AMD’s new slew of processors take on Intel’s Core i5 family of processors

While AMD’s initial announcement and launch of their Ryzen 7 family of chips was impressive, many cash-strapped and budget PC builders wanted more details on the company’s more competitive (and cheaper) Ryzen 5 processor line. Today they’re getting it – AMD has officially announced the arrival of their Ryzen 5 family of processors aimed squarely at Intel’s more mid-range Core i5 series of processors.

AMD Ryzen 5 1600X

• 6 cores, 12 threads, 16MB L3 Cache, 3.6GHz base clock, 4.0GHz boost clock

AMD Ryzen 5 1600

• 6 cores, 12 threads, 16MB L3 Cache, 3.2GHz base clock, 3.6GHz boost clock

AMD Ryzen 1500X

• 4 cores, 8 threads, 16MB L3 Cache, 3.5GHz base clock, 3.7GHz boost clock

AMD Ryzen 5 1400

• 4 cores, 8 threads, 16MB L3 Cache, 3.2GHz base clock, 3.4GHz boost clock

The new family of proccessors include the Ryzen 5 1600X, Ryzen 5 1600, Ryzen 5 1500 and the Ryzen 5 1400. Priced at $249, 219$, $189 and $169 respectively, the new processors align with Intel’s Core i5 family pricing. But the similarities end there – while some of the new processors have the same core count as Intel’s offering (with the Ryzen 5 1600X being top dog in this regard by offering 6 cores to Intel’s 4) they have double the threads available compared to Intel.

The AMD Ryzen 5 1600X, for example, has 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock speed of 3.6GHz and a boost clock of 4.0GHz. Intel’s direct competitor, the Core i5-7600K, has 4 cores and 4 threads, with a base clock of 3.8GHz and a boost clock of 4.2GHz.

The new chips are slated to drop on April 11.