Wednesday, October 4th 2017
AMD Ryzen 5 1600 and 1600X CPUs Found With 8 Working Cores
Reports have surfaced around the Web that some users are finding their recently-purchased AMD Ryzen 5 1600 and 1600X CPUs, which normally would have six cores (and 12 threads, with Simultaneous mutlithreading) actually have eight working cores (and 16 threads) out of the box. Unlike AMD's decade-old Phenom series, in which some dual and triple-core processors could be unlocked to fully functioning quad-cores via a BIOS feature offered on some motherboards, these Ryzen CPUs require no special BIOS setting. The processors still run at the stock advertised clock speeds, and retain the 1600's 576kb of L1 cache. But with the extra cores available, the 1600 series processors are basically on par performance-wise with the corresponding Ryzen 7 1800 series CPUs. This is an incredible value for lucky AMD users, as the 1800X retails for nearly twice the price of the 1600X.
And lucky these users are, as reports so far indicate that most, if not all of the unlocked CPUs come from the same batch of silicon, manufactured between September 4th and September 10th in Malaysia. This may indicate a quality control issue at this specific AMD factory. Alternatively, AMD could be bolstering its stock of Ryzen 5 1600 and 1600X CPUs to meet the higher demand of the mid-range chip, by labeling 1700 and 1700X CPUs as 1600 and 1600X respectively. Whatever the reason, it is definitely a welcome surprise to fortunate AMD users. If you have already purchased a Ryzen 5 1600 or 1600X recently, simply checking CPU-Z or looking at your windows task manager will reveal whether you are one of the recipients of an unlocked chip. If you are looking to buy such a CPU however, perhaps second-hand, a Reddit user known as "Rigred" claims he has deciphered the serial numbers corresponding to this batch of processors, allowing prospective buyers to verify that the chip is actually one of the unlocked few.
Sources:
WCCFtech, techradar, Rigred
And lucky these users are, as reports so far indicate that most, if not all of the unlocked CPUs come from the same batch of silicon, manufactured between September 4th and September 10th in Malaysia. This may indicate a quality control issue at this specific AMD factory. Alternatively, AMD could be bolstering its stock of Ryzen 5 1600 and 1600X CPUs to meet the higher demand of the mid-range chip, by labeling 1700 and 1700X CPUs as 1600 and 1600X respectively. Whatever the reason, it is definitely a welcome surprise to fortunate AMD users. If you have already purchased a Ryzen 5 1600 or 1600X recently, simply checking CPU-Z or looking at your windows task manager will reveal whether you are one of the recipients of an unlocked chip. If you are looking to buy such a CPU however, perhaps second-hand, a Reddit user known as "Rigred" claims he has deciphered the serial numbers corresponding to this batch of processors, allowing prospective buyers to verify that the chip is actually one of the unlocked few.
64 Comments on AMD Ryzen 5 1600 and 1600X CPUs Found With 8 Working Cores
if some one get lucky and get more cores, you will judge amd?
so what you will do you lucky fella who won a million ?
Mistakes or erros need to be payd ..
Is not lottery here is some action mistake in process manufacter
Edit: IF 10 ppl lucky got 8c/16th that not mean the others are fools,bad lotery,etc..is 2017 not 1999 or phenom days )))
Edit: uuuaaaaaa ty but no need since i dont have one,cheers
and I am sure I will never hear 7700k unlocked 1c/2 thread for sure.. if at all that happens, intel will file a complaint asking buyer to pay for he extra core or return it for a stock 7700k as they will lose sleep that they missed out 30$ For that unlocked core
What would constitute false advertising is if AMD sold these chips as 1700/1700X/1800X SKUs, but only enabled 6 of the cores.
Nothing new here.