AMD looks set to beef up its Ryzen 9000 “Zen 5” desktop lineup with two new refresh processors aimed at keeping pressure on Intel’s next wave of Core Ultra 200S Plus chips. A recent leak points to the Ryzen 7 9750X and Ryzen 5 9650X, and the headline change is clear: both are reportedly rated at a 120W TDP, pairing higher power limits with higher clock speeds.
The leak comes from chi11eddog, a source with a track record for accurate hardware details. If the information holds, these CPUs will slot into the existing Ryzen 9000 Granite Ridge family as faster, drop-in alternatives to current non-X3D models.
Ryzen 7 9750X specs and what’s new
The AMD Ryzen 7 9750X is said to be an 8-core, 16-thread desktop CPU with a 4.2GHz base clock and up to 5.6GHz boost. Cache is listed at 40MB total, broken down as 32MB of L3 on a single CCD plus 8MB of L2. The big change is the 120W TDP, which should give the chip more room to sustain higher clocks under heavier workloads.
Compared with the Ryzen 7 9700X, the reported differences focus primarily on frequency and power:
– Same core and thread count (8C/16T) and similar overall platform positioning
– 120W TDP versus the 9700X’s original 65W rating (later adjusted upward on some configs)
– +400MHz higher base clock
– +100MHz higher boost clock
In practical terms, that suggests AMD is targeting stronger out-of-the-box performance for gaming and productivity without the user needing to rely as much on manual tuning.
Ryzen 5 9650X specs and how it compares
The second rumored chip, the Ryzen 5 9650X, is positioned as a refreshed 6-core, 12-thread option. It’s listed with a 4.3GHz base clock and up to 5.5GHz boost, along with 38MB of total cache and the same 120W TDP.
Against the Ryzen 5 9600X, the expected uplift mirrors the 9750X strategy:
– Same core and thread count (6C/12T)
– Higher TDP at 120W versus the 9600X’s original 65W rating (later adjusted upward on some configs)
– +400MHz higher base clock
– +100MHz higher boost clock
For buyers who want a higher-clocked Zen 5 part without stepping up to Ryzen 7 pricing, the 9650X could end up as the more interesting mainstream gaming CPU—assuming pricing lands where the leak expects.
Expected pricing and the coming AMD vs Intel refresh fight
While exact MSRPs weren’t included, the expectation is that these Ryzen 9000 refresh CPUs will arrive near the current street pricing of the chips they’re effectively replacing, while existing models may see price cuts to keep the stack competitive. Right now, the Ryzen 7 9700X is commonly seen around $299, and the Ryzen 5 9600X around $199.
That pricing matters because Intel is expected to introduce Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and Core Ultra 5 250K Plus CPUs around similar price points, promoting higher core counts, new optimizations, and faster app and game performance. If both companies launch refresh parts close together, shoppers could see an unusually competitive CPU landscape in the weeks ahead—especially in the midrange where value and gaming performance drive most purchasing decisions.
What to watch next
If AMD does release the Ryzen 7 9750X and Ryzen 5 9650X with 120W TDPs, the key questions will be real-world performance gains versus the existing 9700X and 9600X, how efficiently the new chips sustain boost clocks, and whether motherboard and cooler requirements become a bigger factor for mainstream buyers. Availability and final pricing will ultimately decide whether these Zen 5 refresh CPUs become the new go-to picks or simply act as stopgap options ahead of the next major generation.
