AMD’s Top Ryzen 9 7000 “Zen 4” Desktop CPUs Reportedly Feature 170W TDP Designs

AMD's high-end Ryzen 7000 "Raphael" Desktop CPUs based on the Zen 4 core architecture may operate at a standard 170W TDP as far as the Ryzen 9 SKUs are concerned.

According to a tweet by Kopite7kimi, the leaker states that AMD's entire Ryzen 9 SKU family within the Zen 4 "Raphael family will operate at a 170W TDP when running at normal voltages. We know from previous information that the top Ryzen 7000 SKUs will feature a TDP of 170W whereas the AM5 socket can sustain a maximum PPT (Package Power) of up to 230W. This higher TDP design will only be utilized by the Ryzen 9 7000 SKUs such as the Ryzen 9 7950X and the Ryzen 9 7900X which are expected within the family and may rock 16 and 12 cores, respectively.

All R9 SKUs with a normal voltage are base on 170W TDP.

— kopite7kimi (@kopite7kimi) July 26, 2022

The "normal voltage" mentioned by the leaker is interesting to note here since we are talking about the reference specifications. AMD's own Robert Hallock confirmed that the Ryzen 7000 SKUs will be featuring a TDP of up to 170W and a 230W PPT but it is possible that the CPUs will operate at a high voltage when running at their maximum clock potential which happens to be really close to the 6.0 GHz wall. Rumors have pointed out that the Ryzen 7000 Desktop SKUs will have a frequency limit of up to 5.85 GHz though it is likely that overclockers will be aiming for the 6 GHz mark.

The Computex processor was a 16-core prototype sample not yet fused to specific power/TDP values, but it was operating in a range below the new 170W TDP group we've developed. It's a conservative figure.

Robert Hallock at Reddit

"AMD would like to issue a correction to the socket power and TDP limits of the upcoming AMD Socket AM5. AMD Socket AM5 supports up to a 170W TDP with a PPT up to 230W. TDP*1.35 is the standard calculation for TDP v. PPT for AMD sockets in the “Zen” era, and the new 170W TDP group is no exception (170*1.35=229.5).

"This new TDP group will enable considerably more compute performance for high core count CPUs in heavy compute workloads, which will sit alongside the 65W and 105W TDP groups that Ryzen is known for today. AMD takes great pride in providing the enthusiast community with transparent and forthright product capabilities, and we want to take this opportunity to apologize for our error and any subsequent confusion we may have caused on this topic." -- AMD Representative to Tom's Hardware (emphasis added)

AMD spokesperson via Tomshardware

Based on what we know from the older Gigabyte leak which also listed the 170W TDP figure, the AMD AM5 CPU lineup will come in at least six configurations which include:

AMD AM5 LGA 1718 Socket TDP Segments (Image Source: Gigabyte Docs):

The figures above are derived from a +35% derivation between the standard TDP and a maximum PPT. This has been confirmed by AMD themselves so these figures will not be much of a surprise. As for what this means for the whole Ryzen 7000 "Raphael" family based on the Zen 4 cores, they will end up more power hungry than their predecessors but will also deliver a substantial uplift in performance. Cooling requirements for the top-end parts will also go up as you'll be better off with a 360mm AIO cooling solution if you want your CPU to run at its fullest potential.

AMD's aim is to target the high-end enthusiasts first so they are likely going to launch the higher TDP variants first on the X670 (E) and B650 (E) platforms before moving over to the TDP optimized mainstream parts next year. AMD's Ryzen 7000 Desktop CPUs are expected for launch in Q4 2022 with a previously leaked slide hinting at a retail launch on 15th September 2022.

News Source: Tomshardware