AMD is reportedly producing Granite Ridge desktop processors powered by its newer and more powerful Zen 5 microarchitecture en masse.
Highlights
Rumors suggest that AMD's Zen 5-powered desktop processors, possibly called Ryzen 9000, have entered production and could be released as early as April.
The Zen 5 architecture is expected to offer a 20-30% IPC gain over Zen 4, making it a strong contender for gamers looking to upgrade their CPUs.
Intel's recent release of its 14th Generation Core processors poses competition for AMD, with rumors of a "Black Edition" processor to directly compete against the Ryzen 5 7600X or its Zen 5 successor.
Desktop processors powered by AMD's Zen 5 CPU microarchitecture are already in production, according to rumors. These so-called Granite Ridge chips, which may carry the Ryzen 9000 branding, could arrive in just a few months, if industry leakers are to be believed.
AMD first revealed the Zen 5 series in a company roadmap back in May 2022, promising a more advanced successor to its Zen 4 CPU microarchitecture. At the time, AMD claimed that Zen 5's Granite Ridge desktop processors would be released in late 2024, but the latest rumors now indicate that the chips have started production and could arrive as early as April.
In a Twitter post, well-known hardware industry leaker Kepler_L2 claimed that Granite Ridge CPUs have already entered mass production. Kepler_L2, citing multiple sources, also said in a previous post that AMD's Ryzen 9000 series of processors, which could be the branding for Granite Ridge chips, might be announced or even launched by April. It should be noted that Kepler_L2 has made some bad calls in the past, like when they theorized the possibility of AMD's RX 7900 XT becoming the first PCIe 5.0 GPU. In the end, both the RX 7900 XT and the more powerful AMD RX 7900 XTX stuck with PCIe 4.0 bus interfaces.
Recent rumors have pointed to AMD releasing a new 700-series motherboard chipset within the third quarter of 2024, but such a launch could be moved ahead of schedule to coincide with a potential April release of Zen 5. AMD launched the B650 and X670 chipsets for socket AM5 around the same time Zen 4 was released in late 2022.
AMD has not released any Zen 5 performance data yet, but it is speculated that the newer architecture would have between a 20% to 30% IPC gain over Zen 4. As processors like the Zen 4-powered AMD Ryzen 5 7600X are currently some of the best choices for AMD gaming CPUs right now, it would not be surprising for a more powerful replacement in the same price bracket to become a popular pick among gamers.
Intel, AMD's biggest competitor, recently unveiled its full lineup of 14th Generation Core mobile and desktop processors at CES 2024, giving consumers a wide range of CPU options, from the budget-friendly Intel Core i3-14100, all the way to the extreme Intel Core i9-14900. Leakers have claimed that Intel could be preparing to launch a "Black Edition" Core i5-14490F for the Chinese market, a processor that would likely directly compete against the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X or a Zen 5 successor.
Gamers interested in upgrading to a newer CPU from Team Red will find the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X to be of spectacular value thanks to its high single-core performance, efficient hexacore architecture, and compatibility with newer technology such as PCI-E 5.0 and DDR5 memory. It also abandons AMD's AM4 design, going for a pin-less processor offering by moving them to the motherboard instead.