AMD’s Ryzen 5 3600XT, Ryzen 7 3800XT and Ryzen 9 3900XT chips are now available, the chip-maker announced Tuesday. These CPUs use the Zen 2 architecture that AMD has been using for the last year. However, AMD says it was able to improve the manufacturing process to achieve better performance. It’s essentially increasing boost frequencies without having to increase power consumption. Watch the video below for benchmarks.
Chip prices start at $249 (£250, converts to about AU$360) for the Ryzen 5 3600XT. $399 for the Ryzen 7 3800XT, and rising to $499 (£500) for the Ryzen 9 3900XT.
The 3000XT series line CPUs perform as expected. It offers slight improvements over 3000X-series CPUs, which will still be available alongside the XT lineup. The 3800XT and 3900XT are great choices for professional content creators. Their improved core clock speeds mean shorter render times in video editing, motion graphics and 3D modeling. They also provide a snappy and responsive environment.
If you’re looking for peak performance when gaming, then having higher clock speeds is more important. The Ryzen 3000XT Series lineup only offers 100-200MHz of improvement over Ryzen’s 3000X series CPUs. You’re more likely to get better gaming performance by investing in a graphics card than upgrading to an XT.
If you’re hoping for a major performance spike, the Ryzen 3000XT series is going to be disappointing. But AMD has given us plenty of options when it comes to price from top to bottom, so there’s a CPU for everyone’s budget.
A glance at AMD’s third-gen Ryzen CPU pricing.
Amy Kim
If you can wait a little while longer, AMD has already said the Zen 3 architecture is on track for a 2020 release. So the next generation of CPUs is just around the corner.
