AMD Confirms Ryzen 5 3500U After Appearing in Alienware Desktop (Update)

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It's real and in an OEM system.

(Image credit: Dell)

Update - Nov. 14, 5:00 p.m.: AMD has confirmed the Ryzen 5 3500 and now lists it on its website.

"We are offering the AMD Ryzen 5 3500 processor to OEM partners and channels in certain regions," and AMD spokesperson told Tom's Hardware. "This processor will enable our partners to take full advantage of AMD’s most advanced CPU platform, offering powerful gaming and high-speed productivity performance, with a support of industry leading PCIe 4.0, AMD’s Precision Boost Overdrive and Ryzen Master Utility."

AMD Ryzen 5 3500 Specifications
Cores/Threads6/6
Base Clock3.6GHz
Max Boost ClockUP to 4.1GHz
PlatformAM4
PCIe VersionPCIe 4.0 x16
Total L1 Cache384KB
Total L2 Cache3MB
Total L3 Cache16MB
TDP65W
UnlockedYes

Original story continues below.

AMD's Ryzen 5 3500 is official. The chip is in the starting configurations of the new Alienware Aurora R10 Ryzen Edition gaming desktop and is listed on parent company Dell's website (opens in new tab).

It is listed as being a 6-core (opens in new tab) chip with 16MB of L3 cache (opens in new tab) and a max boost clock (opens in new tab) of 4.1 GHz.

(Image credit: Dell)

There had been a number of rumors that the chip would launch in October, but that came and went without a peep.

As of this writing, the chip still isn't listed among the Ryzen 5 lineup on AMD's own website, though a spokesperson told Tom's Hardware that "OEMs are getting ready with the part" and that the listing would be updated when AMD officially announces it.

We reviewed the Alienware Aurora R10 Ryzen Edition, but with the newly released AMD Ryzen 9 3950X CPU (opens in new tab).

Perhaps more interesting (or at least more entertaining) than the chip's specs is the fact that the marketing materials on Dell's site shows a large image of what's clearly a motherboard with an Intel socket, and a Ryzen CPU intelligently Photoshopped on top of it. (Update: November 14, 1:20 p.m. ET - Dell appears to have removed the image from its site. It is still depicted above. The Ryzen 5 3500 is still on offer.)

Andrew E. Freedman
Andrew E. Freedman

Andrew E. Freedman is a senior editor at Tom's Hardware focusing on laptops, desktops and gaming. He also keeps up with the latest news. A lover of all things gaming and tech, his previous work has shown up in Tom's Guide, Laptop Mag, Kotaku, PCMag and Complex, among others. Follow him on Twitter: @FreedmanAE
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9 Comments Comment from the forums
  • slash3
    ...true geniuses.
    Reply
  • drea.drechsler
    Gotta love that new word...
    photoshove...

    1000% better than "deep fake".
    Reply
  • JamesSneed
    Wood screws....
    Reply
  • Mud3duck
    Why did they pick the Ryzen 3500 for Alianware. They should have picked the 2600 or 3600 at least. I'm sure they are both much faster.
    Reply
  • hannibal
    Cheaper...
    Reply
  • mitch074
    Whoa! I didn't know you could plug a Ryzen CPU in an Intel motherboard. I'm not so sure it's gonna work though.
    Reply
  • alextheblue
    Mud3duck said:
    Why did they pick the Ryzen 3500 for Alianware. They should have picked the 2600 or 3600 at least. I'm sure they are both much faster.
    These entry-mid level chips will go in their entry level gaming rigs. For these rigs, the money saved is FAR better spent on a faster GPU. I'm sure they'll have options for higher-end CPUs, so you can buy it with whatever you want. But if Alienware/Dell takes the base model and sticks a 3600 in it, they either have to raise the base model price, or skimp elsewhere. This 3500 will still be largely GPU-bound at reasonable resolutions and settings, so I think it's a good base choice.

    For that matter it will probably beat a 2600, not that they can really release a new model with a 2000 series chip since they're in sell-down.

    My only real annoyance with the 3500 is that it isn't clear if/when it will hit the retail market in NA.
    Reply
  • HideOut
    admin said:
    The long-rumored Ryzen 5 3500 is finally here, and has been confirmed in listings for the new Alienware Aurora Ryzen Edition.

    AMD Ryzen 5 3500 Confirmed in Alienware Aurora R10 Ryzen Edition Listings : Read more
    The biggest challenge with that rig is going to be convincing people to pay that extra $150 for 8GB of additional 2666 ram...WOW thats apple land there.
    Reply
  • prtskg
    This is available in retail in India. I think it'll be fairly popular.
    https://mdcomputers.in/amd-hexa-core-ryzen-5-3500.html
    Reply