Those who enjoy gaming on PC know that upgrading their computers to keep up with the latest video games is a fact of life. Because while console owners might at most replace the machine’s hard drive during its lifetime, upgrading components is a common thing in the PC world.
And when it comes to choosing a processor to stick in a gaming PC, most budget-conscious gamers settle for AMD’s line of FX processors, as they are an affordable alternative to Intel’s more expensive i5 and i7 processors.
This is because AMD has never been a real competitor to chip giant Intel in the high-end processor market, instead focusing on delivering more budget-friendly hardware (which may explain why both Sony’s PS4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One feature AMD chips inside).
AMD also competes with technology giant Nvidia in the graphics card arena, with affordable graphics card models like the recently released RX 480 being a nice alternative to Nvidia’s more expensive (and mostly more powerful too) graphics chips.
The Sunnyvale company now appears to be focusing on the fight with Intel though, and after playing second fiddle to the technology titan for years could finally be catching up with its new line of Zen processors. Because AMD has now revealed that it will formally announce its new line of Zen processors during an online event on December 13, which will be hosted by video game journalist Geoff Keighley.
Those looking to get hold of a Zen processor next year will obviously want to know how much better AMD’s new line will perform than their current FX processors, and according to website wccftech.com the upcoming Zen “Summit Ridge” processor will offer similar performance to an Intel Core i7 6850K. This is certainly impressive for a processor that’s likely to cost much less than its rivals when it hits the market next year.
So AMD Zen processors might be a tempting upgrade for PC gamers with ageing hardware wanting to give their machine a boost then, although we will have to wait until next year to find out whether AMD will truly deliver the goods with their new Zen line, offering a truly great hardware solution for PC gamers out there.