Review of AMD Ryzen 1800X processor with Gigabyte AX370-Gaming 5 motherboard
OCworkbench 13 March 2017
The wait is over as AMD is back into the desktop processor scene to compete head on with Intel. This new processor, branded Ryzen is based on the AMD “Zen” Core microarchitecture. It features better multi core performance for content creators, data crunchers and hardware DIY for a lower price point compared to it’s competitor.
The first 2 processors are the Ryzen 7 1800X, 1700X has a TDP of 95W. All 2 models comes with 8 Cores and 16 threads and has a base clock and boost clock of 3.6GHz -> 4.0GHz, 3.4 GHz -> 3.8GHz. The Ryzen 7 1700 also has 8 cores 16 threads and runs at 3.0GHz -> 3.7GHz and has a lower TDP of 65W. The processors has an unlocked CPU multiplier at steps of 0.25. It can be used to overclock the processor.
AMD Ryzen 7 1800X $499, AMD Ryzen 7 1700X $399, AMD Ryzen 7 1700 $329
Together with the new processor comes a new generation of motherboards. The AMD Socket AM4 motherboard are ready for the whole series of Ryzen processor. They are equipped with DDR4 memory, PCIe 3.0, NVMe, native USB 3.1 Gen2 and processor direct SATA and USB conenctivity.
The are 5 supporting chipsets which targets the Enthusiast, Performance, Mainstream and Small Form Factor boards.
See the following table for the differences between the various chipsets.
CHIPSET FEATURES (EVERY AM4 PROCESSOR IS COMPATIBLE WITH EVERY AM4 CHIPSET)
| Chipset | PCI Express® Gen3 Graphics* | USB 3.1 G2 + 3.1 G1 + 2.0 | SATA + NVMe | SATA Express* (SATA & GPP PCIe G3*) | PCI Express® GP* | SATA RAID** | Dual PCI Express® slots | Over-clocking*** | |
| Enthusiast | X370 | 1×16/2×8 (AMD Ryzen™) 1×8 (A-Series/AMD Athlon™) | 2+10+6 | 6 + x2 NVMe (or 4 SATA plus 1 x4 NVMe on AMD Ryzen™ Processor) | 2 | x8 Gen2 (plus x2 PCIe Gen3 when no x4 NVMe) | 0,1,10 | Yes | Unlocked*** |
| Performance | B350 | 1×16(AMD Ryzen™)1×8 (A-Series/AMD Athlon™) | 2+6+6 | 4 + x2 NVMe (or 2 SATA 1 x4 NVMe on AMD Ryzen™ Processor) | 2 | x6 Gen2 (plus x2 PCIe Gen3 when no x4 NVMe) | 0,1,10 | No | Unlocked*** |
| Mainstream | A320 | 1×16 (AMD Ryzen™) 1×8 (A-Series/AMD Athlon™) | 1+6+6 | 4 + x2 NVMe (or 2 SATA 1 x4 NVMe on AMD Ryzen™ Processor) | 2 | x4 Gen2 (plus x2 PCIe Gen3 when no x4 NVMe) | 0,1,10 | No | Locked |
| SFF Options | X300 | 1×16/2×8 (AMD Ryzen™) 1×8 (A-Series/AMD Athlon™) | 0+4+0 | 2 + x2 NVMe (or 1 x4 NVMe on AMD Ryzen™ Processor) | 1 | x4 Gen3 (plus x2 PCIe Gen3 when no x4 NVMe) | 0,1 | Yes | Unlocked*** |
| A300 | 1×16 (AMD Ryzen™) 1×8 (A-Series/AMD Athlon™) | 0+4+0 | 2 + x2 NVMe (or 1 x4 NVMe on AMD Ryzen™ Processor) | 1 | x4 Gen3 (plus x2 PCIe Gen3 when no x4 NVMe) | 0,1 | No | Locked |