In terms of sheer architectural gains, the 3rd generation Ryzen desktop CPUs with Zen 2 architecture promise a 15 percent IPC uplift compared to the previous generation, as well as double the cache size with reduced memory latency for gaming and double the floating point performance that should increase performance in "creative workloads".

The new Zen 2-based Ryzen desktop CPUs will be made on TSMC's 7nm manufacturing process and use AMD's new chiplet design, with up to two 8-core Zen 2 chiplets, and a 14nm I/O controller die with dual-channel DDR4 memory controller, PCIe 4.0 root complex, and other connectivity.

Three high-end SKUs, and two mainstream ones

When it comes to actual SKUs, AMD is launching a total of five SKUs on July 7th, including three performance Ryzen 9 and Ryzen 7 series SKUs, the Ryzen 9 3900X, Ryzen 7 3800X and the Ryzen 7 3700X. The flagship Ryzen 9 3900X is a 12-core/24-thread beast clocked at 3.8GHz base and 4.6GHz Boost clocks, 72MB of cache and a 105W TDP. According to AMD, these specifications are enough to beat Intel's Core i9-9920X 12-core/24-thread 165W CPU by up to 14 percent in single-thread and up to 6 percent in multi-thread Cinebench, all with a lower 105W TDP.

In addition to the Ryzen 9 3900X, AMD also introduced the Ryzen 7 3800X, an 8-core/16-thread SKU with 3.9GHz base and 4.5GHz Boost clocks, same 105W TDP, and 36MB of total cache. It goes directly against Intel's Core i9-9900K, outperforming it by a close margin in both single- and multi-thread performance.

The most interesting SKU in our book is the Ryzen 7 3700X, an 8-core/16-thread SKU with 36MB of total cache, 3.6GHZ base and 4.4GHz Boost clocks, and a lower 65W TDP. According to AMD, it should provide similar single-thread performance as the 95W Core i7-9700K but outperforming it in multi-thread by 28 percent.

In addition to these three SKUs, AMD will also be launching two Ryzen 5 SKUs, the Ryzen 5 3600X and the Ryzen 5 3600. Both are 6-core/12-thread SKUs with 36MB of total cache, with Ryzen 5 3600X working at 3.8GHz base and 4.4GHz Boost clocks and 95W TDP, while the Ryzen 5 3600 is a 65W TDP CPU working at 3.6GHz base and 4.2GHz Boost clocks.

At the same event, AMD also unveiled its first Radeon RX 5000 series GPUs based on Navi GPU architecture and PCIe 4.0 support, as well as the new X570 chipset, which will be the first to support PCIe 4.0.

All new 3rd gen Ryzen desktop CPUs will work on AMD's AM4 300- and 400-series chipset motherboards, with the exception of the A320, as well as new 500-series ones, and it will be interesting to see how well will these do in other benchmarks.

AMD puts lots of pressure on the competition with aggressive pricing

All of the announced 3rd gen Ryzen SKUs should be available as of July 7th, and AMD is pushing some aggressive pricing, with the flagship Ryzen 9 3900X 12-core/24-thread SKU launching at $499. The Ryzen 7 3800X and the Ryzen 7 3700X, are coming at $399 and $329, respectively. The "mainstream" Ryzen 5 3600X and the Ryzen 5 3600 will launch at $249 and $199, respectively.

AMD keeps delivering on its roadmap promises and while it might not go for Nvidia's throat in the high-end GPU market with Navi-based RX 5000 series, it is definitely pushing hard against Intel in the CPU market, and it looks good.