AMD Zen Summit Ridge release date, specs news update: Upcoming CPUs to start at $200; to launch on January 17?

AMD is slated to release brand-new processors next year. Earlier reports claimed that the company's new Zen Summit Ridge central processing units will debut at the 2017 Consumers Electronics Show, which will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada from Jan. 5 to 8. Now, a new report indicates that a specific release date has been leaked, along with the starting price of the upcoming CPUs.

A screenshot from the AMD Zen introduction video.YouTube/AMD

According to a post on Baidu (via Hexus), a source found information from motherboard manufacturer MAXSUN and reportedly said that the first chips released by AMD will be high-end Zen chips priced anywhere from $200 to $500. The chips are said to be part of the AMD Zen SR7 line. It was claimed that the CPU will make its way to high-end desktops on Jan. 17, 2017.

The AMD Zen processors are rumored to be launched in three Summit Ridge or SR ranges, namely, the SR7, SR5, and SR3. The SR7 processors are said to be the most expensive and will be selling at enthusiast level prices. Most SR7 units will reportedly be priced at around $250 to $300, while special 95W overclock (OC) variants from the SR7 range are said to cost as much as $500. As for the SR3 and SR5, these processors are estimated to be within the $200 to $300 price range.

The SR7 chips are tipped to have between 3.15 to 3.3 GHz base and 3.5 GHz booster frequencies with conventional OC speeds reaching 4.2 GHz. The premium SR7 processors are configured as 8C/16T parts and are said to be on par with Intel's Core i7-6850K processor with 6C/12T in Cinebench. It appears that the AMD processor could potentially become the preferred choice as the Intel CPU reportedly costs $600.

As for the next AMD Zen releases, it is speculated that the SR5 and SR3 could be released in March 2017.

Stay tuned for more news about the upcoming AMD Zen processors.