Should I wait for Ryzen 7000? It's likely since you're reading this that you're debating it yourself, and for good reason too.
Some of the best gaming PCs out there are loaded with capable components that include some powerful Ryzen 5000 chips from the current generation, and therefore it's worth considering if you should hold out, or stick with what you've got.
In addition, with the upcoming sect of powerful prebuilt PCs that include the Acer Predator Orion 3000 and its speedy selection of Intel Core 12th gen offerings, this adds another dimension - do you go for the new Intel chips, or wait for Team Red's offerings?
Here's what we think.
How Long Could The Wait For AMD Ryzen 7000 Be?
AMD's CES 2022 keynote in January confirmed that Ryzen 7000 is on the way and even touted the potential release window of the second half of 2022.
This comes in the wake of the practically instant availability of Ryzen 6000 laptop chips, which will be taking hold further in models from the likes of Lenovo with the Legion 5 Pro (2022) over the upcoming months.
There's likely to be some distance between the rollout of laptop and desktop chips, so it would make sense for the back end of 2022 to see the beginnings of the Ryzen 7000 rollout with a view to releasing more chips as the year goes by and we head into 2023.
AMD Ryzen 7000 Rumoured Price
As things stand, there's been no indication of how much the new 7000 series chips will cost, although we can utilise the MSRPs of Ryzen 5000 chips to gain a preliminary idea.
For reference, the top of the line Ryzen 9 5950X with its 16 cores and 32 threads carries a retail price of $799, whilst the lower down Ryzen 5 5600X cost $299 with six cores and 12 threads.
As the Ryzen 7000 series will be running on a new architecture with Zen 4 hoving into view, it would make sense that you'll be paying a little bit more for them.
Over the 4000 series, the 5000s carried a $50 price increase, so something similar for the new-gen would make sense.
AMD Ryzen 7000 Rumoured Specs
In terms of specs, unlike pricing, we do know some pretty key details of what to expect with Ryzen 7000.
When AMD confirmed their existence at CES 2022, they noted these will be the first CPUs to run on their upcoming Zen 4 architecture, which is likely to bring with it some serious power gains, especially on a 5nm processing node.
A WikiChip article from March 2020 noted that transistor density could be up as much as 87% higher on a 5nm process compared to 7nm which would bring with it some pretty noteworthy performance increases, with more power in a smaller, more concentrated area.
Read More: Best RAM 2022: Our Top Picks
AMD also suggested at CES that support for PCIe 5.0 will be coming to Zen 4-capable CPUs, alongside support for speedier DDR5 RAM. Alongside this, it may also make sense for support for USB 4 and WiFi 6E to also be bundled in, as they are on Ryzen 6000.
Moreover, we also know that Ryzen 7000 will be running on a new AM5 socket, known as LGA 1718. It'll be compatible with existing AM4 coolers, but of course, to upgrade you'll have to invest in a new motherboard.
We still don't know anything confirming core and thread counts, although it may make sense for these to be similar to Ryzen 5000, but with a new architecture, this may take things up a gear.
As and when we know more, we'll be sure to let you know.
Should I Wait For Ryzen 7000?
Whether or not you choose to wait for Ryzen 7000 is of course down to your personal preference, budget and what you've got currently in terms of system, but judging by what we know so far, there looks to be a lot to stick around for.
The introduction of Zen 4 and a 5nm processing node is big news for performance, and even if we don't currently know core counts and the like, it makes sense to assume these Ryzen 7000 chips will be pretty beefy.
Confirmed support for DDR5 RAM and PCIe 5.0 would also back this claim up too as those components will also be speedier to take advantage of more powerful CPUs. For instance, DDR5 RAM has a theoretical starting point of 4800 MHz.
In essence, Ryzen 7000 looks to be bringing exciting new features over Ryzen 5000 that can make your system even faster, although whether it's worth spending out on is another matter entirely.
As Ryzen 7000 looks to be bringing more new hardware standards into the fold, you'll be spending a lot to build a system from scratch with DDR5 RAM, a PCIe 5.0 compatible SSD, and not to mention, a new motherboard, as well as the chip itself.
Whether this is worth doing depends on your budget, of course. After all, the top of the line Ryzen 9 5950X is a ludicrously powerful processor, and when that's paired with oodles of RAM, a beefy graphics card and snappy SSD, you've got a formidable rig.
Read More: Acer Nitro 5 (2022) Laptop: Release Date, Price And Specs
In short, if you've got the money to go and buy a new system to fit Ryzen 7000 in, go right ahead - there's plenty to be excited about, after all.
Otherwise, if you've got a capable system you built a couple of years back, stick with it for the moment until prices of RAM and new motherboards eventually come down.
If you're more interested in one of the best gaming laptops though as opposed to a fully-fledged desktop, then looking at the current upcoming crop of laptops with Ryzen 6000 inside like the Razer Blade 14 (2022) is likely to be more worth your while.
Or, maybe you're more of a fan of Intel processors, and truth be told, their Alder Lake CPUs do look rather good indeed, and upcoming prebuilts like the Acer Predator Orion 5000 may suit you a little better.
Read More: Best DisplayPort Cables 2022: Our Top Picks