Cheaper SKUs for AM5

According to Italian media Bits and Chips, AMD is reportedly launching a new series of budget CPUs for AM5 socket.

Currently, the cheapest AMD Ryzen 7000 CPU is the Ryzen 5 7500F, a 6-core variant sold exclusively in certain markets. It is relatively easy to find on platforms like Aliexpress for just $119 (affiliate link), making it a much cheaper option than the Ryzen 5 7600 series, which are officially the cheapest SKU sold globally (now often seen with $170-ish price)

AMD is reportedly working on more affordable AM5 processors to fill this void, and these SKUs may be even cheaper if the Bits and Chips report is accurate. According to their report, there are plans to bring some Ryzen 7000 entry-level models (presumably the 7500F/7600) to TSMC’s 7nm node. Currently, these CPUs (or more precisely, the compute dies) are manufactured using the 5nm node.

Switching to a less advanced node would allow AMD to save costs and introduce cheaper variants. These could be part of either the Athlon or Ryzen 3 SKUs. The latter option makes more sense, as there are no Ryzen 3 SKUs for the AM5 socket.

Along with the release of the new Ryzen 9000 series CPUs, AMD will probably commercialize one or two Athlon/Ryzen 3 CPUs, in order to fulfill the lineup with economics products. These CPUs will not have new Dies. They will rebrand low end Ryzen 7000 CPUs, produced on TSMC 7nm node. This will allow AMD to sell economic CPUs under $100 for the Socket AM5.

— Bits and Chips

Intel may soon find themselves in a similar situation, where the upcoming LGA-1851 platform will not have any budget models at launch. This will eventually change with a possible Meteor Lake refresh of low-end SKUs. However, both companies appear to be focusing efforts on keeping their older platforms alive. The AMD AM4 socket is thriving with 145 SKUs available, and the platform is now enjoying its 9th anniversary, with more SKUs expected this month ( Ryzen 5000XT series ). Intel, on the other hand, is bringing the Bartlett-S series for its LGA-1700 series.

By choosing modern platforms, users, especially those in business markets, also invest in software and security support. This isn’t always guaranteed with older platforms.

Source: Bits and Chips