AMD has announced that it will be releasing several new Ryzen processors later this year. This year's entries will include a series of laptop-focused chips, a high-end desktop chip called Threadripper, and a budget CPU that will be simply called Ryzen 3.
Threadripper
As of late, AMD has found some success by positioning itself as a more affordable alternative to the likes of Intel and Nvidia, but the Threadripper is a clear sign that the company hasn't abandoned the hardcore gaming market.
While based on the same Zen architecture that powers the rest of the Ryzen line, the Threadripper is far more powerful than its siblings. The powerful Ryzen 7 offers eight cores and 16 threads, but the Threadripper doubles that, bringing an impressive 16 cores and 32 threads. AMD has not released any information regarding the pricing of the Threadripper, but, considering the power it offers, it will probably be AMD's most expensive CPU to date.
Portable Power
In addition to the Threadripper, AMD has also announced a new line of mobile processors that are code-named "Raven Ridge." These chips, which AMD calls APUs or "accelerated processing units," will integrate the CPU and GPU into a single chip.
"We've been working for months with the top [hardware partners] to bring new systems to market," said AMD's senior vice president and general manager of AMD's Client and Computing Group teams, Jim Anderson. "So you'll see with Ryzen Mobile beautiful two-in-one systems, some really beautiful thin-and-light ultraportables, great gaming systems."
Anderson wasn't shy about bragging about these chips, promising that these would be among the best money could buy.
"Ryzen Mobile will have fantastic battery life, you'll see great performance on productivity applications, and it will have phenomenal gaming experience," said Anderson. "You'll be able to get a phenomenal AAA gaming experience on a thin-and-light notebook."
Anderson's claims are certainly impressive and AMD is clearly working hard to deliver on these promises. The Raven Ridge chips will feature Zen architecture, an improvement over AMD's current mobile devices, which are powered by Carrizo chips. Most interesting of all is the fact that the GPUs will be based on AMD's long-awaited Vega line, which offers a 40 percent performance increase over AMD's current line of GPUs.
Gaming On A Budget
AMD also confirmed that its budget processors are still on track for release later this year. The Ryzen 3 is AMD's low-end chip and will compete with Intel's Core i3, just as the Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 7 respectively compete with the Core i5 and Core i7.
