AMD Zen Summit Ridge release date, specs news: new processor series to come in three different variants

Tech company Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is reported to offer new Zen-based Summit Ridge desktop processors in three different variants — SR3, SR5 and SR7, and the company has confirmed that these new processors will be launched by the first quarter of 2017.

Leaked information from the company's Chinese partner reveals that the SR3 features 4 cores and 8 threads and will cost at least $150. The mid-variant, SR5, which is said to have 6 cores and 12 threads, is priced at $250, while the higher end variant, SR7, costs $350 with 8 cores and a 16-thread configuration. Apparently, a special version will also be available with an expected price of $500. Details about this special version is still unknown yet.

According to LegitReviews, the Summit Ridge processor series will have optimized clock speeds of around 3.15–3.30 GHz base and 3.5 GHz boost on FinFET process. The SR7, however, has a clock speed of 4.2 GHz base that can be further boosted up to 5 GHz through a central processing unit (CPU) cooler and LN2 cooling.

These three upcoming chipsets are also speculated to be up against rival company Intel's own upcoming processors which are headlined by the Core i7 7700K, or the upcoming Kaby Lake processor. Intel's Core I processors also come in three different variants, much like AMD's upcoming Summit Ridge Zen processors.

In addition, AMD is also set to release motherboard chipsets for the AM4 platform, which also comes in three different variants: A320, B350 and X370. The highest variant, X370, is said to support enhanced overclocking and sports two x16 motherboard slots for AMD CrossFire and NVIDIA SLI multi-GPU configurations.

By Jan. 2017, tech experts speculate that AMD will unveil their new Zen Summit Ridge processors in a grander fashion during the CES. During the presentation, it is expected that the company will reveal complete details of its specs and exact retail prices.