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.