AMD's entry-level Ryzen 5 7600X processor is available for £208
Versus a deal price of £250 six months ago.
When we last checked in on the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X in December last year, it had dropped to £249 in the UK. Now, the same six-core 12-thread Zen 4 processor is down to £208, making a Ryzen 7000 build surprisingly affordable - especially when you take in the drop in AM5 motherboard and DDR5 memory prices.
AMD's Ryzen 5 7600X is their entry-level Zen 4 processor, offering increased performance compared to their last-generation Zen 3 parts thanks to higher core frequencies, greater power delivery potential and DDR5 support. The 7600X hasn't been reviewed by RPS, but I did take a look at it over at Eurogamer, where I found the 7600X was around 25% faster than the 5600X, which is a huge advantage compared to your typical gen-on-gen increase.
There are faster Ryzen 7000 processors too - the 7700X, 7900X and 7950X are all faster general purpose processors, while the 7800X3D, 7900X3D and 7950X3D are even better for gaming - but with at least one more generation of processors coming out to fit the AM5 socket, getting a 7600X now and then upgrading to a higher-performance CPU later makes a lot of sense. For reference, here's the current AMD Ryzen 7000 lineup:
| CPU design | Boost | Base | L3 cache | TDP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryzen 9 7950X3D | Zen 4 16C/32T | 5.7GHz | 4.2GHz | 128MB | 170W |
| Ryzen 9 7950X | Zen 4 16C/32T | 5.7GHz | 4.5GHz | 64MB | 170W |
| Ryzen 9 7900X3D | Zen 4 12C/24T | 5.6GHz | 4.4GHz | 132MB | 120W |
| Ryzen 9 7900X | Zen 4 12C/24T | 5.6GHz | 4.7GHz | 64MB | 170W |
| Ryzen 9 7900 | Zen 4 12C/24T | 5.3GHz | 3.7GHz | 64MB | 65W |
| Ryzen 7 7800X3D | Zen 4 8C/16T | 5GHz | 4.XGHz | 96MB | 120W |
| Ryzen 7 7700X | Zen 4 8C/16T | 5.4GHz | 4.5GHz | 32MB | 105W |
| Ryzen 7 7700 | Zen 4 8C/16T | 5.3GHz | 3.8GHz | 32MB | 65W |
| Ryzen 5 7600X | Zen 4 6C/12T | 5.3GHz | 4.7GHz | 32MB | 105W |
| Ryzen 5 7600 | Zen 4 6C/12T | 5.1GHz | 3.8GHz | 32MB | 65W |
For my money, the 7600X is only eclipsed in value by the 7600, but this slightly slower CPU is actually more expensive on Amazon UK at present - it's £220 compared to the £208 of the 7600X, so getting a slightly higher boost clock for less money is a no-brainer!
Got any Ryzen 7000 questions I didn't answer here? Let me know in the comments below!