How Does the New 2nd Gen AMD Ryzen Stack Up?

Can you believe it's been over a year since AMD released their market changing Ryzen platform? Me either! The good news? They finally released the newest addition to their Ryzen line, their 2000 series processors, codenamed “Pinnacle Ridge”, which will give Intel’s Coffee Lake processors fierce competition. With a new release, means new technology! Let's take a look at what's being offered. First, let's start with what the new 2nd Gen AMD Ryzen chips look like on paper, as compared to the Ryzen 1000 series chips:

AMD Ryzen 2 (Pinnacle Ridge)

Processor	Number of Cores/Threads	Clock Speed: Base/Boost	TDP	Integrated Vega Graphics
Ryzen 7 2700X	8/16	3.7/4.35	105W	No
Ryzen 7 2700	8/16	3.2/4.1	65W	No
Ryzen 5 2600X	6/12	3.6/4.25	95W	No
Ryzen 5 2700	6/12	3.4/3.9	65W	No
Ryzen 5 2400G	4/8	3.6/3.9	65W	Yes
Ryzen 3 2200G	4/4	3.5/3.7	65W	Yes

AMD Ryzen 1 (Raven Ridge)

Processor	Number of Cores/Threads	Clock Speed: Base/Boost	TDP	Integrated Vega Graphics
Ryzen 7 1800X	8/16	3.6/4.0	95W	No
Ryzen 7 1700X	8/16	3.4/3.8	95W	No
Ryzen 7 1700	8/16	3.4/3.7	65W	No
Ryzen 5 1600X	6/12	3.6/4.0	95W	No
Ryzen 5 1600	4/8	3.2/3.6	65W	No
Ryzen 5 1500X	4/8	3.5/3.7	65W	No

Relatively impressive, right? Overall, you are looking at a 5%-10% performance boost across the board, when it comes to clock speed. This will serve gamers well, as single core speed has taken priority in the new chips, taking advantage of new technologies, such as Precision Boost 2 and Extended Frequency Range 2. We will cover these in more detail a bit later! Another huge difference between Pinnacle Ridge and Raven Ridge is the lithography. For years, AMD and Intel have both used a 14 nanometer (nm) lithography, and it was time for an upgrade! Luckily, AMD was able to provide that, with their new 12nm lithography. The smaller architecture allows for lower latency, lower power draw, and higher clock speeds! Look for this to be utilized even further in the future! Now, let's go over the technology AMD is offering:

• Precision Boost 2:

  This is one of the largest upgrades for AMD’s new line. Before, their processors used a step function to implement boost speeds. The processor would essentially determine the workload of each core, and attempt to clock said cores to a specific speed, using a predetermined table. The new Precision boost 2 technology attempts to make this process more dynamic, by taking all of the following into account:
  • Total chip power
  • Individual core voltage
  • Thermals of each individual core
  • Power limitations of each individual core/groups of cores
  • Overall thermal limitations and performance

Thus far, this promises very promising performance and boost speeds!!

• XFR2:

You could say this technology is best suited for a well-designed AVADirect machine! This allows the CPU to automatically boost above the maximum turbo frequency when thermals and hardware allow.

• Neural Net Prediction:  

During both heavy workloads and normal use, the newest Ryzen chips will build a model of preconfigured decisions, based on the current commands and software being used. This will help to reduce latency, by giving the processor the ability to know what needs to be done, before the task even arises.

• Smart Prefetch: 

  This works in accordance with Neural Net Prediction. The processor will load data that it thinks will be needed, into the cache. This is accomplished with great success in the new Ryzen line, mainly due to increased L3 bandwidth.

  So, what does all this new technology do for you, the user? It means a better overall user experience, due to quicker response times, and overall faster speeds! To show off the capabilities of the new Ryzen chips when setup in an AVADirect machine, we performed some testing of our own and will be adding the results shortly. Check back for updates! Can't wait to get your hands on your very own and see for yourself?  Learn more here: https://www.avadirect.com/AMD-2nd-Gen-Ryzen-Desktop-Processors