AMD Ryzen CPU release date, specs news update 2016: Ryzen-based processors to hit up tech market in 2017

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is definitely on to bigger things with the soft release of what its executives have dubbed as their "most exciting processor in 20 years."

What AMD previously referred to as the Zen architecture now has an official brand name, Ryzen, and more details about it have just been shared during the tech company's recently concluded New Horizon event. Summit Ridge, the first chip aimed at the desktop market, will reportedly be AMD's focus for next year.

During the event, AMD demonstrated how the 8-core Summit Ridge chip can capably give Intel's 8-core, 3.2GHZ Core i7-6900K a good run for its money. This was made possible by the AMD chip's higher 3.4 GHZ clock speed.

The company, however, has declined to reveal two key details about their new processor chip: its maximum potential and its selling price. Analysts believe that AMD did this to avoid revealing too much information to rival companies, most especially Intel's marketing team.

With the impending release of Intel's first dual-core Kaby Lake chips, which are said to be exclusive for notebooks, and the subsequent release of its quad-core H-series processors for desktop PC in January next year, the competition is just about to heat up. AMD, on the other hand, have scheduled a first quarter release date for its 14nm Summit Ridge chip for desktop PCs and a second quarter release for its 32-core Naples server processor. AMD's Ryzen-based notebook chip, the Raven Ridge, is expected to hit the markets in the second half of 2017.

It should be noted that all of these upcoming chips can only be run on Windows 10.

Another thing that sets Ryzen chips apart is the so-called SenseMI technology that adds a cooling capability, clock frequency, an operating mode with minimal energy consumption, and sophisticated learning algorithms along with neural net prediction capabilities that can track software behavior to enable the processor to anticipate the needs of each computer application.

A video of the New Horizon event is available to watch for free on official AMD Facebook page.