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On Wednesday AMD formally revealed their new flagship, high-end Ryzen CPU’s. It’s been rumored for some time that the upcoming silicon from AMD may finally dethrone Intel CPU’s as the fastest on the market, and if the preliminary numbers revealed by AMD this week are anything to go by they very well may!

AMD showed off their top-end Ryzen 7 series, which is intended to compete directly with Intel’s top-end Core i7 series. The Ryzen 7 1700, 1700X, and 1800X are all 8 Core, 16 Thread CPU’s ranging in price from $329 to $499. This is a pretty expensive CPU for most people, but when compared to Intel’s top-end $1050 i7-6900K, another 8 Core 16 Thread CPU, the $399 1700X beat it in one industry benchmark by 4%. At less than half the cost this is pretty exciting news.

So what does this mean for the average consumer who isn’t buying $1000 or even $300 CPU's? Well, it means AMD may finally have chips that can directly compete with Intel on the top-end, which should hopefully drive CPU prices down across the board. This should also increase competition in the CPU industry and potentially lower computer prices for consumers, both great things! More comprehensive benchmarks and reviews have yet to be released, though AMD has said Ryzen will launch on March 2.

Are you planning on purchasing or building a new computer in the near-term? Does AMD’s announcement change your plans at all? Let us know in the comments below!