AMD Quietly Launches Ryzen 5 7500F Budget AM5 CPU At A Killer Price
The Ryzen 5 7500F has graduated from rumor status is now officially the latest entry to AMD's growing pile of Zen 4 processors. And while it launched without any fanfare from its creator, it's an intriguing addition to the Ryzen 7000 series—it's not only the least expensive desktop CPU based on Zen 4, it's also the only one (so far) to debut at under $200.
There is an unfortunate caveat, though. For the time being, it appears the Ryzen 5 7500F is exclusive to the Chinese market. It will be a shame if it stays that way because this chip could otherwise find a fan following among budget shoppers, especially when you consider that upgrading to a socket AM5 platform requires buying a new motherboard and investing in DDR5 memory.
Retail site JD.com has the Ryzen 5 7500F listed for 1,239 Chinese Yuan, which is a little over $172 in US dollars. To put that into perspective, the next model up, AMD's Ryzen 5 7600, sells for $226.99 on Amazon. So there's about a $55 price difference between the two chips, at least when comparing the conversion rate of the former.
There is reason to be optimistic that we might see the Ryzen 5 7500F eventually end up in other markets, including the US. How so? AMD has published a product page for the budget chip and also lists it among the other SKUs on its main Ryzen 7000 series desktop processors page.
Source: AMD via JD.com
What we're looking at here is a 6-core/12-thread processor with a 3.7GHz base clock, up to a 5GHz boost clock, 6MB of L2 cache, 32MB of L3 cache, and a 65W TDP. Like every other AM5 processor, the Ryzen 5 7500F features an unlocked multiplier for easier overclocking. In fact, a review at MyDrivers found that the chip has a "very powerful overclocking capability" after managing a 5.6GHz clock speed. As for AMD's own evaluation, it's pitching the chip as being more than capable for playing popular esports titles like CS:GO and DOTA 2.
Also notable is that the Ryzen 5 7500F comes with a Wraith Stealth air cooler. Only three other Ryzen 7000 series CPUs come with a bundled cooler, those being the Ryzen 5 7600 (Wraith Stealth), Ryzen 7 7700 (Wraith Prism), and Ryzen 9 7900 (Wraith Prism). Those who plan to overclock will probably want a beefier cooling solution anyway, though.
We haven't spent any hands-on time with the Ryzen 5 7500F, but looking at the specs, the only real downside we see for a budget build is that it lacks integrated graphics, as indicated by the "F" designation in the model name. For casual gamers on a tight budget, something like the 8-core/16-thread Ryzen 7 5700G with Radeon graphics ($177.10 on Amazon) might be more enticing.
For those who want a current-generation platform and plan to use a discrete graphics card, though, the Ryzen 5 7500F certainly looks promising. Now if only AMD will see fit to make it available in more markets.
