With Ryzen (pronounced RYE-zen), AMD stepped back into the so-called "processor wars" in a big way. Long praised for their integrated graphics capabilities and comparatively low cost, AMD processors had recently suffered in benchmark performance tests against Intel's latest chips. But with Ryzen, AMD added more cores (even base Ryzen chips are quad-core equipped), expanded its mid-range offerings to up to six cores/12 threads (high-performance models can have 8/16 or more), and introduced Simultaneous Multi-Threading (SMT) technology to push more operations through each core.

[For the uninitiated, a processor "core" is, essentially, a discrete CPU unto itself. So, a modern, quad-core or octo-core processor actually has four or eight processor chips with which to do the computational heavy lifting. Each core has one or two "threads" that carry the distinct sets of commands and responses necessary to calculate, render graphics, run software programs, and everything else. And AMD's new Simultaneous Multi-Threading (similar to Intel's Hyper-Threading) enables each thread to be used more efficiently, further multiplying processor productivity.]

Industry experts soon confirmed AMD's claims about Ryzen, saying the new chips equal or better those offered by other manufacturers, including Intel, in many performance categories. Those competitors might disagree or offer competing test results (it's a very competitive business), but given AMD's continued pricing advantage, many popular technology analysts used terms such as "disruptive" and "game changer" to describe Ryzen's introduction to the marketplace.