Should you wait for the Ryzen 9000 Zen 5 or buy a Ryzen 7000 CPU?

The Ryzen 9000 Zen 5 CPUs are almost here, with AMD having already confirmed their launch for later this year via Tom's Hardware. So should you wait for the upcoming Zen 5 CPU or buy a Ryzen 7000 series that is already available? The answer depends on your current CPU. If you have a newer Ryzen 5000 series, waiting for the Ryzen 9000 Zen 5 makes sense as it will provide a huge performance boost. However, if you're working with an older CPU, upgrade to the Ryzen 7000 series.

But how much of a performance boost will the new Zen 5 CPU bring compared to the Ryzen 7000? This article will explain everything you need to know about the new CPUs and whether you should wait for them.

Note: Some aspects of this article are subjective and solely reflect the writer's opinions. The analysis is based on leaks regarding the Ryzen 9000 Zen 5 CPUs.

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Ryzen 9000 Zen 5: Expected specs, features, and performance

AMD Ryzen CPU (Image via The Provoked Prawn/YouTube)

The Ryzen 9000 series is based on the Zen 5 architecture that is expected to bring 10-15% IPC improvements compared to previous Zen 4 architecture. Now, this is just an improvement to the IPC (Instructions Per Core). This means that each core of the new CPU is faster than the one inside the old CPU. This leak of IPC improvement comes from a known leaker, HighYield on Twitter/X.

According to HighYield, the new CPUs are also expected to support DDR5-6400 MT/s speeds out of the box. The new Ryzen 9000 Zen 5 CPU will likely use the TSMC's N4 process node as opposed to the N5 node used for the Ryzen 7000 series.

Now, if you combine the IPC improvement with the faster RAM speed and smaller process node, it may end up delivering up to a 20% performance improvement. Even Moore's Law is Dead on YouTube, a known leaker, says he's heard something similar from his sources. The new CPUs will use the same AM5 socket that the Ryzen 7000 series supports.

If you already have an AM5 motherboard, it will work just fine with the new CPUs. However, it will require a BIOS update, which AMD has delivered to their hardware vendors. MSI and ASUS have already released this new BIOS to the public, so expect other vendors to do the same shortly.

The new Ryzen 9000 Zen 5 CPUs will also be inside the upcoming Strix Point APUs that will power the next generation of laptops. The laptop CPUs are also rumored to feature the "Big.Little" core architecture to bring better efficiency and battery life, so it may have something similar to P cores and E cores from Intel. The cache sizes are also expected to increase but there's not enough credible information on this front.

What doesn't change from the Ryzen 7000 series is the core count. The new CPUs will still feature a maximum of 16 cores. Those waiting on AMD to increase the core count to 24 or 32 will be disappointed. AMD seems to believe that the Threadripper platform is better suited for them.

Also, check out the best AMD gaming motherboards in 2024.

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Should you wait for the Ryzen 9000 Zen 5 or buy a Ryzen 7000 CPU?

The AMD AM5 socket (Image via The Provoked Prawn/YouTube)

The new Zen 5 CPUs will essentially bring 15 - 20% performance improvements in total over the Ryzen 7000 series. They are compatible with the same AM5 platform, and a BIOS update for the new CPUs has been released.

So given this performance improvement and compatibility, should you wait for the Ryzen 9000 Zen 5 or buy a Ryzen 7000 CPU? You should wait for the new CPUs if you are already on the Ryzen 5000/3000 series of CPUs. This will provide you with a bigger performance boost when you finally upgrade.

However, if you have a much older CPU, and your game performance is getting affected, then you should just buy the Ryzen 7000 and enjoy your favorite games instead of waiting. It will still provide you with a significant performance boost.