AMD Keeps AM4 Alive a Decade Later
AMD has added two more desktop processors to its official product pages, and one of them is a milestone release. The Ryzen 5 5500F arrives almost exactly 10 years after AMD introduced the AM4 socket in September 2016. The other new chip, the Ryzen 5 7500, brings integrated graphics to AMD’s budget Zen 4 offerings on the AM5 platform.
The Ryzen 5 5500F is a six-core, 12-thread Zen 3 processor based on Vermeer silicon. It runs at a 3.0 GHz base clock and boosts up to 4.4 GHz with a 65W TDP. Despite using Vermeer rather than the Cezanne silicon found in the regular Ryzen 5 5500, AMD has limited the new chip to 16MB of L3 cache—half the amount available on the Ryzen 5 5600. Like the “F” suffix suggests, it has no integrated graphics, so a discrete GPU is required.
AM4 Enters Its Second Decade
AMD first introduced AM4 with Bristol Ridge desktop APUs in September 2016. Ryzen followed several months later, and AMD continued using the same socket through Zen, Zen+, Zen 2, and Zen 3. The Ryzen 5 5500F now extends that processor list into late 2026, although motherboard vendors will still need to provide the required BIOS support for the new SKU.
This longevity is unprecedented in the modern desktop CPU market. While Intel has typically moved to new sockets every two generations, AMD’s commitment to AM4 has allowed users to upgrade their systems for years without replacing their motherboards. The Ryzen 5 5500F is a testament to that strategy, offering a new budget option for the millions of AM4 systems still in use.
Ryzen 5 7500: Integrated Graphics for Budget AM5 Builds
The Ryzen 5 7500 is less unusual but still fills an important gap in AMD’s AM5 lineup. It is effectively a Ryzen 5 7500F with its integrated graphics enabled. The Zen 4 chip keeps the same six cores, 12 threads, 3.7 GHz base clock, 5.0 GHz boost clock, 38MB of combined L2 and L3 cache, and 65W TDP.
Its RDNA 2 integrated GPU has two Compute Units running at up to 2.2 GHz. This is a basic iGPU suitable for display output, media playback, and light productivity tasks—but not for gaming. For users building a budget AM5 system who need a display output for troubleshooting or a temporary solution before adding a discrete GPU, the Ryzen 5 7500 offers a convenient option.
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Pricing and Availability
AMD has not announced official launch pricing for either processor. Given the Ryzen 5 5500F’s position as a budget AM4 chip, it will likely be priced aggressively to compete with Intel’s entry-level offerings. The Ryzen 5 7500, meanwhile, should slot in just below the Ryzen 5 7600.
For now, both processors are listed on AMD’s product pages, and availability is expected to follow in the coming weeks.
Source: AMD Ryzen 5 5500F, AMD Ryzen 5 7500