AMD's new desktop Zen CPUs are officially called RYZEN. They boast 8 cores, 3.4Ghz+ clock speeds & will overclock themselves automatically. You heard that right. AMD's upcoming enthusiast line of "Summit Ridge" desktop processors based on the Zen microarchitecture come withan auto overclocking feature right out of the box.

It's all thanks to a new technologythat the company calls "XFR", short forExtended Frequency Range. Whichautomatically boosts the clock speed of RYZEN CPUs beyond their official nominal valuesand stretch them as far as the cooling will allow, without any intervention from the user. It sounds like the stuff of sci-fi and fan fiction, but it's very much real.

AMD RYZEN Desktop Zen CPUs Feature 8 Cores, 3.4Ghz+ & Auto Overclocking With "XFR"

Thanks to a new leak we have learned several newexciting things about AMD's next generation family of desktop Zen processors, code named "Summit Ridge". First things first, the new CPU family will carry the "RYZEN" brand pronounced, risen. If you remember, we published a story a couple a week ago detailing some of AMD's brand new....well, brand names. RYZEN was one of two new Zen related brands, the other being and ThreadRipper.RYZEN chips will feature up to 8 cores and 16 threads and will run at a clock speed of 3.4Ghz+ right out of the box.

AMD has also confirmed that RYZEN features 16MB of L3 cache and 4MB of L2 cache for a total of 20MB of cache.

The new caches feature a brand new, clever prefetcher. Which recognizesmission critical data based by actually learning the data access patterns of a given application. This vital data is then tagged and prefetched for immediate use. It can also learn the location of future data accesses by analyzing the code of whatever program is running.

Higher Clock Speeds At Lower Voltages And Lower Power Consumption

Complementing "XFR" which we discussed earlier are two other interconnected features called Pure Power and Precision Boost.

Pure Power works by monitoring temperature, frequency and voltage readingsin real time via embedded sensors distributed across the Zen cores. These sensors feed data back to what AMD calls the "Infinity Control Fabric" which then adjusts power to adapt perfectly to the situation. The goal is to use the least amount of voltage required to run any given structure.This resultsin lower average power consumption and cooler operation.

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Precision Boost is the other face of the same coin. It works in tandemwith Pure Power to maintain the highest possible frequencies at any given voltage.Which improves performance without contributing anything to the power dissipation of the chip. The feature is very prices and extremely responsive.Making changes in milliseconds and making adjustments in 25Mhz increments.

AMD’s Defining Moment And Its BiggestLaunch In A Decade

Zen's Long Journey Into Being

Zen has been one of AMD’s most eagerlyanticipated products for as far as I can remember. It’s the company’s first attempt to compete at the high-end, enthusiast, CPU market since the introduction of the Bulldozer microarchitecturefive years ago. Zen breaks new ground for AMD in many ways. It’s thecompany’s first ever CPU architecture to feature simultaneous multithreading.It’s alsothe very first productfor AMD to be built on a process technology that’s very close toparity with Intel since the days of the original Athlonmore than a decade ago.

This fact alone is huge. It means that forthe very first time since the early 2000s AMD’s CPU products won’t be at an inherent disadvantage due to Intel’s process lead. From an architectural point of view Zen is a brand new clean-slate design that’s been led from the get-go by accomplished CPU architect Jim Keller.

The very same engineer who played a pivotal role in designingthe original Athlon XP and Athlon64 processors. Which were and remain themost competitive CPUproductsinthe history of the company. It's without a doubt that Zen is AMD’s biggest long-term technology bet and one of the largest engineering efforts undertaken byit to date.

AM4 X370 Enthusiast Motherboards

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The X370 Promontory chipset is the highest-end AM4 chipset and the most feature-packed ofthe bunch. Summit Ridge & Bristol Ridge CPUs & APUs sharepin to pin compatibility on the AM4 socket.If you're planning to build a Summit Ridge based build this will likely your best way to go. Accompanying the X370 chipsetthere will also be two other for the mid-range and entry-level options in the form of the"B350" and "A320".

AM4’s Key Features

DDR4 MemoryPCIe Gen 3USB 3.1 Gen2 10GbpsNVMeSATA Express

AMD RYZEN Desktop CPU Lineup - Specs & Rumored Prices

The official release date has not been announced yet, but AMD confirmed that it will take place in the first quarter of 2017. Which includes any time before April next year.