Amd processor: models, how to identify them and their uses

Surely this is the best time to buy an AMD processor. With the launch of the new generation, a shower of analysis has come in Professional Review, so it is time to take stock of the situation and give you the key information to know how to choose and identify the best processors and their main uses.

Index of contents

We will talk about the news of Ryzen's 7nm third generation without forgetting about the previous generation and the APUs. AMD is in a sweet moment and its Ryzen 3000 are the highest performance CPUs available on the market to build a gaming computer. If you still do not know these processors, here we will clarify your doubts.

What is a CPU, and an APU?

Before starting with the description of AMD generations and models, it is convenient that we all know the difference between a CPU and an APU, since these concepts are going to be repeated a lot and can lead to errors.

Surely you all know that CPU stands for Central Processing Unit in Spanish. It is a silicon chip made up of a series of integrated circuits called nuclei that are capable of processing the information that circulates through our computer. In addition to cores, a CPU has a memory controller to communicate with RAM, cache memory, and input / output drivers. These allow the CPU to communicate with the PCIe lanes, where we normally have a graphics card installed.

APU with Radeon Vega Graphics

In the case of an APU (Accelerated Processor Unit) we not only have these elements, but also the manufacturer incorporates one or more graphics processing units. This means that we would not need a dedicated graphics card, since the AMD processor itself is capable of processing the graphics and outputting them through a video port integrated in the motherboard. AMD began this journey with the Sandy Bridge architecture, in 2011 and to date, we have APUs under the name AMD Athlon and AMD Ryzen with integrated high-performance graphics.

Be careful, because we must bear in mind that, in a processor without integrated graphics, such as AMD Ryzen that do not have the letter "G" in their model, we are required to use a dedicated graphics card. While in the Athlon or Ryzen G APU we may or may not use it, as it happens with all Intel Core processors.

Generations and how to identify an AMD processor

In this article, we are going to talk about today's most important AMD processor families from the point of view of general consumer users. Here we find the following families:

AMD ThreadripperAMD Ryzen for desktop and laptopAPD AMD RyzenAPU AMD AthlonAMD Ryzen and Athlon for laptop

We are going to ignore the previous generations of AMD like the Bulldozers and the FX for lacking sense in the current time.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper

This family of processors are the most powerful that AMD has built for HEDT (ultra luxury or enthusiast range) desktops. It currently has two generations on the market ranging from the 8 cores and 16 threads of the Threadripper 1900X, to a whopping 32 cores and 64 threads for the Threadripper 2990WX. So they all implement SMT multithreading technology, similar to Intel's Hyperthreading. Stay tuned because third generation data has been leaked, which could arrive in October.

These colossal CPUs do not have integrated graphics and all of them have the sTR4 socket in LGA format and a south bridge consisting of the AMD X399 chipset. These CPUs basically consist of two Ryzen CPUs physically linked together with AMD Whiteheaven architecture in 1st generation and Pinnacle Ridge in 2nd generation. They have up to 64 PCIe lines, cache memory between 16 and 64 MB, and support for 8 memory channels (128 GB DDR4).

The family is clear, Ryzen Threadripper will be the badge used by all processors in this AMD enthusiast range. Similarly, they all carry the character "X" at the end of the model, indicating that they are high performance. In the case of "WX" it means that they are also oriented to Workstation.

The first number indicates the generation, and we currently have two: Zen architecture (Whitehaven) with 14nm process, and Zen + (Pinnacle Ridge) with 12nm process. Soon the 3rd generation will appear, and here we will see a 3. Regarding the second number, all TRs have the 9 on the badge.

The third and fourth numbers indicate the number of AMD processor cores:

00: 8 cores 20: 12 cores 50: 16 cores 70: 24 cores 90: 32 cores

Applications

Mainly these processors are to be used for design-oriented equipment. An enormous capacity for megatasking, video and photo rendering and all Workstation-type work is expected from them. They will offer great performance for gaming, but not superior to normal Ryzen, despite having so many cores.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX - Processor (32 Core, 4.2 GHz, 3 MB Cache, 250 W) AMD Ryzen processor with 32 cores; 3MB cache L1, 16M L2, 64M L3; 4.2 GHz CPU Speed 1, 802.45 EUR AMD 2950X Ryzen ThreadRipper - Processor (4.4 GHz and 40 MB Cache) Color Black 4.4 ghz; Cache 40 mb; Price of 180 w 463.00 EUR

To learn more, visit AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX review

AMD Ryzen desktop

They are the most recognized by users and the most successful and sales have brought AMD. We currently find three generations of these processors on the market: the 14nm 1000, 2000 12nm and 3000 7nm series, which came out this year 2019.

None of these processors (except APUs) have integrated graphics, so we will need a dedicated graphics card in our equipment. This is one of the big differences with Intel's desktop processors, which all have integrated graphics, albeit at a medium / low level. In addition, the Ryzen are highly recommended gaming equipment, and have standard heatsinks with excellent performance and very good temperatures.

In this family, we can find many models, although of course the most recommended will be the 2nd and 3rd generation. A positive aspect is that they all work under the PGA AM4 socket, and we have the A320, B350, B450, X370, X470 and X570 chipsets. The most recommended are the B450 as a mid-range, and the X470 and X570 as a high-end, especially the X570 for 2nd and 3rd generation Ryzen.

Extending a bit further into the third generation Zen 2, we have 6 to 16 core chiplet or CCD based processors. Each CCD has 8 physical cores and 16 threads that will be deactivated according to the manufacturer needs for each model. Similarly, we have 32 MB of L3 cache for each CCD, 4 MB for every four cores. These CPUs have up to 24 PCIe 4.0 lines, the new generation that works at a speed of 4000 MB / s on each line. Finally, the memory capacity has been increased to 128 GB DDR4 at 4800 MHz maximum, depending on the motherboard model.

In this case it is a little more complicated than in the Threadrippers, since we have many more models and it will be a little less intuitive to differentiate them, especially in regards to frequency and in some cases in cores.

The first number would be the range, and is very similar to what Intel does with its Core iX. In this way we have four different segments at present, and in each of them a certain core count, except in some cases.

Ryzen 9: enthusiastic range (12 and 16 cores) Ryzen 7: high performance range (8 cores) Ryzen 5: high range (6 or 4 cores) Ryzen 3: mid-range (4 cores)

In ranges that have different core counts, we'll have to go to the following numbers to determine which are the top and bottom AMD processor models.

The second number is clear, and it is generation. We currently have 3:

1: 14nm first generation Zen (Summit Ridge) 2: 12nm second Zen + generation (Pinnacle Ridge) 3: 3rd generation Zen 2 (Matisse) 7nm

The following number informs us of the performance of the processor, it can also be identified with the frequency at which the cores work, although it is somewhat rather intuitive, especially with the arrival of the Ryzen 3000. It is as follows:

7, 8, 9: High performance and enthusiastic 4, 5, 6: Medium and high performance

The third and fourth issues provide more details about the processor model and its sku. In most cases it is simply "00", but we can find 20 or 50 to refer to variants with different numbers of nuclei or frequency. The higher the number, the higher the performance.

And we end with the character "X, G, T or S" which indicates the special characteristics:

X: high performance with XFR technology G: processor with: integrated graphics T: low power processor S: low power processor with GFX

Use

Desktop AMD Ryzen are ideal processors for mounting gaming gear. Especially those with 6 cores and up, in order to achieve a configuration that supports large task loads and at the same time excellent gaming performance without paying too much money.

In the cases of 4-core Ryzen, they may stay in no man's land, not with great multitasking capabilities. But they will perform perfectly with good graphics cards and their prices will be quite low.

And in the TOP area we will find the processors of 8 and up to 16 cores with the new Ryzen 9 3950X, a clear example in which the "50" is used to distinguish it from the rest. These third-generation processors have superior performance to the most powerful Intel models, such as the 9900K, so today, they are the ultimate expression when it comes to gaming.

AMD Ryzen 9 3900X - Wraith Prism DT RYZEN 9 3900X 105W AM4 BOX WW PIB SR4 Fan Processor; It is from the AMD brand; It is of great quality 482.98 EUR AMD Ryzen 7 3700X, Wraith Prism Heat Sink Processor (32MB, 8 Core, 4.4GHz Speed, 65W) Max Boost Clock: 4.4GHz; CMOS: TSMC 7nm FinFET 317.08 EUR AMD Ryzen 5 3600X - Processor with fan Wraith Spire DT RYZEN 5 3600X 95W AM4 BOX WW PIB SR2a; It is from the AMD brand; It is of great quality 213, 67 EUR AMD Ryzen 5 2600X - Processor with heat sink Wraith Spire (19 MB, 6 cores, speed of 4.25 GhZ, 95 W) Power: 95 W; 8 cores; Frequency: 4, 250 MhZ 129.00 EUR

AMD Ryzen 9 3900X Review AMD Ryzen 7 3700X Review AMD Ryzen 5 3600X Review AMD Ryzen 5 2600X Review

AMD Ryzen APU for desktop

Now we will deal with a variant within the Ryzen family of processors, and they are the APU. These CPUs feature up to 4 cores and AMD SMT multithreading technology for first and second generation 2400G and 3400G models. We should not confuse ourselves with the nomenclature used, since in this case we do not have the 3rd generation, and consequently the latest models implement 12nm Zen + technology. They will be mounted on the AM4 socket, and will be compatible with the aforementioned chipsets for AMD Ryzen, although only Asus boards with AMD X570 chipset offer support for 1st and 2nd generation Ryzen APUs. While the rest of manufacturers only offer compatibility with the 2nd generation.

But the fundamental aspect will be its graphic configuration in which we find two variants. In the lower models (2200G, 2200GE and 3200G) we have Radeon Vega 8 graphics, with 8 graphics cores at 1250/1000 MHz and 512 shaders. And in the higher models (3400G and 2400G) we have AMD Radeon RX Vega 11, with 11 1400/1250 MHz graphic cores and 704 shaders with overclocking capabilities. These models are the most recommendable in length, due to their excellent performance / price ratio.

Being less powerful CPUs, they only have 8 PCIe lines for dedicated graphics instead of 16, and the cache memory will be quite limited with a maximum of 4 MB L3. They are processors that consume very little with a TDP of only 65W but with great power, exceeding 4 GHz in turbo mode in some cases.

We are in a case quite similar to the Ryzen nomenclature without IGP, so we will quickly go through each element. And the first indicates in this case the number of cores and segment, and consequently the availability of multithreading technology or not:

Ryzen 3: 4-core, 4-core, 4-core AMD processor + Radeon Vega 8 graphics Ryzen 5: 4-core, 8-core, high performance + Radeon RX Vega 11 graphics

As for the second number, it indicates the generation, although we should subtract -1 to avoid making mistakes. This way if we have “2” it will belong to the 1st generation Zen (Raven Ridge) of 14 nm, while the “3” will represent the 2nd generation Zen + (Picasso) at 12 nm.

The third number again refers to its performance, so it will be distinctive of APU frequency mainly. Currently we only have two types: "2" for APUs with less than 3.8 GHz and "4", for APUs with more than 3.8 GHz. The numbers used for the model have not been used yet, so all of them they are "00".

Finally we have the last character that represents the performance of the processor, more specifically its TDP, and we have two variants:

G: high performance (65W TDP) GE: low performance (35W TDP)

Use

APUs with integrated graphics will be ideal for mounting medium / high-performance multimedia equipment in which we do not plan to use games intensively. It is true that in the most powerful models they will be able to move even games of the current generation in low quality and at 1080p, but not beyond that. Consequently, they will be ideal for playing multimedia content in high resolution or occasional gaming or for lovers of puzzle games.

AMD Ryzen 5 3400G, Wraith Spire Heat Sink Processor (4MB, 4 Core, 4.2GHz Speed, 65W) Default Tdp / tdp: 65w; Number of CPU cores: 4; Max Boost Clock: 42ghz; Thermal solution: wraith spire 199.99 EUR AMD Ryzen 5 2400G - Processor with Radeon RX Vega11 Graphics (3.6 up to 3.9 GHz, DDR4 up to 2933 MHz, 1250 MHz GPU, L2 / L3 cache: 2 MB + 4 MB, 65 W) AMD Rayzen 5 2400G processor with Radeon RX Vega11 Graphics; CPU frequency 3.6 to 3.9 GHz EUR 170.00

AMD Ryzen 5 3400G Review AMD Ryzen 5 2400G Review

Ryzen APU for laptops

You may also be interested to know the AMD Ryzen processors for laptops and wireless devices. AMD also has good processors of this type, although it is true that Intel monopolizes most of the market with its powerful Core i5 and i7 for gaming equipment. Still, they could be a great option for users with lower budgets without giving up equipment than up to 4 cores and 8 processing threads with integrated graphics.

These integrated graphics present an excellent level, even to have a team capable of moving games to 720p or 1080p in low quality. And it is that they all have Radeon Vega graphics of 3, 6, 8 and 10 cores, and RX Vega of 10 cores for the most powerful models.

The nomenclature for the laptop AMD Ryzen processor is exactly the same as that used for desktop ones, although we must take into account the following changes:

Generation: the 1st generation Zen and 14nm processors will be the 2000 series, while the 2nd generation Zen + and 12nm processors would be the 3000 series. TDP and performance: now two more letters, the "U", are introduced to refer to 15W TDP (low consumption) processors, and the "H" to refer to high consumption (35W).

We still have few laptops to mount these new 2nd generation Ryzen, which were launched in early 2019. But manufacturers like Lenovo with their ThinkPads, mount APU Ryzen 5 3500U and Ryzen 3 Pro 3300U. Or Asus with its TUF FX505, which has the Ryzen 5 3550H and a GTX 1050, an option that is around 600 euros.

AMD Athlon APU and Series A

We continue to see the most basic series or series of AMD processor for desktop computers. In this case it is not necessary that we study the nomenclature used for these models since they will be perfectly divided into three subfamilies:

AMD Athlon with integrated graphics

We have three 14nm Zen (Raven Ridge) architecture models that have 2 cores and 4 threads, along with 4MB of L3 cache. Even on these somewhat more basic CPUs, the manufacturer uses its SMT technology. These CPUs incorporate Radeon Vega 3 graphics with 3 cores at 1000 MHz and a count of 192 shaders inside. They are also mounted under AM4 socket, so it makes them compatible with all boards with AMD chipset up to X470.

The models we find are the AMD Athlon 240GE, 220GE and 200GE. All of them with a TDP of 35W and a very very affordable price for most users. We recommend the 240GE, for being the most powerful and having a price similar to the previous ones.

AMD Athlon 240GE 2-Core 4-Thread Processor with Radeon Vega Graphics - YDYD240GC6FBBOX AMD ATHLON; PC 83, 52 EUR

AMD Athlon without integrated graphics

Here we will go very briefly, since, in our opinion, they are currently out of place having Ryzen and Athlon with integrated graphics. They are very basic processors that evolved from the Bulldozer architecture with FM2 / FM2 + socket and 28nm manufacturing process.

Currently we find Athlon X4 900 models, launched in 2017 and that use 28nm process and Excavator architecture. All of them have 4 cores and are mounted on AM4 socket, so they will be compatible with basic DDR4 memories. These processors are below the performance of the 1st generation Ryzen 3, so they have almost no place today.

AMD Series A

AMD A series are even more basic processors than previous Athlon, and also do not have multithreading technology. In this case we have a relatively wide range of processors between 2 and 4 cores. But we are only interested in the 7th generation A 9000 series, since these will be mounted on the AM4 socket, while the A 7000 and A 6000 series decrease to the FM2 + socket and support DDR3 memory, somewhat outdated already.

The nomenclature we see is similar to that used in Ryzen, with a primary distinctive to denote the number of cores and the code of 4 numbers and letter to give details about the performance and characteristics of the product.

First of all, we have the Ax flag that is used for the core count and version of the integrated graphics:

A6 and below: They indicate that we only have two cores and Radeon R5 Series with 384 Sahders at 800 MHz at best. A8 and higher: In this case we will have 4-core processors with Radeon R7 Series graphics. They start from the 384 Shaders at 900 MHz of the A8-9600, up to the 512 Shaders and 1108 MHz of the A12-9800.

In previous generations the same nomenclature and the same distribution of cores and integrated graphics are kept.

The first code number represents the generation of the processor, and we have the following:

6000: 5th generation, Piledriver 7000 architecture: 6th generation, Steamroller 8000 architecture: 6th generation, Excavator architecture 9000: 7th generation, Excavator V2 architecture

With the second number we are referring again to the working frequency, and with the two numbers following the model number. Again we will distinguish models 00, 20, 50, and so on depending on their performance.

Finally we have the final letter, and its presence indicates the function of its performance. In the current generation we only find the letter "E", if the APU is 35W, or its absence, if it is 65W. But in previous generations the letter “K” was also used to indicate that it was an APU with the multiplier unlocked.

AMD AD9800AHABBOX AMD A12-9800E Processor Socket AM4 AD9800AHABBOX A12 9800, WITH INTEGRATED GRAPHICS AMD Radeon R7 Graphics Processor; 3.1 GHz clock frequency; 35W Thermal Design Power (TDP) EUR 114.03 AMD A series A8-9600 AMD A8 processor, 3.4GHz, Socket AM4, PC, 28nm, A8-9600 AMD A8 processor family, clocked at 3.1 GHz processor; Memory clock speed supported by 2400 MHz processor EUR 59.07

Conclusion on buying an AMD processor

Currently, many enthusiastic and gaming users are choosing to buy a third-generation AMD processor and thus update their platform. Without a doubt, this new generation has far surpassed the performance of Intel's top-of-the-range desktop processors such as the Core i9-9900K and they are emerging as the star option this 2019. Many new features such as its chiplet-based architecture, large capacity in lanes PCIe, now 4.0, plus a count of up to 16 cores and 32 threads.

We hope that with this article you will be a little clearer on how to handle the nomenclature of an AMD processor. This way you will be able to better identify them at a glance, and above all know when to use each one and for what purpose they are manufactured.

If you have any questions or want to contribute something on the subject, do not hesitate to leave us a comment. It always helps to know more and improve in our work.