AMD Revives AM4 While Expanding Its Budget AM5 Lineup
Two budget Ryzen chips keep AMD’s AM4 and AM5 platforms in play
AMD is expanding two desktop hardware ecosystems at once, introducing the $99 Ryzen 5 5500F for its legacy Socket AM4 infrastructure and the $189 Ryzen 5 7500 for its modern Socket AM5 platform. The two processors target separate parts of the PC assembly market, including builders using low-cost DDR4 memory and those moving to DDR5-based computers.
The Ryzen 5 7500 fills a gap in AMD’s Zen 4 desktop lineup beneath the $226 Ryzen 5 7600. It has six Zen 4 cores, 12 threads, a 3.7 GHz base clock, a 5.0 GHz boost clock, and a 65 W thermal design power (TDP).
AM4 remains relevant partly because of the cost of newer systems. Introduced in 2016 for pre-built systems and launched for retail desktop processors alongside the first-generation Zen architecture in early 2017, the platform uses a 1,331-pin Pin Grid Array (PGA) socket.
Unlike the previously released Ryzen 5 7500F, which costs around $157 and lacks display output capabilities, the Ryzen 5 7500 includes active integrated graphics hardware. AMD built a small RDNA 2-based graphics unit into the chip’s I/O die, with two compute units operating at clock speeds up to 2.2 GHz.
The $99 Ryzen 5 5500F is aimed at existing AM4 motherboard owners looking for inexpensive upgrades. Its name resembles the standard Ryzen 5 5500, but the two processors use fundamentally different silicon layouts.
The Ryzen 5 7500’s cache capacity totals 38 MB, divided between 6 MB of L2 cache and 32 MB of L3 cache. Its compute specifications place it just behind the Ryzen 5 7600, which has a 100 MHz advantage in both base and boost frequencies. The integrated GPU can run desktop applications, output video to monitors, and perform basic media tasks without a dedicated discrete graphics card.
The original Ryzen 5 5500 uses AMD’s monolithic “Cezanne” die, which was originally developed for the Ryzen 5000G series of accelerated processing units (APUs). That design physically limits system bus bandwidth to PCI Express (PCIe) 3.0 speeds.
By contrast, the Ryzen 5 5500F uses AMD’s “Vermeer” architecture, the chiplet-based Zen 3 design found in primary desktop processors such as the Ryzen 5 5600X. It provides native PCIe 4.0 connectivity, doubling the bus bandwidth of PCIe 3.0 for greater compatibility and higher transfer speeds with modern PCIe 4.0 solid-state drives and current-generation graphics cards.
The 65-watt Ryzen 5 5500F has six cores, 12 threads, a 3.0 GHz base clock, and a maximum boost speed of 4.4 GHz. Its 16 MB of L3 cache is half the 32 MB offered by the $159 Ryzen 5 5600, which also runs at a 500 MHz higher base frequency of 3.5 GHz.
AM5 represents AMD’s move to a Land Grid Array (LGA) design with 1,718 contact pins. Introduced in late 2022 with the Ryzen 7000 series, the socket ended backward compatibility with older DDR4 memory and adopted exclusive support for DDR5 modules and PCIe 5.0 interfaces.
Over more than six years, AM4 accommodated five CPU microarchitectures across multiple manufacturing nodes ranging from 28nm down to 7nm. The older PCIe 3.0-limited Ryzen 5 5500 remains available in OEM tray configurations starting near $74, leaving the $99 Ryzen 5 5500F between base-level OEM parts and fully featured Zen 3 chips.
AM5’s hardware changes increase memory bandwidth and system throughput, but higher initial motherboard and DDR5 memory costs have sustained consumer demand for older AM4 infrastructure. By offering the $99 Vermeer-based Ryzen 5 5500F beside the $189 Zen 4 Ryzen 5 7500, AMD continues covering both price points while competing with Intel Corporation’s entry-level desktop offerings in the sub-$200 market.
