AMD has quietly released four new Ryzen CPUs without any official acknowledgement beyond adding the specs of each CPU to its website. The new chips are the eight-core Ryzen 7 9700F, six-core Ryzen 5 9500F, six-core Ryzen 5 7400, and six-core Ryzen 5 5600F.
The Ryzen 7 9700F and Ryzen 5 9500F are new chiplet-style Zen 5 processors that lack integrated graphics. The 9700F is an eight-core chip featuring 32MB of L3 cache, 65W TDP, 3.8GHz base clock, and 5.5GHz peak boost clock. The 9500F features six Zen 5 CPU cores, 32MB of L3 cache, 65W TDP, a base clock of 3.8 GHz, and a peak boost clock of 5.2 GHz.
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | Architecture | Cores / Threads | L3 Cache / TDP | Base / Boost Clocks |
Ryzen 7 9700F | Zen 5 | 8 / 16 | 32 MB / 65W | 3.8 GHz / 5.5 GHz |
Ryzen 5 9500F | Zen 5 | 6 / 12 | 32 MB / 65W | 3.8 GHz / 5 GHz |
Ryzen 5 7400 | Zen 4 | 6 / 12 | 16 MB / 65W | 3.3 GHz / 4.3 GHz |
Ryzen 5 5600F | Zen 3 | 6 / 12 | 32 MB / 65W | 3.0 GHz / 4.0 GHz |
The two chips are essentially F-series versions of the Ryzen 7 9700X and Ryzen 5 9600/9600X that lack integrated graphics. This is especially the case with the 9700F, as it shares the same specs as the 9700X from the cores and cache, all the way down to the base and boost clocks as well. The Ryzen 5 9500F is also very similar to the Ryzen 5 9600/9600X, but both have higher clock speeds, with the 9600 boasting a 200MHz higher clock speed than the 9500F.
The Ryzen 5 7400 is a new entry-level Zen-4 CPU featuring six cores, 16 MB of L3 cache, 65W TDP, a base clock of 3.3GHz, and a maximum boost clock of 4.3GHz. This CPU is arguably one of the most unorthodox chips to come out from AMD, being one of the very first chips to come out after its F-series counterpart (the Ryzen 5 7400F has been on the market for several months).
What's even stranger is the CPU's L3 cache configuration of just 16MB. Traditionally, the 16MB cache limit is targeted at AMD's monolithic APUs, which physically don't hold more than 16 MB of L3 cache. However, the Ryzen 5 7400 is classified with the Raphael codename, meaning it takes advantage of AMD's chiplet-style design, which incorporates 32MB of L3 cache. Apparently, AMD has opted to disable half the L3 cache on this chip, probably as a method of reducing waste on potentially defective Zen 4 dies with defective L3 cache.
This strange configuration also makes the Ryzen 5 7400 a significantly different processor than its twin-by-name-alone, the Ryzen 5 7400F. While the 7400F lacks integrated graphics, it is a noticeably better processor, boasting a 400MHz higher base clock and boost clock, and 32MB of L3 cache. It could be argued that the Ryzen 5 7400 has more in common with the Ryzen 5 8500G, which has just 16MB of L3 cache, integrated graphics, and six cores, though those cores consist of Zen 4 and Zen 4c cores.
The Ryzen 5 5600F is yet another Zen 3 part coming to the market. As the name states, the 5600F is another variant of the 5600/5600X featuring six Zen 3 cores, 32MB of L3 cache, 65W TDP, a 3.5GHz base clock, and a 4.4GHz peak boost clock. This chip is also somewhat unorthodox, sporting the F-series nomenclature. Chips with this nomenclature usually have disabled integrated graphics, but the Ryzen 5000 series does not support integrated graphics at all.
Apparently, the "F" in this case denotes reduced performance compared to its vanilla counterpart. The Ryzen 5 5600 features a 500MHz higher base clock and 400MHz higher boost clock than the 5600F.
The new Zen 3 chips are not the only recent re-use of old silicon. Intel has also re-released its 10th Gen Core "Comet Lake" silicon as the Core i5-110 in its Ultra Series 1 line.
These CPUs, specifically the 7400 and 5600F, continue to demonstrate AMD's commitment to providing as many solutions as possible. The main reason most of the more unorthodox chips exist is for global markets, particularly Asia or Latin America (like the Ryzen 5 5500X3D). The Ryzen 5 7400F is regionally exclusive to China and other Asian markets, the Ryzen 5 5600F is locked to the Asia-Pacific / Japan region, and the Ryzen 7 9700F is locked to North America. The Ryzen 5 9500F is the only chip of the bunch that boasts regional availability.
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