in 2017 when Ryzen first burst onto the scene was that these investing in a 300-series AM4 motherboard would be capable to improve to a 2nd or third technology Ryzen CPU, or some other chip launched up till 2020. This stays a giant deal and in our opinion platform longevity was a part of Ryzen’s aggressive benefit and success story.
Before that, the norm was Intel’s tick-tock technique, which noticed every socket be supported solely two CPU generations, with the next ‘tock’ technology typically bringing minor enhancements. So for instance, if you happen to purchased a Sandy Bridge Core i3 processor in January 2011 on an LGA1155 motherboard after which 2 years later needed to improve to say the Core i5-4670K, you’d want a brand new motherboard supporting the LGA1150 socket, although each platforms used DDR3 reminiscence.
To today, Intel has caught with this technique, 4th and Fifth-gen shared the LGA1150 socket, then sixth and Seventh used LGA1151, and though Eighth and Ninth-gen additionally used the LGA1151 socket, they have been totally incompatible. Then Tenth and Eleventh-gen moved to LGA1200, and now Twelfth-gen makes use of LGA1700 which is able to probably be good to assist thirteenth gen later this yr and that shall be over till one thing else replaces it.
This implies that if we wish to evaluate Intel CPUs launched over the previous 5 years, we’d like 4 particular person take a look at programs utilizing totally different motherboards, although all run the identical DDR4 reminiscence. Meanwhile, from AMD we have been ready to make use of a single take a look at system although admittedly BIOS assist is a little bit tough particularly for first technology boards, however it does work, and it really works properly.
Although it is an oversimplification to place it like this, the broad platform assist has had us recommending Ryzen many occasions up to now. We have confronted a number of criticism for recommending AMD, particularly within the earlier days, although after all that goes each methods as current suggestions for Intel Alder Lake CPUs have caught their very own blow again, however, we’re not right here to debate that at the moment.
On the AMD facet, greater than as soon as we heard feedback alongside the traces of “nobody upgrades each technology, and even each second technology, so AM4’s longer platform assist is ineffective, it advantages nobody, Intel is best so purchase Intel.” Many variations of that remark have been left on our CPU critiques over time — actually much less within the final yr — however 3+ years in the past this was a recurrent theme.
In my opinion, this has at all times been mistaken and I’ll discover why in a second, however with the discharge of the AGESA 1207 microcode which permits even 300 collection boards to assist the newest and biggest Zen 3-based processors, the proof for why that take is mistaken is extra apparent than ever.
If we return to 2017 when first-gen Ryzen launched, funds fanatic players had the selection of the Core i7-7600K for roughly $240 or the Ryzen 5 1600 for $220. The Ryzen chip was slower in nearly all video games, however ~80% sooner for all-core workloads, due to a 50% improve in cores together with SMT assist for 3x as many threads.
It appeared apparent to me that inside a comparatively quick time frame, the R5 1600 can be the higher gaming CPU and inside 2 years it was. Today choose any comparatively trendy recreation and the Ryzen 5 1600 lays waste to the 7600K. The Core i7-7700K has aged higher relative to the Ryzen 7 1700, although whereas the Ryzen 7 half was closely outperformed for gaming again in 2017, at the moment they’re very shut and for CPU heavy video games the R7 1700 is usually sooner.
Now, if you happen to bought both the 7600K or 7700K (or any Seventh-gen CPU) again in 2017, that was so far as that platform was going to take you. In order to safe extra CPU efficiency with the 8700K, for instance, you would want a brand new motherboard, and that may be expensive for mid-range to high-end builds.
Meanwhile, going from the Ryzen 5 1600 to the Ryzen 7 3700X, for instance, would not require a motherboard change which is spectacular provided that’s fairly a considerable efficiency improve. And now, B350 and X370 motherboards additionally assist Ryzen 5000 collection processors, so a comparatively cheap however highly effective CPU such because the Ryzen 5 5600 has grow to be a drop-in improve on your 5-year-old R5 1600 system for simply $175.
Case in level, in a characteristic we ready to take a look at 6-core Ryzen GPU scaling, we discovered that when CPU-limited, Zen 3 was on common 64% sooner than Zen — evaluating the 1600X and 5600X — with sure video games the place efficiency was greater than doubled.
Essentially, if you happen to purchased a Core i5-7600K in 2017 it could have been a wrestle to not improve by the discharge of the Tenth-gen collection, touchdown one thing just like the Core i5-10400F for round $160 together with a brand new motherboard for one more $100 or so. The Ryzen 5 5600 is an effective bit sooner than the 10400F although, so to realize an identical stage of efficiency you’d want a 12400F, which is a bit sooner for gaming, however it’s one more motherboard change to get there.
Therefore it is truthful to say at this level, if you happen to purchased into Ryzen again in 2017 you made the appropriate alternative and I’ve to confess early on I used to be a bit skeptical of Ryzen because it did not precisely burst onto the scene subject free, however most of the bugs did get ironed out and at the moment even utilizing a Ryzen 5000 collection processor on a 300-series motherboard is a good expertise.
Where the argument for going Intel did make sense was on the high-end, although this was solely true from late 2017 by to 2019 and this is the reason all our Best CPU shopping for guides for that interval featured a minimum of one Intel CPU for the “no compromise” gaming possibility. The Eighth and Ninth-gen Core i7 vary together with the Ninth-gen Core i9 vary have been the outright greatest efficiency choices for high-end gaming and you can argue that as a result of elements such because the 8700K and 9900K are nonetheless nice for gaming at the moment, they aged very properly.
However, you can additionally argue that if these elements have been bought as no compromise gaming options, the unique homeowners would have already changed them for both a Zen 3 or Alder Lake CPU. But after all, no compromise gaming is all about excessive FPS and burning cash, so having to purchase a brand new motherboard most likely is not a difficulty for any such gamer anyway.
But for these of you focusing on mid-range or lower-end PC {hardware}, dropping a further $100 or $200 on a brand new motherboard hurts, extra so provided that’s roughly how a lot you would be spending on the CPU, basically with Intel you are getting taxed twice.
This is why combos such because the Ryzen 5 2600 with a B450 board have been so common, and we really useful this Ryzen combo over stuff like Intel Core i5-9400F. Back in 2019, the Core i5 half was typically a little bit sooner for gaming, although not at all times, and it bought destroyed for productiveness workloads. Meanwhile, with the R5 2600 having fun with higher platform assist it appeared just like the superior option to me, and once more I believe wanting again that is now apparent.
Had you got the 9400F, your solely worthwhile improve at the moment with out having to purchase a brand new motherboard can be the Core i9-9900 or 9900K and searching on eBay you possibly can count on to pay over $300 for one in 2022. In distinction, the R5 5600 is simply $175 and delivers a comparable stage of gaming efficiency to that of the 9900K.
Alternatively, 9400F homeowners searching for extra efficiency from Intel can be higher off ditching their present platform for one thing just like the $200 Core i5-12400 on an honest $130 B660 board opposed to purchasing a second hand 9900K. That’s nonetheless a $330-ish improve, so almost 90% greater than what AM4 homeowners can pay for comparable efficiency with the R5 5600.
So wanting again, I actually assume AM4 platform and Ryzen CPU homeowners have been serviced properly and this has been a key element in AMD’s technique. But it is not only a scenario the place it is me saying I used to be proper, and the haters have been mistaken. I polled the HUB group on YouTube, first asking AMD AM4 homeowners in the event that they’ve upgraded their CPU at any level to a sooner mannequin. Unsurprisingly, a minimum of to us, half of all AM4 homeowners who took half within the ballot have since upgraded their CPU to a more moderen AM4 processor. That’s a telling statistic from the 40,000+ of you who voted sure or no.
Then we requested Tenth-gen Core collection homeowners the identical query and located that solely 20% of them had upgraded their CPU with out changing the motherboard, lower than half that of AM4 homeowners. We additionally pitched the identical query to Eighth-gen Core homeowners and 32% of them had upgraded their CPU on the identical motherboard. That’s nonetheless a fairly excessive quantity, however loads lower than AM4. We would not count on the Intel numbers to extend a lot past that time, whereas I do count on extra AM4 homeowners to improve, particularly these nonetheless rocking a Zen or Zen+ processor as Zen 3 is sort of low cost now.
It’s additionally price noting that twice as many individuals voted on the AM4 ballot in comparison with the Intel polls, indicating that extra of you’ve invested in AMD’s platform over the previous few years.
Put all of that collectively, I urge AMD to commit a time-frame for AM5 assist as quickly as doable. Hopefully AMD hasn’t underestimated simply how necessary the AM4 dedication was for his or her success as a result of though the Ryzen model has an amazing quantity of momentum behind it, they are going to absolutely face considerably extra competitors from Intel on this and future launch cycles. Should they determine to repeat the Intel launch cadence, it might be an enormous blow for AM5.
On that word, I additionally hope Intel is paying consideration. Ideally, they need to change their technique by committing to a future platform for a minimum of 4 generations, quite than simply two as they’ve achieved for the previous decade. Of course, in that interval they’d loads much less competitors, however at the moment if you happen to have a look at sources like Amazon’s prime CPU vendor listing, AMD has been dominating for a couple of years and proceed to take action, although Twelfth-gen Alder Lake CPUs are sooner and higher worth for brand new system builders, exhibiting the affect AM4 has had.
Fingers crossed for AM5’s broad platform compatibility. And with that I’m going to get again to my B350 and X370 testing with the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, keep tuned for that very quickly.
