An image of a purported AMD Ryzen 7 7700X processor is circulating online. According to prominent tech Twitterati this isn’t an image of a final retail sample of the Zen -based processor. Instead, what we are seeing here is a ‘Qualification Sample’ (QS) chip, which is a significant step forward from the earlier ‘Engineering Sample’ (ES) chips, but still not quite ready for end-users. A QS chip might have slightly different specs (base/boost clocks, voltage, TDP, etc.) to the final retail model it is related to, but it will be much closer to final than an ES.
Previous leaks have mentioned this Ryzen 7 7700X processor, and we are pretty sure this image is genuine. In late July, for example, we saw this processor mentioned within the official AMD online product resource library. That resource was quickly hidden by AMD after the news broke, but screengrabs were widely shared around the web hours later.
From the AMD Raphael processors confirmed by the resource library leak, the Ryzen 7 7700X sits quite central among the four which we reckon will form the initial launch lineup. The specs of the launch lineup will be as tabulated below, according to the latest leaks circulating the web.
Looking closer at the images of the alleged AMD Ryzen 7 7700X processor, we can immediately see the characteristic IHS (Integrated Heat Spreader) design which debuts with this
first AM5 processor series. Overall, it looks like a genuine sample, taken with a typical smartphone camera in non-ideal lighting conditions.
At the bottom of the block of text on the processor, it is possible to make out a solitary ‘D’, and this, according to Twitter’s
SkyJuice, is an indicator of non-retail silicon. Another reliable source comments on the post to confirm it is a Raphael QS sample, as we mentioned in the intro.
AMD has confirmed that it will be
launching the first next generation Ryzen processors at the “together we advance_PCs,” livestream premiere at 7pm ET on Monday, August 29.