AMD's 50th Anniversary is fast approaching on May 1, and several new postings at online retailers have revealed that AMD is on the cusp of releasing a new 50th Anniversary Ryzen 7 2700X to celebrate. (Hat tip to @Dayman58 for the spot).
Aside from the mention of a bundled Wraith Prism LED cooler, the listings tell us little about the chip, including what differentiates it from existing Ryzen 7 2700X models. The chip is listed for preorder at $340.95, which is well above the typical ~$295 street price, but that's to be expected with a collector's item.
Several of the sites haven't listed retail availability yet, but on further investigation, we found a retailer that claims the part will become available on April 30, the day before AMD's anniversary celebration.
Releasing a commemorative chip certainly isn't an entirely new phenomenon: Intel released the Core i7-8086K last year to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the x86 instruction set architecture. That chip came with special tuning that pushed clock frequencies up to 5.0 GHz, a first at the time, and also came with a signed certificate from ex-CEO Brian Krzanich.
We may see a similar approach with AMD's purported new chip. Unfortunately, the Anniversary Edition Ryzen 7 2700X listings don't include clock speeds, so this will remain an open question for now. AMD also chose to stick with the same 2700X naming, so we don't expect any other significant changes to the chip, like more cores or cache. Instead, AMD may include some type of commemorative packaging or engraving on the chip. It's logical to assume there will be some type of certificate enclosed, perhaps signed by Lisa Su.
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | AMD Ryzen 7 2700X | AMD Ryzen 5 2600X |
| MSRP | $329 | $229 |
| Cores/Threads | 8/16 | 6/12 |
| TDP | 105W | 95W |
| Base Freq. (GHz) | 3.7 | 3.6 |
| Precision Boost Freq. (GHz) | 4.3 | 4.2 |
| Cache (L3) | 16MB | 16MB |
| Unlocked Multiplier | Yes | Yes |
| Cooler | 105W Wraith Prism (LED) | 95W Wraith Spire |
AMD has also released special edition chips in the past–the company released its Limited Edition Ryzen 7 2700 and Ryzen 5 2600X MAX bundles last year. Even though those chips, which come with a better Wraith Max cooler than the standard models, still haven't made their way to American shores, you can still find them for sale overseas.
AMD is clearly gearing up its 50th-anniversary celebration. Today the company posted an open invitation to the public to its Markham Open House event, which occurs on the company's 50th anniversary on May 1st. AMD has also created a special 50th Anniversary celebration page that touts its advances over the years, so we expect to hear much more from the company as it nears its anniversary.
On an interesting side note, Intel hosted a giveaway for 8,086 of its commemorative chips. AMD opened a "buyback program" for the winners of Intel's Core i7-8086K, instead offering a Threadripper 1950X in exchange. We aren't sure if AMD will also run a sweepstakes to give away the new 50th Anniversary Ryzen 7 2700X processors, but it is a possibility.
We've reached out to AMD for comment and will update as necessary.
