AMD might have cracked open the AM5 lid with Ryzen 9 9950X, but it seems to be set on churning out more AM4 platform Us, too. And as far as I'm concerned, that's good news—milk AM4 for all it's worth, I say.
The two new chips are headed to the now-two-generations-out 5000-series. It looks like AMD might soon be launching two new Ryzen 5000-series Us in the form of the Ryzen 5 5600T and 5600XT, as, following momomo's mention of the 5600T, VideoCardz noted the appearance of these Us on various motherboard manufacturers' pages.
AM4は終わらんよ(n回目Ryzen 3 5300G BOX : 100-100000253BOXRyzen 5 5600T BOX : 100-100001584BOX(5600T : 6C , 3.5GHz , 32M , 65W)October 21, 2024
AMD's been pumping out 5000-series chips for quite a while now. There was 2023's Ryzen 5 5500X3D, but we haven't seen much mention of that since August.
Originally and officially, a 'T' suffix was meant to mean 'low-power', but that doesn't seem to have been the case for some time. The 5900XT, for example, has the same TDP as the 5900X, and is more powerful because it has more cores. A 'T' suffix just seems to designate a refreshed version of the previous non-T version. Or maybe AMD is just running out of names.
Based Asus' listings for these Us, here's how the specs should compare to the non-refreshed versions of the 5000-series Us:
| Header Cell - Column 0 | Ryzen 5 5600 | Ryzen 5 5600T | Ryzen 5 5600X | Ryzen 5 5600XT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cores | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Base clock | 3.5 GHz | 3.5 GHz | 3.7 GHz | 3.8 GHz |
| TDP | 65 W | 65 W | 65 W | 65 W |
| L3 cache | 32 MB | 32 MB | 32 MB | 32 MB |
This doesn't tell us much. We can see that the 5600XT might have a base clock 100 MHz higher than the 5600X, but boost clocks are more important for gaming. There is precedent for boost clocks being raised with AMD 'T' refreshes—the 5800XT, for instance, has a boost clock 100 MHz higher than the 5800X—and this would certainly differentiate the 5600T and 5600XT from their non-refreshed counterparts.
What would also differentiate them is price. If AMD can bring out two new 6-core 5000-series processors with slightly higher boost clocks and slap on reduced price tags, this would be a big win for prospective PC builders on a budget. Though we're also likely to see these used by some system builders in lieu of older parts.
You can currently pick up a Ryzen 5 5600X for best gaming Us on the market, but it gets the job done. Now imagine if you could cut even just $10-15 off that price tag, add an extra 100 MHz on the base clock and the boost clock, and maintain a 65 W TDP to boot. Such a U would be a fantastic budget upgrade option for those using an older AM4 system.
All speculation, of course. We don't even have official confirmation that these Us will be released, let alone what their final specifications would be. But based on previous 5000-series refreshes, such speculations aren't unreasonable fantasies. We'll just have to wait and see.
