Technology

Will Ryzen Launch Be a Game-Changer for AMD?

Chris Lange

Published: February 23, 2017 10:05 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 2:34 pm

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) has been on the cutting edge of high-performance processing for some time. The company is now ready to shake up the market even more with its newest release. Ryzen 7 will be coming out shortly.

So far in 2017, AMD has outperformed the broad markets, with the stock up roughly 26%. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock actually has risen more than 600%.

The company recently outlined the Ryzen 7 desktop processor lineup. AMD specifically designed these processors for PC gamers, creators and enthusiasts with 8-cores, 16-threads and the new AM4 desktop platform. In live demos and testing, these processors demonstrated their superiority: the flagship Ryzen 7 1800X as the world’s highest performing 8-core desktop processor, and Ryzen 7 1700 as the world’s lowest power 8-core desktop processor.

Preorders have only just begun, but these processors will be made available on March 2. There are three tiers to this processor: 1700, 1700X and 1800X. In terms of the stats, the breakdown came out as follows:

• Model 1800X: Base clock 3.6 gigahertz (GHz) with a suggested price of $499.
• Model 1700X: Base clock 3.4 GHz with a suggested price of $399.
• Model 1700: Base clock 3.0 GHz with a suggested price of $329.

Dr. Lisa Su, president and CEO of AMD, commented:

Four years ago we began development of our ‘Zen’ processor core with the goal to deliver unprecedented generational performance gains and return choice and innovation to the high-performance computing market. On March 2, enthusiasts and gamers around the world will experience ‘Zen’ in action, as we launch our Ryzen 7 family of processors and reinvigorate the desktop computing market.

Currently, the consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters have revenues of over $4.7 billion for the 2017 full year, while revenues for 2018 are expected to be $5.15 billion.

Shares of AMD traded down 1.6% at $14.06 early Thursday, with a consensus analyst price target of $11.48 and a 52-week trading range of $1.98 to $14.50.