AMD launches $99 Ryzen 5 5500F for AM4 and new Ryzen 5 7500 for AM5

[Skye Jacobs]

First look: AMD has expanded both ends of its desktop CPU platform lineup with the Ryzen 5 5500F for AM4 systems and the Ryzen 5 7500 for AM5 builds, offering two six-core parts aimed at lower-cost upgrades and entry-level PCs. The launches give AMD a new option for builders still using the long-running AM4 socket while adding an AM5 alternative for buyers who want Zen 4 performance without moving up to the Ryzen 5 7600. Both chips have six cores and 12 threads, but they serve distinctly different platform generations and use different silicon designs.

The Ryzen 5 7500 is essentially the Ryzen 5 7500F with an integrated GPU. It has six Zen 4 cores and 12 threads, a 3.7 GHz base clock, and boost speeds up to 5.0 GHz. It also has 38 MB of combined cache: 6 MB of L2 and 32 MB of L3. Its 65 W TDP is unchanged from the 7500F.

The important difference is the graphics hardware. AMD has added a small RDNA 2 graphics unit with two compute units clocked at up to 2.2 GHz.

At $189, the Ryzen 5 7500 sits below the Ryzen 5 7600, which sells for about $226. The 7600 has a 100 MHz advantage in both base and boost clock speeds, so it should remain somewhat faster in CPU-limited workloads. The Ryzen 5 7500F, meanwhile, has fallen to about $157, making it the less expensive option for buyers who already plan to install a dedicated GPU.

The Ryzen 5 5500F is more complicated than its name suggests. It is not simply a Ryzen 5 5500 without integrated graphics. AMD built the 5500F on Vermeer, the chiplet-based Zen 3 design used in the Ryzen 5000 desktop series. The standard Ryzen 5 5500 uses Cezanne, a monolithic design from the Ryzen 5000G family.

That gives the 5500F one notable advantage: PCIe 4.0 support. The Ryzen 5 5500 is limited to PCIe 3.0. For an AM4 system using a newer graphics card or PCIe 4.0 SSD, the newer processor may offer more flexibility.

The 5500F has six Zen 3 cores and 12 threads. It runs at 3.0 GHz and boosts to 4.4 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. It has 16 MB of L3 cache, however, which is half the amount in the Ryzen 5 5600. The 5600's boost clock is also 500 MHz higher.

For that reason, the 5500F is best viewed as a cut-down Ryzen 5 5600 rather than a direct replacement for the Ryzen 5 5500. AMD has priced it at $99, compared with roughly $159 for the Ryzen 5 5600. The older Ryzen 5 5500 can still cost less, with OEM tray versions starting around $74, but its platform support is more limited.

The two releases show that AMD is still serving both desktop sockets. AM5 is the company's current platform, with DDR5 memory and PCIe 5.0 support. But AM4 remains widely used, and the Ryzen 5 5500F gives owners of those systems another inexpensive upgrade choice.

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AMD launches $99 Ryzen 5 5500F for AM4 and new Ryzen 5 7500 for AM5

 

[LordVile95]

At the price point I don’t get removing graphics. They’re good for trouble shooting.

Also the article implies that the 5500 has an iGPU when it does not.

 

[yRaz]

At the price point I don’t get removing graphics. They’re good for trouble shooting.

Also the article implies that the 5500 has an iGPU when it does not.

Very few people but comments just for troubleshooting. I doubt the market is more a thousand units a year. People who do that stuff end up with tons of used hardware laying about I could use for almost any computer made in the last 15 years.. meanwhile, I bet there are hundreds of thousands or maybe even millions of people on AM4 with zen 1 or 2 parts that would jump at the idea of a $100 zen rather than a platform upgrade where it could cost them 5X that to walk away with similar performance

 

[LordVile95]

Very few people but comments just for troubleshooting. I doubt the market is more a thousand units a year. People who do that stuff end up with tons of used hardware laying about I could use for almost any computer made in the last 15 years.. meanwhile, I bet there are hundreds of thousands or maybe even millions of people on AM4 with zen 1 or 2 parts that would jump at the idea of a $100 zen rather than a platform upgrade where it could cost them 5X that to walk away with similar performance

More of if something else breaks in the system you have a backup. For example I had a GPU driver issue with a 5500 media PC and I had to go and get a GPU out of my main PC to put into the media PC to rollback the drivers. If it just had an iGPU I could have swapped the output and used that.

Why wood you upgrade to a 5500 when the 3600 costs less? I only when with the 5500 because it came with a box cooler

 

[Lew Zealand]

Why wood you upgrade to a 5500 when the 3600 costs less? I only when with the 5500 because it came with a box cooler

You buy whichever's cheapest between the 2, they're pretty much the same in games. In the US the 5500 has been much cheaper for years, currently $74 (usually $85) where the 3600 is OOS but usually $120-140.

 

[yRaz]

More of if something else breaks in the system you have a backup. For example I had a GPU driver issue with a 5500 media PC and I had to go and get a GPU out of my main PC to put into the media PC to rollback the drivers. If it just had an iGPU I could have swapped the output and used that.

Why wood you upgrade to a 5500 when the 3600 costs less? I only when with the 5500 because it came with a box cooler

The 5500 is faster than the 3600 and if you have to get that specific for certain use cases then it isn't worth addressing. It's also pretty easy to diagnose parts without having spares, you just need to recognize what the hardware is doing. Having a parts cannon is nice, but anyone worrying about buying a part for diagnostic purposes probably already has a parts cannon. People who don't know how to diagnose hardware are probably going to take it to someone with a parts cannon. And as someone with a parts cannon, I'm always happy to sell off some of the parts out of my parts cannon to people who either can't afford new hardware or don't want to wait.

 

[LordVile95]

The 5500 is faster than the 3600 and if you have to get that specific for certain use cases then it isn't worth addressing. It's also pretty easy to diagnose parts without having spares, you just need to recognize what the hardware is doing. Having a parts cannon is nice, but anyone worrying about buying a part for diagnostic purposes probably already has a parts cannon. People who don't know how to diagnose hardware are probably going to take it to someone with a parts cannon. And as someone with a parts cannon, I'm always happy to sell off some of the parts out of my parts cannon to people who either can't afford new hardware or don't want to wait.

Actually the 3600 is faster if anything due to actually having cache

 

[LordVile95]

You buy whichever's cheapest between the 2, they're pretty much the same in games. In the US the 5500 has been much cheaper for years, currently $74 (usually $85) where the 3600 is OOS but usually $120-140.

Just buy a 3600 used it’s about half the price

 

[Melkor Unlimited]

Actually the 3600 is faster if anything due to actually having cache

I would not be so sure.

3600 - 6/12 Zen2, 32MB L3, 65W, 3.6~4.2 GHz, PCIe v3
5500F - 6/12 Zen3, 16MB L3, 65W, 3.0~4.4 GHz, PCIe v4

3600 may look faster due 32MB L3, but its not 32MB. Its 16+16. 3 cores + 3 cores. And its Zen2.
5500F shares that 16MB among all 6 cores. And they are Zen 3.
+200 MHz boost and a little advantage in IPC makes 5500F faster.

Some numbers from Cinebench R23 ST
1304 - Zen2, 3700x @ 4.4 GHz
1316 - Zen3, 5700x3D @ 4.1 GHz
1439 - Zen3, 5800x3D @ 4.5 GHz
1592 - Zen3, 5800x @ 4.8 GHz
1810 - Zen4, 8600G @ 5.0 GHz
1930 - Zen4, 7600x @ 5.3 GHz

 

[Lew Zealand]

Just buy a 3600 used it’s about half the price

$70 on eBay for BIN from a reputable seller in-country. They're probably cheaper if you can snipe a good auction but $75 for new with warranty is worth $5 more for a simple purchase.

Actually the 3600 is faster if anything due to actually having cache

When actually testing in games, the 5500 is about 5% faster. Not much but Zen 3 + half cache is at least equal if not faster than Zen 2 + regular cache.

 

[LordVile95]

I would not be so sure.

3600 - 6/12 Zen2, 32MB L3, 65W, 3.6~4.2 GHz, PCIe v3
5500F - 6/12 Zen3, 16MB L3, 65W, 3.0~4.4 GHz, PCIe v4

3600 may look faster due 32MB L3, but its not 32MB. Its 16+16. 3 cores + 3 cores. And its Zen2.
5500F shares that 16MB among all 6 cores. And they are Zen 3.
+200 MHz boost and a little advantage in IPC makes 5500F faster.

Some numbers from Cinebench R23 ST
1304 - Zen2, 3700x @ 4.4 GHz
1316 - Zen3, 5700x3D @ 4.1 GHz
1439 - Zen3, 5800x3D @ 4.5 GHz
1592 - Zen3, 5800x @ 4.8 GHz
1810 - Zen4, 8600G @ 5.0 GHz
1930 - Zen4, 7600x @ 5.3 GHz

You’re using chips that aren’t on the same design as the 5500. The 5500 isn’t on Vermeer like the other 5000 chips it’s Cezanne like the mobile chips.

 

[LordVile95]

$70 on eBay for BIN from a reputable seller in-country. They're probably cheaper if you can snipe a good auction but $75 for new with warranty is worth the $5 for a simple purchase.

I can get it for £55 with a warranty from the high street.

When actually testing in games, the 5500 is about 5% faster. Not much but Zen 3 + half cache is at least equal if not faster than Zen 2 + regular cache.

Nope, they’re pretty much level or the 3600 is faster.

It’s not real Zen 3 though it’s based on the mobile design not the desktop.

 

[Lew Zealand]

I can get it for £55 with a warranty from the high street.

So $74. About the same as the 5500, not "half the price."

Nope, they’re pretty much level or the 3600 is faster.

Let's see your comparison tests then. There are many videos on YT comparing the 2 CPUs and the 5500 is a little faster but both are close enough. Reiterating an assumption when the data is freely available is meaningless.

It’s not real Zen 3 though it’s based on the mobile design not the desktop.

The cores are Zen 3, that is what defines a Zen generation. What's wrapped around those cores can change, even to 96MB L2 cache, but that doesn't make them magically not Zen 3.

 

[LordVile95]

So $74. About the same as the 5500, not "half the price."

No the 5500 is about £90

Let's see your comparison tests then. There are many videos on YT comparing the 2 CPUs and the 5500 is a little faster but both are close enough. Reiterating an assumption when the data is freely available is meaningless.

Techspot? When the 5500 came out. Though in real world usage they’ll be able the same

The cores are Zen 3, that is what defines a Zen generation. What's wrapped around those cores can change, even to 96MB L2 cache, but that doesn't make them magically not Zen 3.

But it’s a different design. Cezanne is monolithic and Vermeer is chiplets for example.