Following the introduction of AMD Ryzen 7 desktop processors, AMD today announced Ryzen 5 desktop processors will launch worldwide on April 11, 2017, promising to offer gamers high performance without having to spend a fortune.

The new Ryzen 5 processors feature the "Zen" architecture in 6-core,12-thread as well as 4-core, 8-thread options, with a price range of $169 to $249 USD SEP.

During an event today in Beijing, China for press, AMD outlined the AMD Ryzen 5 desktop processor lineup. AMD specifically designed these processors for performance desktop users, AAA-title and streaming gamers, and the new AM4 desktop platform. Featuring AMD SenseMI technology and multi-tasking capabilities, AMD demonstrated the Ryzen 5 1600X beating the Intel Core i5 7600K by 69 percent in CPU performance testing using Cinebench R15 nT.

SenseMI is comprised of five components:

• Pure Power: more than 100 embedded sensors with accuracy to the millivolt, milliwatt, and single degree level of temperature enable optimal voltage, clock frequency, and operating mode with minimal energy consumption;
• Precision Boost: smart logic that monitors integrated sensors and optimizes clock speeds, in increments as small as 25MHz, at up to a thousand times a second;
• Extended Frequency Range (XFR): when the system senses added cooling capability, XFR raises the Precision Boost frequency to enhance performance;
• Neural Net Prediction: an artificial intelligence neural network that learns to predict what future pathway an application will take based on past runs;
• Smart Prefetch: sophisticated learning algorithms that track software behavior to anticipate the needs of an application and prepare the data in advance.
  

With the announcement of the Ryzen 5 lineup, AMD reiterated its commitment to delivering gaming performance to ensure existing and future game titles take full advantage of Ryzen.

Availability for all four unlocked Ryzen 5 models begins April 11 at etailers around the world. All Ryzen processors support the new AM4 infrastructure, with motherboard designs being produced from ODMs. Announced at CES 2017, AMD and its motherboard partners already debuted a wide array of new motherboards from ASRock, Asus, Biostar, Gigabyte, and MSI, all built upon the following desktop chipsets for AMD Ryzen processors - the X370, B350 and the A320, the latter intended for mainstream PCs at consumer-friendly price points.

The AMD Ryzen 5 lineup also includes new Wraith coolers, including the Wraith Spire and the Wraith Stealth, available with select AMD Ryzen processors.

It is worth noting that the Wraith Spire for Ryzen 5 will not have RGB lighting, whereas the Wraith Spire for Ryzen 7 does use an RGB ring.

The entry level Wraith Stealth is 65W, the Wraith Spire is 65W for high-ambient conditions, and the Wraith Max is 95W for OEM builds using Ryzen 7 95W parts.

All the Ryzen 5 parts will support DDR4 ECC and non-ECC memory, and the memory support is the same as Ryzen 7, and will depend on how many modules and the types of modules being used.

Each CPU offers sixteen PCIe 3.0 lanes for graphics, along with four lanes for a chipset and four lanes for storage.

The high-end Ryzen 5 1600X, at $249, is a shoe-in to compete against Intel's i5-7600K at $242. AMD won't win much when it comes to single-threaded tests here, but the multi-threaded situation is where AMD shines.

Here we have twelve threads against four, at a 95W TDP compared to a 91W TDP. It is expected that for situations where a compute workload can scale across cores and threads that the AMD chip will wipe the floor with the competition.

On the quad-core parts, there are several competitive points to choose from. The AMD Ryzen 5 1500X, at $189, sits near Intel's Core i5-7500 at $192.